This is the personal entrepreneurial venture of Kutu Mukharjee. I’m going to an exhibition and sale of Eastern Indian Kantha Stitch (hand embroidered) garments and Dokra (handmade metallic) wearable art pieces.
The main sitting room of the Mukharjee home has temporarily been converted into a gallery display area. On top of the upright piano is a collection of family photographs revealing a happy nuclear family. A superb burnt orange, heavily embroidered silk sari adorns a wall with a strikingly contrasted jade green and metal choker necklace. Kutu has had embroidered aprons and kitchen plastic bag storers made to her design. There is a highly embroidered and detailed silk wall hanging – Kutu shows me the raw silk background covered by matching small stitches. There are scarves which are so beautiful they would be ideal as wallhangings or displayed as bed throws. A “table cloth” black with gold embroidery wouldn’t look amiss as a shawl or a throw.
There’s also leatherware and the traditional “lost wax” metal jewellery – Dokra. “Dokra is nonferrous metal casting using the lost wax casting technique. This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used.” It’s all beautiful traditiional artisan workmanship.
I also meet photographer Ross Clayton photographing visitors and exhibits. I ask Kutu if she’ll be doing this again, yes, maybe. There is a website www.kutus.kiwi.nz and if you’d like more information you can email kutu.fabrics@gmail.com
Rosemary Balu
