For decades, the gamchha has been a ubiquitous presence on Indian streets.

The traditional scarf, made out of a red-and-white chequered piece of fabric, is used as a towel, pillow, turban, eye mask and even a shoulder drape, mostly by the working classes in West Bengal state and other regions of the country.

But an exhibition in India’s capital Delhi, that concluded two weeks ago, has highlighted the history of the ordinary fabric in a unique way.

Titled Gamchha: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary, it displayed more than 250 pieces of the short drape from 14 Indian states to show the variations of the scarf-towel across regions.

From white gamchhas from Kerala with pencil-thin coloured borders, Ikat-woven ones from Odisha to Assam’s cotton “gamusa” with red swans and large floral patterns, the interpretations varied from mill-made to hand-woven.

“The show is about speaking up for a social equality symbol that the garment can evoke, even after decades of being left out from the discourse,” said textiles expert Jaya Jaitly, the founder of the Dastkari Haat Samiti, a crafts organisation which presented this show.

The exhibition is part of a series of shows and endeavours, held in the past few months, that seek to redefine our understanding of Indian textiles by taking it in new directions.

From rich woven silks, patterned brocades and intricate chintz to a range of less talked-about textiles, India’s contribution to the global textile industry is unique.

But despite the recognition, including at some of the world’s largest museums, its documentation has been exclusionary and has not kept up with the contemporary practices within the industry.

Until now.

Held by art and craft foundations and curated by researchers in collaboration with private collectors and museums, a number of new exhibitions are sparking something of a renaissance within the industry.

For decades, the gamchha has been a ubiquitous presence on Indian streets.

The traditional scarf, made out of a red-and-white chequered piece of fabric, is used as a towel, pillow, turban, eye mask and even a shoulder drape, mostly by the working classes in West Bengal state and other regions of the country.

But an exhibition in India’s capital Delhi, that concluded two weeks ago, has highlighted the history of the ordinary fabric in a unique way.

Titled Gamchha: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary, it displayed more than 250 pieces of the short drape from 14 Indian states to show the variations of the scarf-towel across regions.

From white gamchhas from Kerala with pencil-thin coloured borders, Ikat-woven ones from Odisha to Assam’s cotton “gamusa” with red swans and large floral patterns, the interpretations varied from mill-made to hand-woven.

“The show is about speaking up for a social equality symbol that the garment can evoke, even after decades of being left out from the discourse,” said textiles expert Jaya Jaitly, the founder of the Dastkari Haat Samiti, a crafts organisation which presented this show.

The exhibition is part of a series of shows and endeavours, held in the past few months, that seek to redefine our understanding of Indian textiles by taking it in new directions.

From rich woven silks, patterned brochades and intricate chintz to a range of less talked-about textiles, India’s contribution to the global textile industry is unique.

But despite the recognition, including at some of the world’s largest museums, its documentation has been exclusionary and has not kept up with the contemporary practices within the industry.

Until now.

Held by art and craft foundations and curated by researchers in collaboration with private collectors and museums, a number of new exhibitions are sparking something of a renaissance within the industry.