Celebration of Innocence

There are no mistletoes or Santa caps,no strings of holly or reindeer with glowing noses,and no snowmen or decked-up pine trees. “An Early Christmas” at the Either Or store in Sohrab Hall is not the usual Christmas-themed exhibitions. Instead,there is a rather modest range of baby quilts,cozies,pencil bags,books covers and wall hanging decorations among other items,which are hand-crafted by members of the Purkal Stree Shakti,a self-help group from the foothills of the Himalayas. While one might be disappointed at the lack of red and green,one needs to take a moment out and seek the true spirit of Christmas in a message hidden in the craftsmanship.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ,the exhibition displays a range of baby quilts in a variety of designs which ranges from the alphabets to numbers,an underwater scene,a field of sunflowers and more. Probe the staff on how the quilts adhere to the Christmas theme,and they give us an interesting insight. Stitching a quilt was a popular community activity back in the days when people had more time on their hands. The quilt,they tell us,is a way of reminding ourselves of the birth of Christ and the old ways of the community.

The exhibition also features a range of pencil pouches with patchwork. The motifs on these include ice cream cups with cherries on the top,cupcakes,elephants and frogs,among other designs. The sight of the cushion covers is enough to tempt one into a child-like slumber and there is no way they would dream of anything other than colourful teddy bears sliding down a rainbow or something equally innocent. The patchwork on the covers include a smiling turtle taking a stroll on the meadows,a happy frog perched on a lotus leaf in a pond and a polka-dotted baby elephant reaching out to snap a twig from a tree among others. In the midst of all the softness in the form of the quilts,cushion covers and the likes,we spot,what looks like an akashkandil (lantern). With plastic beaded flowers and tiny led lights stuck on the bare wire which forms a ball,brings a picture of the humbleness of the stable in which a crib of hay was laid out for baby Jesus.

The exhibition is on till December 15 at Either Or,Sohrab Hall