An exhibition provides first-ever peek into city's mill-era glory.
There’s a good reason why every Amdavadi should venture into the eastern part of the city and visit Rajnagar Mills compound in Idgah this weekend. It is one of the several mills that shut shop at least 20 years ago but, for this week, the mill compound is infused with a new perspective created by a variety of art installations put up by 13 artists.
These art installations comprising textile ensembles, ceramics, and photography will give you the experience of time-travel to an era when Ahmedabad was the Manchester of the East and the average textile mill-worker led a coveted life; when the Mahajans created and equitably distributed wealth; and when trust, faith and harmony in the community were the core societal values.
The art installations are interspersed with huge rusted machines and corroded equipment, to bring alive the times when workers were spinning cotton and weaving happiness for their future.
The exhibitors have also infused sound effects into some installations to give a feel of what the room sounded like when scores of workers once worked here together. The effect is further enhanced as even the smell of oil mixed with rust on the spinning looms, still lingers in the air.
Allow your imagination to soar, soak in the multiple senses and the result will be better than an expensive multi-dimensional period film.
A visit to an abandoned textile mill compound in the Asarva area about 20 km from the urban bustle of the city usually doesn’t figure on the top of an Amdavadi’s list of things to do. But that perhaps should precisely be the reason why one must go to experience this part of our heritage, a very important chapter of our modern history about which a whole generation has absolutely no understanding.
As a tourist in western countries, one often visits small museums to learn about a new culture. This exhibit called ‘Ahmedabad-Manchester Cotton Exchange - A Material Response Exhibition’, does as much for the city’s bygone era of textile industry-led prosperity. Aren’t these enough reasons to visit Rajnagar Mills this weekend?
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