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‘Journeying across the Himalayas’: A creative platform for Himalayan communities
Summary
A new festival hopes to create a common platform for craft, art and heritage of communities from the Himalaya
As a student at the National Institute of Design, Aratrik Dev Varman—now in his 40s—strongly felt that the risha, or the traditional breast cloth worn by the women of Tripura, needed to be revived. Later, when he founded Tilla in 2011 in Ahmedabad, a design studio that celebrates handmade Indian textiles and crafts, he built on this idea by collecting some of the archival pieces. In the process, Varman noticed that the loin loom was disappearing and women were no longer weaving in traditional cotton and silk. “The risha was a symbol of women’s independence in Tripura. It lost its relevance, particularly during the British era, when it was deemed unseemly as it just covered the breasts. Over time, women started favouring sarees and blouses over the risha," he says.
Varman, who hails from Tripura, chanced upon this textile while he was scouting for a subject for his project at the NID, Ahmedabad, in the early 2000s. What started as research became a passion project, with the designer collecting original pieces from various tribes and members of the erstwhile royal family. “My goal continues to bring back into the mainstream conversation around visual arts and textiles," he says.
To start that dialogue, Varman and his colleague Jisha Unnikrishnan have created a 15-feet-long installation at the Travancore Palace, New Delhi. Suspended from the ceiling, the work is an ode to the indigenous communities of Tripura, which used to weave and wear this cloth. This art installation is part of the inaugural edition of ‘Journeying Across the Himalayas’— Royal Enfield’s 10-day-long multidisciplinary arts festival, taking place between 5-15 December in the Capital. For Varman, the festival is a great platform to tell the story of his roots.
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According to Bidisha Dey, executive director of Eicher Group Foundation (Royal Enfield’s corporate social responsibility arm, which is presenting the festival), the promotion of arts, particularly those emerging from the 100-plus Himalayan communities that the company works with, is a clear mandate. In that respect, this festival is significant in bringing together several Himalayan communities on a common platform. Besides workshops, discussions and film screenings, the festival spotlights art culinary practices, archival photos, textile practices from various parts of the region. The festival also has a curated shopping zone with over 30 participating regional brands.
The event is seeing participation by several interdisciplinary artists. Delhi-based architect-artist Vishal Dar, for instance, has recreated the façade of the green pit stop of Kharu, Leh, which opened earlier this year. Then there’s a 360 VRS effect giving the illusion of a snow leopard in one of the rooms at the venue, created by wildlife filmmakers Doel Trivedi and Gautam Pandey.
The workshops for children at the festival are particularly exciting. Take, for instance, ‘Toy Making with a Purpose,’ a workshop led by Kirat Brahma, founder of Assam-based Zankla Studio, specialising in handmade plastic-free soft toys that tell the stories of the state’s indigenous communities. Besides creating toys with upcycled traditional fabric, the workshop also offers insight into folk stories from the region. Then there’s Julie Kagtai’s tapestry workshop, which informs the young participants about the interdependence between weaving, ecology and livelihood. Kagtai, a textile artist and designer from Guwahati, Assam, and curator of Curtain Call Adventures, which curates travel to several parts of northeast India, will be giving portable lap loom kits to young adults to explore and create their weaves through the warping process.
Similarly, Wool Knitters, a 25-year-old brand from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, will introduce children to hand spinning. While the young adults will engage with whorl spindles, the facilitators will tell the story of the traditional art practiced in remote communities across Himachal Pradesh where locals spin, either at home or while grazing cattle.
The festival has emerged from Royal Enfield’s partnership with UNESCO in 2022, with one million riders pledging their commitment to sustainable explorations while exploring partnerships with local communities and organisations. ‘Journeying Across the Himalayas’ celebrates the power of collective action through creative expression.
A separate textile exhibition gives a glimpse into sustainable fabrics and weaving practices viewed through the lens of folklore and mythological narratives. There are also clothes and accessories under the Himalayan Knot banner, Royal Enfield’s flagship textile conservation project, for which it has tied up with indigenous brands and local communities to work with designers and studios such as Sonam Dubal, EKA, Jenjum Gadi, Namza Couture, among others.
The festival’s partnership with Helmets for India, an artist collective promoting road safety, and the Indian Foundation of the Arts, has resulted in 12 contemporary artists using ordinary helmets as canvases to express their visual language. The organisers hope to break the stereotype that the Himalayan region is only about tangkha and Tantra art. The various exhibitions highlight a modern visual language by featuring artists and collectives such as BERE Art Collective, Kunga Tashi Lepcha, Tsering Motup, Shikargah Collective, Millo Ankha, among others.
One interesting exhibit centres around the Indian women’s ice hockey team from Leh. Their story is told through archival images and details gathered from the charitable trust Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation. It offers an insight into how young girls with limited means continue to dream with resilience.
Abhilasha Ojha is a Delhi-based art and culture writer.
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