How Mandu’s vivid architecture appeared on shawls and sarees of this label

Mandu’s architecture dates back to before the 10th century, and was built by empires ranging from the Afghans to Marathas to Mughals; (right) Textile practitioner Hema Shroff Patel (left) and graphic designer and artist Rachana Devidayal have collaborated to capture the scenic heritage architecture in Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Pics/Ashish Raje

When graphic designer and artist Rachana Devidayal visited self-taught textile practitioner Hema Shroff Patel at her weaver's atelier in Maheshwar last summer, she had some time to kill, which led her to explore the ancient fort city of Mandu an hour's drive away. Surrounded by its heritage architecture on a particularly sunny day, Devidayal was taken in by the light and shadow play between the structures, and their jaalis, jharokhas and archways. "The architecture," she recalls, "is steeped in history, dating back to before the 10th century, built by empires ranging from the Afghans to Marathas to Mughals. There are arches going into arches, which gives such a dramatic effect to the sharp shadows that fall under the sweltering sun.

This led to an idea to collaborate on a show - Devidayal's first as an artist - unveiling Mandu's vivid architectural glory on canvas and textiles, and visiting the site together a few more times to experience it in different seasons. While spring blanketed the streets with a carpet of vibrant pink and orange palash flowers, the monsoon, in contrast, created a more broody romantic setting around the monuments, where the bright green moss clung to and patinated everything from the surface of the Dilli Darwaza and to the floor of Hindola Mahal.

"The light had softened and all the lakes at Jahaz Mahal were full," says Shroff Patel. "I was blown away by the simplicity and peace of this ancient civilization. The structures are built with unique natural materials, which take on the colours of the magnificent sky in the backdrop…whether the grey of the monsoon, the blinding sun of the summer heat, or when palash dots the earth, each season brings a subtle change in the colours of Mandu's landscape."

She adds, "Rachana and I worked together on my book, Amba Twenty One Threads in 2021, tracking our journey in textiles over 21 years. We worked really well together, and she cajoled my team and me to work on a textile collection with her. What we didn't know is that this would morph into paintings and that our textiles would complement her work."

The weavers at Amba, Shroff Patel's clothing label, travelled with the duo across the 72-kilometre circumference of Mandu to absorb details which could be translated onto the looms

The duo have paired their works together, with Devidayal - who has worked in publishing throughout her career - solely working with paper. "Whether it is painted, torn, glued, distressed or even pierced… the medium is like a second skin to me. For this series, I've tried to translate on paper the motifs and colours; how light passes through the windows of Hoshang Shah's tomb or water flows from the ground upwards to the sky at Jahaz Mahal," she narrates. While aluminium foil placed behind intricately cut out archways catches light in a curious way, openings within carved doorways of monuments hauntingly illuminate the insides of mausoleums in a series of 26 works.

Juxtaposed alongside, micro-batch clothing label Amba, founded by Shroff Patel, focuses on few special monuments rendered through border details and woven structures. "The distance between Mandu's 12 city gates or darwazas has been re-imagined as a sari border pattern; and the fan-shaped roof of Darya Khan's tomb is a motif that is woven into a sari design," she explains. "Jahaz Mahal's main dome is adorned with a wave-shaped motif in cerulean blue which runs through the borders of our shawls. Each piece reflects a deep understanding of Indian textiles, and how to push traditional processes into
contemporary spaces."

The weavers at Amba travelled with Devidayal and Shroff Patel to absorb details which could be translated onto the looms, driving across the 72-kilometre circumference of Mandu - from the first gate, mapping the distance between each gate from there on till they were back at square one. "We created a new term - loom architecture - where they created a three-dimensional series of corridors to study how back-to-back layers of fine fabric would look when replicating the illusion of the light at the end of the tunnel," recalls Shroff Patel.

WHAT: Palash & Baadal
WHERE: Kathiwada City House, 69, Sir Pochkhanwala Road, Worli
WHEN: October 5 to 19; Monday to Saturday, 11 AM to 7 PM
CONTACT: rachanadevidayal @gmail.com