Calico Textile Museum
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Tags : Museum
Time Required : 2-3 hours
Timings : 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Closed on Wednesdays and Public Holidays
Entry Fee : None
Calico Textile Museum, Ahmedabad Overview
Calico Textile Museum, on the Retreat on Airport Road in Ahmedabad, is the city's oldest textile museum, established in 1949. It was started by the industrialists Gautam Sarabhai and his sister Gita Sarabhai, and was opened by India's former Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The museum has been preserving various weaving material, an array of designer and colourful fabric from different parts of the country. Although initiated at the Calico House, the Calico Textile Museum was further moved into a part of the Sarabhai House called "The Retreat" in 1983.
The museum is currently managed and maintained by the Sarabhai Foundation; an NGO organised by the Sarabhai family. Besides textiles, the museum also showcases South Indian bronze art, temple hangings, furniture, miniature artworks and Jain artefacts. The Calico Textile Museum also has gallery sections and a library as well.
Read More on Calico Textile Museum
History of the Calico Textile Museum
The placement of this typical Haveli-styled museum in the city of Ahmedabad was quite significant as the city was one of the top trading textile industries of the country at the time. Today, the museum houses varieties of ancient and contemporary patterns and designs of both industrial and handicraft fabrics spanning between the 15th and the 19th centuries.
A Walk Inside the Calico Textile Museum
The Calico Textile Museum is not just a reserve for fabric history, but also intricate artworks such as Pichwai which are elaborate Hindu paintings or weaving on cloth. The Kacchi or Kutch embroidery, which is a piece of exquisite craftsmanship from the Kutch district in Gujarat and Patan Patolas which are the incredible Gujarati double ikat-woven silk sarees and other fabric are also found here.
The museum is home to significant textiles from all over the country such as shawls from Kashmir, a small collection from Shah Jahan's wardrobe, South Indian signature fabrics such as temple designer sarees and materials, Punjabi folk art and global needlework on cloth. The museum also has manuscripts from ancient India and palm leaf mandala art.
How to Reach Calico Textile Museum
The Ahmedabad Railway Station is just about 5 to 6.5 km from the museum which would approximately be a 12 to 20-minute drive and a half-hour bus ride. Long drive options to the museum can be availed from starting points such as Vadodara, Godhra, Surendranagar, Anand and Mehsana.
Tips
- Entry is restricted after 11:00 AM
- Entry is provided on the first-come-first-serve basis to the first 15 to 30 visitors.
- Groups of 15 will have to contact the museum authorities to book their visit slots.
- Ticket bookings are open between 10:30 AM to 1:45 PM and 2:45 PM to 6:45 PM.
