Museums are places that usually have display of antiques, pictures, historical items, books, etc. but have you ever seen a museum of clothes? I was not aware of one till the time. Let me take you one such amazing place called Calico Museum of Textiles. This museum is situated in one of the finest cities of Country, Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat. This museum was initially started in the year 1949 in the Calico Mills in the centre of textile industry by the industrialist Gautam Sarabhai and his sister Gira Sarabhai. The museum was inaugurated by none other than Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru ji. Later on when it became popular and the display items multiplied the space became limited. Therefore the museum shifted to the Sarabhai House which is located in Shahibaug in Ahmedabad. The concept was actually came from Dr. Ananda Coomaraswami in the year 1940 and he conveyed his thoughts to Gautam Sarabhai and after nine years it took the shape in the form of speciality museum and now the Calico Museum of Textiles is one of the finest museums in the world. Currently this museum is managed and maintained by the Sarabhai Foundation. It is a major tourist attraction in Gujarat.The Calico museum exhibits wonderful collection of textiles starting from five hundred years back, artefacts, furniture, handicrafts, statues and the finest fabric works from different parts of India. You can also get knowledge on textiles from the well set library on textiles here. The major attractions in the museum are as follows:
- Court textiles used by Mughal in the fifteenth century
- Robes of Shah Jahan
- Intricate carpets
- Beautiful cushions used in Mughal palaces
- Nineteenth century Regional embroideries
- Tie Dyed textiles, mirror work textiles
- Screen and block printed textiles
- Religious Textiles
- Ritual art & sculpture
- Temple hangings
- Marble & sandstone icons
- Miniature Paintings
- South Indian Bronze
- Jain art & sculpture including manuscripts and mandalas being painted on palm leaves
- Textile technique galleries
- Handicrafts & statue
Apart from these articles there are some other interesting range in textiles can also be enjoyed here like Kashmiri Shawls, Kullu embroidery, silk brocade of Varanasi, Patola saris, expensive Zari work , etc. Some other items include masks, folk art of Punjab, huge wooden temple cars from Tamil Nadu, wooden havelis, Cotton Mashru, etc. these are basically a collection from different parts of the country made by different communities. The process of textile making from weaving, dyeing and embroidery process is clearly mentioned by labels on models and through diagrams. It is very informative for a student pursuing education in textile or design industry.The textile items are actually very difficult to preserve to display for such a long time of about five hundred years but the museum authorities are trying well to protect these precious collection from dust, pollution, heat and humidity. The trees planted around the museum building helps in maintaining the atmospheric temperature. There are arrangements for humidity control inside the building. For keeping the life of textiles longer the lights are dimmed between visiting hours. The museum is very significant from the education point of view as it helps in deciding the curriculum of textile designing programmes taught at National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. The museum helps in historical as well as technical study of Indian handicrafts and industrial textiles. The Calico museum of Textiles is a unique destination for everyone in order to know how the Indian textile industry flourished since fifteenth century and how long we have travelled while creating the finest textiles for the modern India.Ruchi Mahajan