Visit To Pichhwais Exhibition
On 29 March,
students of Std. VII visited an exhibition on Pichhwais, of
Shrinathji, which was held at the Coomarswamy hall.
Pichhwais are
artistic devotional textiles that hang behind the sacred image of
Krishna as Shrinathji. Pichhwais are so called since they are placed
behind [peeche] the lord.
This exhibition
represents masterpieces from Praful & Shilpa’s TAPI [Textile & Art
of the people of India] collection of Pichhwais, their collection
regarded as a significant repository of India’s textile art.
Pichhwais play
a distinct role in evoking the emotion of worship during darshan
when the devotee gets a fleeting glimpse or jhankhi of the ‘living’
Lord. On different occasions, different pichhwais are placed behind
the swarupa, idol as befits the season or festival. The artist
craftsman is stepped in Krishna mythlogy, his creation reflecting
his own outpouring of personal devotion.
The diversity of
Pichhwais exhibited presents the vast repertoire of 300 years of the
textiles arts of India, ranging from pigment painted, pichhwais to
dye-patterned, embroidered, brocaded, block and tinsel printed
ones.
Apart from
spectacular pigment painted, large-scale pichhwais from Nathdwara,
Kotah, Jaipur and Kishangarh, the Exhibition includes some rare
Kalamkari pichhwais from South-East India and the distinctive group
of red or black pichhwais with a lavish use of gold paint form the
Deccan.
A rare dated
pichhwai, exhibited for the first time, represents the distinguished
zardozi art of 17th century Surat .The need to surround
Krishna with sumptuous textiles representing the best one has to
offer is rooted in the tenets of the sect.
The world of
pichhwais is enigmatic, kindly a visual and sensory experience that
delights as it draws the devotee closer to his beloved Krishna.
The Lilas,
divine sport, with scenes from Krishna’s life and legend (Daan Lila,
Ras Lila) his childhood pranks, trysts with the gopis, seasons like
spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and festivals like Sharad Purnima or
Gopashtami form popular subjects for pichhwai artist.
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