Maharani Gayatri Devi acts as muse for a showcase of heirloom textiles

Textile and handicraft revivalists treat Gayatri Devi as muse to showcase heirloom traditions at an upcoming Mumbai exhibition

The cultivation of indigo, once widely used to dye cloth in India, was reduced in protest against British rulers who were pushing farmers to produce the profitable crop. Long after colonisation, when Brij Ballabh Udaiwal, a fifth-generation block printer from Sanganer decided to study making dyes with natural indigo, the plant was still alien to Rajasthan. Using examples from Tamil Nadu and Bihar, where such plantations existed, he revived indigo farming and colouring in his home state. “It practically grows itself,” he says. “We are bringing new forms to heritage crafts like Leheriya and Mothara with the plant.”