India Journal: Ajrakh Block Prints and Indigo
On the second day after I landed in New Delhi, I went to visit the Sanskriti Museum of Textiles near the Qutub Minar 15th century historic site on the south side of town. It’s a small, private collection hidden away behind gates on the expansive grounds of an estate that is now an educational center. I […]
India Journal: Wazir Museum Quality Vintage Textiles
This is my last day in Bhuj, Gujarat, India. Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13, I begin the journey back to America. It is morning here. I awake to the sound of Bollywood-style raucous music, loud, cymbals clanging, trumpets tooting, and look out the window. There is a parade with floats on the street beneath my hotel […]
India Journal: Tribal Textiles in Bhuj, Gujarat
Finally, I have landed in Bhuj, Gujarat, after hectic days in Ahmedabad followed by three nights at a secluded safari camp, Rann Riders, in the wilds of the Little Rann. This borders the town of Dasada where marsh and salt desert are home to rare wild ass and migratory birds. Internet connection impossible. I have […]
India Journal: Double Silk Ikat of Patan Patola, Gujarat
It’s two-and-a-half hours from Ahmedabad to the town of Patola in the Patan district of Gujarat. Only four ikat weavers continue to make the double it — both the warp and weft threads are knotted then dyed to form intricate patterns of birds, flowers, elephants, dancers, monkeys and trees on silk. The double it refers […]
Searching for Indigo in India: Countdown to Travel
It’s a 24-hour flight from California to New Delhi, not including the layover in Tokyo. I’m getting ready for a month of travel, focused mostly on the India State of Gujarat, with my Canadian friend Fay Sims, leaving San Jose on November 15. My motivation to go to India is multi-fold: to experience first-hand indigo […]