Mijwan, a hamlet in eastern Uttar Pradesh, is constantly demolishing old mindsets and reinventing itself with fashion, both as a source of income and as a course for the future. The intricate Chikankaari work is the epicenter of this change. Designing for names like Manish Malhotra and Anita Dongre, the women of Mijwan make their debut in the world of art by working on their very first installation that will be exhibited at the T2 international terminal of the Mumbai airport –NDTV (Click to watch the Video here)
Between Delhi and Mijwan, a small UP village of Azamgarh, the legacy and a poem of a celebrated poet, over 40 women embroiderers, one visual artist and many conversations of the artist with the Mijwan embroiderers – all this constitutes the installation titled Silent Minarets Whispering Winds at the T2 terminal of Mumbai International Airport which is a tribute to the revolutionary poet Kaifi Azmi by Rajeev Sethi.
Visual artist Baaraan Ijlal with Mijwan Welfare Society creates a visual narrative in the tradition of chikankaari embroidery as the artist culls verses of Mijwan’s celebrated poet, son and a towering figure in Urdu literature, poet Kaifi Azmi‘s poem ‘ Aurat‘ ‘Woman‘ and juxtaposes the strong verses with her conversations with the embroiderers. With Kaifi Sahabs words weaving a thousand pictures, and with these words as the strong base conversations between the artist and embroiderers flow. The conversations range from women making enquiries into tradition, their place in the village, home and migration. A relationship that develops over a year and a half, the artist puts together a unique memoir that is at once, autobiographical and a collective. Silent Minarets Whispering Winds is a silent revolution being worked by the women embroiderers of Mijwan Welfare Society as they stitch along a secure future for themselves. Much like the embroiderers, the artists seeks a community between the city and the village.
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Silent Minarets Whispering Winds at the T2 terminal of Mumbai International Airport
