friday 7th april
7.00 pm ‘The Kashmir Shawl : A Talk & Slide presentation’ by Dr. Janet Rizvi

The Kashmir shawl at its finest was among the most exquisite textiles ever woven, the product of consummate artistry and skill applied to one of the most delicate fibers in the world. But more than that, for at least three centuries, the shawl’s excellence and worth made it the centre of a huge and complex commercial operation involving, in its heyday, tens of thousands of people, and extending from Tibet to the marts of west Asia, Europe and America. The classic Kashmir shawl was an object of desire for Mughal emperors and Sikh maharajas, for Iranian nobles, Armenian merchants, French empresses, British aristocrats and, eventually, for the increasingly prosperous mercantile bourgeoisie created on both sides of the Atlantic by the Industrial Revolution. It inspired any number of imitations, but none that could even approach the softness, delicacy and charm of design of the original.

Janet Rizvi introduces the Kashmir shawl as not merely one of the world’s most sumptuous textiles, but as a cultural artefact with a known history spanning four centuries, and a geographical spread from Tibet to the United States. Her original research, with its new insights, lays many persistent myths to rest. She analyses the significance in west Himalayan geopolitics of the historical trade in this valuable commodity between Tibet and Kashmir. Her research also shows for the first time how the manufacturing technique of the shawl is rooted in the indigenous skills of Kashmir’s village textile workers, and invites the reader’s sympathy with the weavers whose skilled fingers incorporated into the designs of their shawls the whole range of the Valley’s lovely flowers, but who were themselves the poorest and most exploited section of the people. She takes a fresh look at the nature and importance of the shawl in Mughal India; and reveals the extent of the trade in shawls to Iran and the Ottoman Empire long before they became an article of high fashion in the West. Finally, she shows how Kashmir has left a permanent imprint on the aesthetic sensibility of the modern world in the so-called paisley, derived from a motif developed in the ateliers of the region’s shawl designers.

Janet Rizvi, freelance writer and researcher, was brought up in Scotland, and graduated PhD in history from Cambridge. She has spent many years of her adult life in Jammu and Kashmir as the wife of an officer of the state Government. Her book Ladakh, Crossroads of High Asia has been continuously in print for over 20 years; she is also the author of Trans-Himalayan Caravans, Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders of Ladakh . As well as the chapter ‘Woven Textiles’ in The Crafts of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh , she has contributed articles on the Kashmir shawl to The Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (New York) and The Encyclopedia of India . She contributed the chapter ‘The Asian Trade in Kashmir Shawls’ to Textiles from India, The Global Trade.

The Sakhi , confidante or friend is ever present in the abhinaya, dramatic pieces in Indian dance. Her importance , always acknowledged but never explored is the theme for Bilva’s Bharatanatyam performance this evening. This Companion is the one to whom the Nayika will convey her feelings, she is the one who will take messages from the nayika to the nayaka, she is the one who will sort out the differences between them. She could be a Daasi (servant), Sakhi, Chatriya (step sister) Prativamshini (neighbour), Lindini (saint) or the Nayika (heroine) could herself act as a messenger ( swaa ).

However, philosophically, the Sakhi is seen as the Guru, guide or teacher to the Nayika . The Nayaka is the Supreme being and the yearning of the Nayika for union with the Nayaka signifies the yearning of the human soul for union with the Divine.

Bilva started learning dance at the age of 6 from the Rajarajeshwari school of dance in Bombay. She received training from Guru Vishwanathan Pillai and later Sri Kadirvelu Pillai. She then concentrated on her Post graduate studies and work for sometime . The need to go back to dance was too strong and she restarted learning with Leela Samson in Delhi. In 2002 she decided to become a dancer and joined Spanda (The dance company which presents Leela’s choreographic work ) Today she says that “ I feel like I have not even touched the surface of the deep deep ocean of dance which is an integral part of my life.”

wednesday 19th april
7.00 pm Shiva : The Creation of a Deity A talk/slide show by Dr. Nilima Chitgopekar