New Delhi: Talk 17 Dec. 2012

New and exciting ground was broken on 17 December when for the first time antique kani shawl enthusiasts of Delhi came together for a talk cum show and tell, as well as book signing. Impeccably hosted by the charming and amiable Ajay Swarup and his good friend and art connoisseur Rahul Kholi in the inviting warmth of Ajay’s spacious Golf Links home, about 30 of us gathered for  a talk I had once given at Asia Society  at the opening of THE ARTS OF KASHMIR, titled FROM MUGHAL WHIMSICALITY TO SIKH OSTENTATION.

If the talk was a little hurried through it was due to the many women who waited anxiously to come forward with their kani treasures and heirlooms in order to show them to me for my opinions as to dating, construction, piecing and of course style.

One of the most spectacular shawls to be presented at the meeting was an early 18th century long shawl with an overall checkerboard pattern each box containing a charming floral sprig or buti. (See photos)

As the wine poured freely and more and more interesting shawls appeared for discussion the crowd slowly made their way upstairs for the elegant buffet that was graciously prepared for all the participants.

With the arrival of many new books on the Kashmir shawl, such as the TAPI Collection, Monique Levi-Strauss’ book on the European shawl and my own recent publication, Woven Masterpieces of Sikh Heritage, now  available to the public is a large corpus of literature detailing almost every aspect of the subject. It’s no wonder that the curiosity of Indian citizens for their own national patrimony, heritage and indigenous crafts is slowly being raised to a high pitch. The Kashmir shawls that were once relegated to the ceder chests as simply hand me downs have suddenly taken on new meanings and not to mention value!