In order to pay tribute to the Indian textile heritage, royal families of the country and people holding historic properties are working with local artisans to launch a virtual viewing of garment installation Karkhana Chronicles. For this, the artisans would be from 3 Indian states; Mayurbhanj in Odisha, Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
This campaign is a thoughtful step to be installed in Indian palaces and forts for about three months and aims to pay tribute to the rich heritage, and culture of the textile industry. Each royal house has established a textile installation of local arts what they personally like to promote.
Also, the campaign aims to initiate a conversation of history, social equity, and circularity of local art forms and also ensure its recognition and upliftment of the local artists. Other than the aforementioned, this campaign focuses on preserving the fading sustainable textile arts and the practices of Indian artisan communities by digitally presenting them.
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Yuvraj Chaitanya Raj Singh, the crown prince of the erstwhile Kingdom of Jaisalmer also shared about his take on the sustainability of the Indian textile arts as he said that sustainability has been a hard part to focus on, historically, especially for the local communities of Jaisalmer. He further quoted, “We have always had to create garments in harmony with natural elements due to the desert terrain. Jaisalmer has always been a point where eastern and western cultural influence has been reflected in our rich textile trade as we were on the silk route which used to cut through this region.””
Jema Akshita M. Bhanjdeo, a royal representative from the Belgadia Palace, Mayurbhanj, Odisha said, “Our local artforms showcase our cultural heritage and through Karkhana Chronicles, we show our pride and hope that the traditional craft and textile practices get the utmost love and recognition that they deserve.”
