What we call tradition often carries exchanges and encounters that happened centuries ago. A Thousand Crossroads, a new exhibition by DakshinaChitra Museum, looks at South Indian material culture through these movements, bringing together objects that reveal how craft, textiles, art and language have evolved through contact with other cultures. The exhibition looks at how influences from the Islamic world, Europe, and Southeast Asia found their way into South Indian art and craft. We chat with curators Shyamali Misra and Priyadarsini Shanmugasundaram about the ideas behind the exhibition and what visitors can expect.
“We usually talk about how India has contributed or given to the world, but it’s very rare that we speak about how the world has contributed to us,” begins Shyamali. The idea emerged when the curators began looking closely at the museum’s objects. “While there are a lot of objects from South India, many of these objects have interesting foreign influences,” she explains. “When we saw multiple of these objects, we thought it is the right opportunity to bring this idea to people,” she adds.
The exhibition is divided across three sections, tracing different cultural influences through the objects on display. “It starts with a multilingual opportunity, where we have displayed objects that speak about Tamil or Tamil scripts,” Priyadarsini says.
The next section moves into Persian and Islamic influences, with objects and vessels featuring related motifs, alongside reverse glass paintings. Among Shyamali’s highlights is a curated display of ganjifa cards. “They belong to a larger world of Persian card games that have come to India,” she says. “Later they were used in Mysore and the Mysorean tradition of the ganjifa cards was created,” she tells us. The exhibition brings together more than 50 of these cards, alongside activities that invite visitors to look closely at their patterns.
The textile section introduces another sensory element. “We’ve created an element of the sounds of a weaver while they’re weaving,” Shyamali says. Visitors can hear the “click and clack” of the loom while looking at ikat, telia rumal and kalamkari fabrics.
There are also scavenger hunts and motif-based games built around the exhibits. For Shyamali, the exhibition ultimately comes back to acknowledging the complexity of cultural exchange. “Our fundamental fabric is one of confluence and it’s a myriad of cultures,” she says. “Art and craft is a beautiful product of these interactions,” she concludes.
Entry free. On till August 16, 10 am onwards. At Kadambari Art Gallery, DakshinaChitra Museum, ECR.
Email: anoushkakundu@newindianexpress.com
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