Without my phone, I wasn't thinking about capturing some beautiful textiles for my ‘inspiration gallery’. I was fully present, taking in the colours and patterns on display.
Research and innovation were long the blind spots of Bharat’s textile sector. Modi govt has reversed this inertia by placing R&D at the core of its textile strategy.
Bengal’s handloom legacy is not just confined to museum displays; it breathes through collections by designers such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Rajesh Pratap Singh, and Payal Pratap.
Portuguese colchas, enslaved artisans in Mexico, and Aurangzeb’s ‘invisible’ muslins reveal a global saga. This Kolkata exhibition is ‘a bridge between a coffee-table book and a lost history'.
The Indian delegation, led by the minister, toured various stalls at the exhibition, engaging with exhibitors and highlighting the craftsmanship of Indian exporters.
The Tangail saree is not some esoteric piece of handicraft for display in a glass showcase. It is a living, breathing article of daily wear for lakhs of women in India and Bangladesh.
The underlying strength of the textile industry is its strong production base of diverse range of fibres from natural fibres like cotton & jute to man-made fibres like polyester & viscose.
While domestic production's turned sluggish, exports have suffered owing to preferential tariff treatment towards countries like Bangladesh & Vietnam and cheap imports from China.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
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