Magical Monsoon

Lord Krishna, the quintessential god of love, romance and benevolence, is also the one who came in the form of rain to shower his mercy and love upon the world. Celebrating the beauty of monsoon with attributed to Lord Krishna, Red Earth is back with the 11th edition of ‘The Monsoon Festival’.

The Monsoon Festival 11 presents ‘Water Waves: Red Earth Design Mela’ that features new design collections (saris, apparel, accessories and art) inspired by the season; and ‘Nathdwara: Visual Cultures of Shrinathji’, an exhibition of Pichvais and watercolours from Nathdwara. “The festival aims to celebrate the magic of the Indian monsoon with the old and the new, forgotten traditional cultural practices and pioneering contemporary creative expressions. We work towards the enmeshing of the modern and the traditional in these exhibitions, attempting to create a renaissance of sorts,” shares Himanshu Verma, curator of the show.

He continues, “The monsoon is not just a season but a complex cultural being, bringing alive the fertility of the Indian mind — in expressions ranging from visual art to poetry, music to drama; lived culture including festivals, food and other celebratory elements; and the richness of human emotional response.”

The three-day design mela feature s10 new-age designers experimenting with and exploring the traditional weave in an innovative and interesting manner. “The whole idea is to revive the traditional weave. Indian handlooms are known for their richness, exquisiteness, variety and fine quality. They are an integral part of Indian cultures and festivals or occasions are complete without them. The passage of time has brought about a change in the weaves, patterns and designs boasting of glamour and magnificence, and the importance of handlooms still remains the same. Each designer in this show is showcasing something unique keeping in mind the theme of monsoon. For example, Pratham is showcasing a collection of printed saris inspired by Pichvai art, while PRITaM has an interesting collection of monsoon inspired hand-painted and embroidered saris and apparel. On the other hand we have a brand called Peoli, which deals with organic cotton knit apparel. This is specially sourced cotton from Nagaland, Kutch and Uttarakhand region and the brand is working towards reviving the traditional style of cotton knit to suit the sensibility of today’s generation.”

The Pichvais and watercolours exhibition that opens on Sunday features some of the visual culture of Shrinathji of Nathdwara, encompassing a rich vocabulary of depicting lord Krishna’s divine presence and the artistic beauty of Sewa in the Pushti-marg denomination of Krishna bhakti. The collection includes Pichvais made of paint, embroidery, brocade, lace, crochet and applique to watercolour commemorations of the leelas of Krishna. “The exhibition presents historic and contemporary works of art (cloth Pichvais and paper works) of different styles and techniques, mainly from Nathdwara,” shares Himanshu and adds, “From abstract musings to a celebration of the lush languishing landscapes of the monsoon, the flora that grows greener by the day, the fauna that cannot contain itself and its effect on the human race. The divine mythologies of the rain and environment; and the new experience of the monsoon in urban centres with its often anti-thetical narrative of monsoon as a nuisance — the season connects us to the magic of the cosmos, and brings together everything — from a raindrop to the vast ocean in this mad unalloyed dance of joy.”