A fine yarn

In her book Textiles and Dress of Gujarat, Eiluned Edwards quotes Nehru&rsquos remark that &lsquothe history of India may well be written with textiles as its leading motif.&rsquo Edwards does precisely that in her document of the story of Gujarati dress and textiles, in its socio-cultural context, as she goes back and forth through India&rsquos history.

She devotes the first part of the book to dress. On surveying a local bazaar, she writes that in the context of the Hindu concept of darshan, &ldquolittle about dress is random textiles and clothing are a powerful form of non-verbal communication that has been harnessed into a complex symbolic language&rdquo. She gives us an account from Ain-i-Akbari&nbspon Akbar&rsquos innovations in clothing design, which have been interpreted by the art historian B.N. Goswamy as a device to provide visual distinction between the Hindu and Muslim communities. She also narrates the story of the &ldquosuits and boots&rdquo wedding of Prabhat, an educated member of the Vagadia Rabari community where the groom makes a statement about his educated status. Edwards writes, &ldquoAs Gujarat urbanises, attitudes are diversifying.&rdquo This transformation of fabric to caste dress contemporary production and craft practices as well as popular dress &mdash Edwards covers the gamut of what the title of the book promises, concluding with a review of current developments in this sector.

Given the visual and tactile nature of her subject, one would have hoped for a better designed book which employed paper, type and grids more effectively. Though the photographs are illustrative, the portraits are obviously not the work of a professional photographer. This otherwise remarkable book deserved a nicer dress.