Know thy neighbour

A rendezvous with an ancient civilisation in a museum normally involves moving past glass cases of preserved artefacts like kitchen utensils and agricultural implements. Moving towards the medieval era opens up more windows into the epoch with artworks, sculptures and even costumes. But documenting the times we live in comes with a range of possibilities, an example of which we came across recently when the museum authorities of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) shared details of their upcoming series of community-based exhibitions, Our Neighbourhood, on social media. The first chapter of the series is an exhibition on rida, the traditional costume of Bohri women, and the post invited community members to share scanned copies of old photographs to bolster its documentation process.

"Taking the thread of the rida, the idea is to weave the entire cultural history of the Bohri community in the context of Mumbai. With each chapter, we plan to explore the story of one community of the city," informs Vandana Prapanna, senior curator, CSMVS. Work for the first chapter began two months ago with a team from the museum visiting Bhendi Bazaar to understand the mercantile community in one of its key workplaces, along with meeting Bohri women and rida boutique owners.

"Though dress codes were prevalent in the community, it was only in 1979 that the rida was formalised. It was evident in our conversations with the women that they don't wear it out of compulsion, but as a symbol of their community," says Prapanna.

About the thought behind the exhibition which will open next month, she shares, "Museums are seen as repositories of old objects. With this initiative, we want to encourage the residents of Mumbai to come and work with the museum. In this exhibition, which is a representation of a community, the curation has to be by the community, too. We can't be the only curators."

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