The book The Living Heritage of Hazara: An Ode to the Makers and Memory Keepers by Amina Ali is a vibrant celebration of the culture, cuisine, and musical traditions of the Hazara community. The Hazara are an ethnic group native…
The cultural and economic value of textile craft micro-enterprises is often visible in present-day urban centres, projects led by non-profits, and consumerist practices in Pakistan. Reading through definitions of textile craft1, one comes across descriptions referring to activities engaged with…
Last year, I visited ‘The Haveli Museum’ in Karachi, where the exhibition The Coat of Many Colours displayed textile-based crafts from Sindh. These objects included bujhki13, coverlets, and posh14, among several others. Observing these items stirred a quiet nostalgia for…
Textiles are one of humanity’s oldest inventions, yet they renew endlessly. From the earliest woven fragments of the Indus Valley to the intricate embroideries of modern-day Pakistan, dyed, embroidered, and stitched cloth has carried memory, identity, and the accumulated knowledge…
Fabric Blossoms in the Sand Book Review of ‘Flowering Desert: Textiles from Sindh’ “When I asked a Meghwar woman what inspired her to choose colours, she gave me a reply that stayed with me ever since. “Indlath”—colours of the rainbow—she…