Darpana's Project with Textile Ministry Nears Completion

Darpana Communications is working on a major documentation project on handloom and handcrafted textiles with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. With 14 million families depending on handlooms and handicrafts for their livelihoods, this DVD and book project is an invitation to the world of designers to utilize the spleandour of India's lesser known textiles for contemporary wear and use. The project will last a year and entails the D Com team traveling from Kashmir to Pochampally and Arunachal Pradesh to Rajasthan. The documentation will include recording songs related to the textile traditions or their use.

Work has been completed on all 20 textile traditions Apatani and Adi weaving in Arunachal Pradesh, Kanchipuram silks in Tamil Nadu, Kani weaving and crewel embroidery in Kashmir, Sambalpuri ikat in Orissa, Kantho embroidery and jamdani weaving in Bengal, Brocade weaving, Zari making and Zardosi embroidery in Varanasi, Chikan embroidery in Lucknow, Ajrak printing and mirror work embroidery in Gujarat, Applique and Kota weaving in Rajasthan, Crochet and Kalamkari in Andhra, Bagh printing and Maheshwari weaving in Madhya Pradesh.