A Textile Story

A new exhibition showcases indigenous quilts from across Maharashtra.

textile, Geeta Khandelwal, Indian textile, Godharis, needlewoman, Talk, Yokohama, New York

Geeta Khandelwal researched for three years to put together this collection.

By: Express Features Service

Geeta Khandelwal’s love for fabrics started at an early age. Even as a teenager, she would sew her own clothes. This is when she learned to appreciate textures of various fabrics and to discern the colours and weight of the cloth. This led to a lifelong journey exploring and interacting with the rich world of Indian textiles.

Her three-day exhibition “Godharis of Maharashtra” opens at Coomaraswamy Hall in the city today. It will showcase a selection of quilts (godharis) from Lonavla, Wai, Pune, Baramati, Kolhapur, Solapur, Konkan, Chiplun, Sakhartara, Nagpur and from border towns of Maharashtra and Karnataka. There will also be an auction of the Devi Quilt, created by Khandelwal, which has an embellished, embroidered and quilted image of Kali framed on antique mushroo fabric. The proceeds from this sale will go to quilters in rural Maharashtra suffering from cancer. Visitors can also participate in godhari making by choosing a fabric square and adding their signature or embellishing it.

A skilled needlewoman, Khandelwal has been passionately involved in quilt-making for over four decades and has visited the interiors of Maharashtra to put together the rural quilts collection. The exhibition will also see the launch of Godharis of Maharashtra, Western India, a coffee table book by her. After Mumbai, the collection will travel to Yokohama and New York.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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