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We asked our contributors: what do you love about India ?

arie Taillefer

M

My heart leaps a little when my often reluctant call to a utility company is transferred to a call centre in Delhi, where I know my enquiry will be answered efficiently by an elegantly spoken representitive. These interactions remind me that our link with India goes far deeper than our passion for Chicken Tikka Masala. As we celebrate the UK India Year of Culture, which marks the 70th anniversary of Indian independence, we look again at the textile culture of one of our oldest allies. The bond between Britain and India goes far beyond the controversial history of the Raj. Our two nations are entwined on a deeper level. In issue 76 we looked at the relationship between the Savannah plantations and the Lancashire cotton mills; this issue we look at the role India played in that trade. We also visit Ahmedabad, a city that like Manchester, owes its reputation as a textile producing centre to its climate and its proximity to an abundant water supply. The banks of the Sabarmati have proved to be ideally suited to spinning fine thread and dying cotton. Today, cotton textiles produced in this region are in demand both inside and outside of India. It is in fact in the turbulent history of Indian cotton that we can see the roots of independence and set the scene for Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom movement which culminated on 15 August 1947 with the raising of the Indian flag, a design originally woven from Khadi cotton depiciting the Ashoka Chakra at its centre, based on a 24-spoke spinning wheel.

JOSEPHINE EATON P19

DEIDI VON SCHAEWEN P44

We marvel at the variety of textiles produced across the length and breadth of the subcontinent. From Phulkari in the Punjab to Ajrakh in Kutch and everything in between including my favourites: block printing and hand-painted kalamkari. ‘Made in India’ encompases everything from the omnipresent blue tarpaulin to hand-spinning and weaving, appliqué and dyeing practised at the Rajka company in Ahmedabad. It seems an opportune moment to launch our textile tour of India led by Divia Patel, where we will explore Kutch-Gujarat-Rajasthan textiles on our first tour in January 2018. Enjoy your summer...

Polly Leonard, Founder

DIVIA PATEL P62

The thing I love about India the most is how textiles are the cornerstone of the nation. The creativity and resourcefulness of artisans have for centuries been at the heart of a country blighted by poverty, partition, political and economic unrest. Indian textiles are a symbol of beauty over adversity and continue to lead and inspire. Whether printed, stitched or woven, they are a celebration of colour, a masterclass in pattern-making. Cooperatives and families produce fabric as a way of life, with a tangible sense of joyful expression and determination – an example to us all.

In 1985 I won a grant to capture The Sidewalks of the World and couldn’t imagine this trip without first going to India. I was immediately fascinated and have returned over 50 times – but now I’ve stopped counting. It’s a photographer’s heaven; I love the unexpected and unusual, the involuntary theatricality of the ordinary things, the ‘readymades’ of the streets, the spontaneous wrappings of buildings, cars, objects and unintentional installations. The Indian people are so welcoming, and every trip for me is a pleasure and discovery.

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Ph

Based in London, born in Kenya of Gujarati parents, I am truly fortunate that my profession connects to my Indian roots. Together they provide ample reason to return to a country I love. As a curator at the V&A, I am responsible for collecting contemporary textiles and dress – the quest for which has sent me to the workshops of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Each journey is a reminder of the kaleidoscopic range of knowledge and skills that inspire awe and command respect. Every time I visit it is humbling and exhilarating.

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