Textile show planned at Games opening ceremony

NEW DELHI - The first 10 minutes of the 2010 Commonwealth Games’ opening ceremony will exhibit the rich textiles and traditional crafts of India, presenting 5,000 years of the country’s culture.

Designer Madhu Jain and supermodel-turned-crafts activist Milind Soman’s project, “The Tree of Knowledge”, will be unveiled under the “Fabric of India Segment”.

“The opening segment of the Games will be watched the world over by millions of people creating a moment in history,” Jain said.

“It is an ideal forum to showcase the rich heritage, art and craft of handloom weavers and artisans of India, and promote Brand India handwoven fabrics and handcrafted skills,” she said.

To be exhibited in the first segment of the opening ceremony, the project will cover 10 minutes of the 50-minute event.

It will showcase the country’s fading craft traditions and old textiles woven in as many as 25 panels, that will be put together to create a 110-foot-high, 40-inch-wide tree trunk.

“It will be uncovered just 93 metres away from the Indian president, vice president, prime minister and the entire union cabinet, apart from the visiting dignitaries from around the world,” Jain said.

The event will be telecast to a worldwide audience.

“It will further interest and create a demand for Indian craft products in the global market and help promote Brand India. It will also provide sustainable livelihood to weavers and rural textile craftsmen,” Delhi-based Jain said.

The fabrics have been sourced from weavers and craftsmen of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Eri and raw silk fabric, woven Upada motifs in zari, vibrant motifs of Kalamkari in coloured threads and Kantha weave will adorn the tree of knowledge.

The nature-inspired motifs will feature chinar leaves and trees of life. The base fabric used for the panels are a combination of bamboo fibre and silk.

Jain, who has pioneered the use of bamboo fibre in the country, has used the Chinar tree from Kashmir as the theme for her embroidery. Nearly 300 weavers, 500 craftsmen and 200 artisans have worked for over three months to create the tree of knowledge.

The Tree of Life is part of Jain’s and Soman’s “Projekt M” that was set up in 2003 to breathe life into India’s handmade crafts and textile industry.

For the last 10 years, Jain has been working on the development of the art of Kalamkari and Ikkat weaves of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Gujarat, combining them artfully with Kantha embroidery of West Bengal.