Know Your City | Mata ni pachedi, Gujarat’s ‘mobile temples’ on textile, now on garba outfits

He says, “This tradition began around 200 to 300 years ago and was especially observed by the Devipujak community living in and around Ahmedabad. Since the people of the community were not allowed to enter temples, they expressed their devotion to the goddess by painting her images along with mythological stories on cloth. These sacred painted textiles came to be known as mata ni pachedi… I wanted to create this in fabric and so I approached Vadodara-based J D Institute of Fashion technology to create the male costumes…”

The word pachedi means a “backdrop”.

Patadeiya says, “Through this art, the Devipujak community depicted powerful forms of the goddess such as Durga, Kali, Hinglaj Mata, and others. On plain white cloth, figures were created using red, black, and sometimes yellow colors. All the dyes were natural — red from madder or henna, black from rusted iron soaked in water, and yellow from turmeric… Mata ni pachedi was not just a painting, it was regarded as a moving temple. Wherever the cloth was spread, worship could begin. For the poorer communities, this became the primary medium of devotion and divine experience.”

Chaitara, whose father Bhanubhai Chaitara became the first mata ni pachedi artist to be honoured with the Padma Shri award in 2023 for preserving the art form, says that natural dyes and techniques as well as the absence of screen printing make it an extremely exquisite painstaking art form. (Aditi Raja)

Over time, the art gained recognition across the world. “Even today, a few dedicated artists continue this tradition, creating new designs, stories, and even adapting it to modern styles. Mata ni pachedi remains a living symbol of Gujarat’s cultural heritage,” he says.

Patadeiya says that the projects allowed him to “explore fresh interpretations” of design and create meaningful awareness of India’s cultural heritage for a wider audience.

As he donned the two unique outfits for two nights of the Navaratri, Prajakta Bhogle, director of the fashion institution said, “This project was an exciting opportunity for our students to engage with living traditions and translate them into fashion narratives for today’s audience. It bridged education with real-world exposure, showcasing how design can be a powerful tool for storytelling and cultural preservation.”

Speaking about the art form, Mahesh Chaitara, an eighth-generation artist of the mata ni pachedi textile painting, says that while the kalamkari art from the southern states depicts stories of Krishna and the Ramayana, the Gujarat motifs revolve around the avatars of Goddess Durga.

Chaitara, whose father Bhanubhai Chaitara became the first mata ni pachedi artist to be honoured with the Padma Shri award in 2023 for preserving the art form, says that natural dyes and techniques as well as the absence of screen printing make it an extremely exquisite painstaking art form.

Chaitara says, “Through our creations, we depict the Durga avatars and the most popular ones are Mahakali, Ambe mata, Durga. We also have Bahuchara Mata, Visat Mata, Hinglaj, Meldi Mata, Vahanvati naav and Khodiyar mata with a crocodile…  But these are for paintings of the Pachedi, which originally means a cloth or a painting hung behind an idol or a religious altar… We have heard stories passed down through generations that it was when our community was barred from entering temples, they created the goddesses on a cloth. Another tale is also that when the Mughals reigned here, they also destroyed Hindu temples and the pachedis used to be like mobile temples… For garments, we stick to other motifs like women with pots, elephants and animals from the folk…”

‘A lesser-known cousin of Kalamkari’ 

Explaining the technique behind the art, Chaitara says that the art continues to be created using centuries old techniques of authentic materials, natural dyes and the artistic storytelling through the bold strokes of sharpened bamboo pens.

Chaitara says, “Cotton fabric is first destarched and treated with turmeric paste to prepare it for absorbing the color. The outline of the figures are drawn with a pencil first and then the colours are filled in. Traditionally, black and red were the colours for the art but in recent years, multi colours have also come about… While the black color is prepared from fermenting jaggery and iron for about a fortnight, the red colour is prepared by using alum and tamarind seeds powder with some food colour…”

He adds, “Tamarind seed is also used as a thickener and gum for binding the liquid colours. We wash the fabric in running water to remove excess colours and then they are boiled in alizarin solution and dhawdi flowers (fire flame) for fastening the colours… It takes days of patience and dedication to prepare a single piece of art. A 10×10 cloth can be made in around three days but depending on the intricacy of the work, a saree could take several months to complete.”

Chaitara adds that although the art form received geographical indication (GI) tag in 2023 and several efforts are being made to promote the art form, including handing garments made by the Chaitara family to delegates at the G20 summit, the art form remains a lesser-known cousin of the southern Kalamkari.