Mahatma Gandhi, while explaining his love for khadi, once said, “This is a sacred cloth. I see god in every thread that I draw on the charkha.” Khadi has now become the canvas of choice for Hyderabad based designer and textile revivalist Gaurang Shah and his team of artisans, who wove 30 works of celebrated painter Raja Ravi Varma on it.
‘Khadi-a Canvas’, the exhibition of the works, was launched by Google Arts and Culture at Gallery G, Lavelle Road, in association with Shah, the Abheraj Baldota Foundation and The Raja Ravi Varma Heritage foundation on Tuesday. The exhibition was in tribute to Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary and also to mark the death anniversary of Varma.
In a first of its kind exhibition, the organisers recreated iconic paintings by Varma — not with brush or paint, but through intricate Jamdani weaves on 300 count khadi yarn saris. All 30 saris will be on display next year on the same day.
Rukmini Varma, chairperson, The Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation, said: “Varma painted on a canvas made of jute. Both khadi and jute are sourced from cotton. I think this work on saris is something he would have been proud of.”
Shah revealed it was a massive challenge to duplicate Varma’s intricate works with thread. “Varma used very beautiful shades of basic colours — red, blue, green, yellow, white and black. It was a challenge to create 600 natural shades of these colours.
