The gamchha can be a handkerchief, scarf, towel, sheet, garment, and even a blanket. The multipurpose chequered fabric synonymous with India’s working class is particularly noticeable in the warm and humid regions of East and Southeast Bangladesh, Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala where it is used to wipe sweat or worn on the head to reduce the effect of heat.
The multipurpose chequered fabric is synonymous with India’s working class
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The utilitarian nature of the textile has been documented through the multimedia exhibition Gamchha: The Extraordinary in the Ordinary by Dastkari Haat Samiti (DHS). The checkered cotton fabric – an omnipresent symbol for the poorest in society —is also a marker of identity and resilience.
This is not the first time DHS has engaged with the cloth. In 2015, the organisation had commissioned women weavers in Phulia, West Bengal, to create 100 gamchha saris. “This cloth is tied to an auto or cycle rickshaw, or labourers wrap it around their heads. It can be also used as a baby hammock,” says Jaya Jaitly, president, Dastkari Haat Samiti. “I like to refer to the gamchha as the ‘Swiss Army knife of the fabric kingdom’ because of its many uses.”
“During COVID-19, when migrant labourers were going back to their villages, everyone noticed them wearing the gamchha. Otherwise it has been a neglected fabric,” she says. “It’s time for the gamchha to step into the spotlight.”
Beyond its traditional form, the gamchha is getting a contemporary makeover by designers
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
This prompted the DHS team to kickstart the project, and they went around the country looking for various gamchhas for this exhibition. While they found 400 variants, the exhibition has 230 pieces mounted on cane and bamboo structures crafted by National awardee and master craftsman, Vivekanand Bagchi.
Its many iterations
While most gamchhas have checks, others are striped or in a single colour with a simple border and can be used either for daily purposes or ceremonial use. In Tamil Nadu, the fabric goes by the name thundu and is available in shades of red, orange, grey and mustard, with smaller checks. On the other hand, the gamocha from Odisha has glimpses of ikkat.
In Karnataka, if someone other than a labourer wears the gamchha, locally known as haigal meli, they are teased. “They are asked not to pretend to be hard workers. It is a question of class difference,” highlights Jaitly. Kerala’s white thorthu towel assumes the role of the gamchha. It has the chutty (little motif) that shows the end of one thorthu and the beginning of another, she points out.
An installation at the exhibition
| Photo Credit:
Geetika Sachedv
In the Northeast, the gamphan of Mizoram, the innaphi of Manipur, risa of Tripura, shamla, khamti and ziro of Arunachal Pradesh are used to identify their wearers belonging to a particular tribe or having a particular status in the community. The red and white gamosa of Assam, plays a central role in rituals and festivals like Bihu.
As installations
The exhibition designed by Suparna Bhalla of Abaxial Design also interprets the gamchha through creative installations. Gamchhas in the Sky by origami artist Ankon Mitra interprets the ‘working man’s towel’ through his signature folds on paper, suspended on a ceiling.
Another installation by Avishek Mandal, founder of apparel brand Rias Jaipur, traces the journey of the gamchha over time. It has suspended shuttles that symbolise the act of weaving, while the warp threads reflect the passage of time. The presence of a transistor playing old Bengali melodies is a reminder of its irreplaceable value in the life of a gamchha weaver.
The checkered cotton fabric–an omnipresent symbol for the poorest in society–is also a marker of identity and resilience
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Beyond its traditional form, the gamchha is getting a contemporary makeover with the introduction of dresses, accessories and jewellery. Over the years, fashion brands like Kolkata-based 145 East, Bihart and péro by Aneeth Arora have launched collections to honour the fabric.
Are design interventions like these helping in democratising the gamccha? “It should not lose its purpose. I don’t want the gamchha to become like expensive jeans torn at the knee.,” says Jaitly. “They have to respect the labourer, order fabric from the weaver and then make a garment.”
The exhibition will run until March 10, from 11am to 8pm at National Crafts Museum, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Published – March 03, 2025 04:25 pm IST
