Part I- Highlights from December

In early December Alexander and I returned to the region of Kutch, near the Pakistani border, to film artisan and friend Jabbar. As I mentioned in a previous post, Jabbar is a master tie-and-dyer whose products are popular abroad. Unlike the pieces of bandhani readily available in the domestic market, Jabbar’s work is done on silk (instead of cotton), dyed in natural dyes (instead of synthetic), and requires a great deal more labor and skill (one piece can take up to four months). Alexander and I collected nearly seven hours of footage in our attempt to capture the process from start to finish. We also conducted interviews with Jabbar and his family to provide a social context for the craft. Our main aim was/is to illustrate the ways artisans have been able to preserve and innovate on traditional crafts by entering into an international market.

After returning from Kutch, Alexander started to prepare for the course he was asked to teach at the National Institute of Design. Entitled “Contemporary Book Making and Book Design,” the course concentrates on the physical process of book making and highlights current trends in British and American graphics industries, both of which have seen a resurgence in production oriented and material based design. Alexander designed a syllabus, set up “fieldtrips” to a handmade paper factory and a manuscript museum, and brushed up on his own book binding skills.

At the same time we both continued to work on the Rajasthani turban campaign. Because we were unable to scan the turbans (they cannot be subjected to intense lights), we photographed the long objects in segments. As a result, we are forced to “sew” the individual images together in Photoshop. To make matters more complicated, however, the edges of each image were slightly distorted by the camera. We have had no choice but to spend endless hours trying to create yards of seamless cloth. At one point I started to dream about the complex, colorful, crosshatched design!

Around the same time I made a trip to Ahmedabad’s English bookstore and purchased the complete works of Haruki Murakami and Salmon Rushdie. I am currently making my way through each collection.

Towards the end of December I started to fear that the holiday season would be particularly disorienting and depressing. Wilting in the desert heat without the company of family and friends did not seem like something to celebrate. But Alexander and I managed to make due. We decorated a desiccated, potted shrub with stale popcorn and concocted a strangely satisfying brunch comprised of experimental dishes. Christmas proved to be a wonderful, love-filled day, although we missed everyone a lot.