Fabric of a nation

Celebrating India's rich heritage of handcrafted textiles, Woodstock School recently hosted ten artisans from Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, who demonstrated traditional techniques of spinning, weaving, dyeing, hand-block printing and embroidery. Winterline Centre for the Arts and the Festivals Committee at Woodstock, partnered with Fabindia and Himalayan Weavers to present this exciting and educational exhibition. Master craftswomen and craftsmen like weaver, Mohammed Illyas from Rampur village near Dehradun, dyer and printer Mohammed Yasin Chippa Yasin Bai, from Jodhpur and Keasibai, Pavitri and Devlibai from Udaipur demonstrated their remarkable skills and creativity for staff, students, parents and visitors on August 16, 2011. Despite a heavy monsoon downpour that threatened to flood the Quad, Woodstock's extended community experienced, first-hand, the interwoven traditions that make India's unique fabrics famous worldwide.

Grade 6 attended the exhibition, read their responses