Madhu Jain’s love for kalamkari, kantha, ikat and Dhaka muslin is evident in her collections. The veteran designer spoke to Karan Bhardwaj about spreading the word on Indian textiles and her retrospective show
While other designers rely on bling and often come up with repetitive designs, textile designer Madhu Jain follows simplicity and takes help of rich Indian craft and heritage to set her creations apart. Her recent ‘rare retrospective’ show at Hauz Khas’ Ogaan store is another example to this. She last showed in Delhi in 2008. Jain is known for her contribution in revival of kalamkari, kantha, ikat and Dhaka muslin and this show displays her creations of last 26 years. “Delhi is the cultural capital of India. There are politicians, bureaucrats who love textiles, especially hand-woven . After Mumbai, it was obvious to bring my retrospective here,” she told us.
Jain spoke briefly about her award-winning creations on display. Her collection, inspired by lord Jagannath, which she crafted last year, was awarded by the President. “I have always worked with local artisans. For this, I collaborated with Oidsha’s Bargarh Handloom cluster. They use Oriya weaving technique. There are beautiful dupattas with dancing girls offering lotuses to the diety, wheels of chariots of Jagannath,” she informed. Jain is against the current rage of using ikat prints. “It kills the weaver’s art and industry. They are already living in miserable conditions. They face problems due to middlemen who don’t let them get exposed to the industry. That’s the only reason why I work with the artisans directly,” she said.
Born to one of Delhi’s leading old business families, she had a traditional upbringing with schooling at Welham Girls and Waverly Convent. Minus any formal training, her traditional roots and fine sense of aesthetics formed the basic principles of her design. In 1996, she worked with NGO BRAC in Bangladesh on the revival of nakshikantha to reintroduce “Dhaka muslin”, a handmade fabric known to be Noor Jehan’s favourite textile, which disappeared after Partition.
A year later, she received international acclaim for her nakshikantha creations showcased at the Miss World pageant. She showcased it again at Singapore Fashion week. Talking about her childhood influences, Jain said her father, BD Meattle, was a great admirer of art and craft. “People are fond of music or art, but I am passionate about craft. I borrow it from my dad. He used to wear Irish linen. At home, we had Persian carpets and Belgium chandeliers,” she said.
But she has slowed down in recent years. Reason, there is no taker of handloom products. “People are making, selling and buying fake and duplicate stuff. I cannot do georgettes and chiffons as I prefer to stick to my values,” asserted the designer.
She also received rave reviews for her installation that used bamboo fibre and kalamkari craft technique (Andhra Pradesh) for Commonwealth Games 2010. At present, she is working on her spring summer collection. “I am doing research on the temple paintings of Kerala. They are called Guryagur paintings. It is going to be a limited collection with 40 pieces. Again, I would collaborate with local artisans,” she shared.
Jain’s work has been continuously featured at Ogaan, Kimaya and Ensemble and her loyal patrons are Maneka Gandhi, Princess Maha Al Sauduri of Saudi Arabia, Nita Ambani, Rani Mukerjee and Juhi Chawla. She also restored a rare khadi sari woven by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru in prison in 1941 for Maneka Gandhi, which she wore at Varun Gandhi’s wedding. “The best achievement so far has been the revival of kalamkari. Many designers like Sabyasachi are following it and it feels great when I see people wearing it on streets,” she concluded.
