Shani Pillai and Joji Jacob share a passion for textiles and the associated crafts of weaving, dyeing, embroidery, bead work and needlepoint, and the Friends of Te Papa were privileged to be given an in-depth tour of an amazing, colourful collection, beautifully displayed in the Thistle Hall, Cuba Street.
The principal focus was traditional textile arts, but there was a marvellous balance of exposure to other arts and traditional crafts, music, design and architecture.
Yes – Joji and his AIT did an outstanding job of scheduling a wide range of interests and priorities, making sure that all arrangements were met – not once were we kept waiting, checking on progress and our well-being and when Cyclone Bulbul hit the Sundarbans making sure we were safe and had alternate accommodation and activities.
My camera and I are truly grateful to the company “All Things Intriguing” to Joji and Shani and their team in India for the trojan work they put into making this trip the full experience it was for me.
Overall, I thought the balance of textiles activities and other activities was excellent. When I received the itinerary that was the first thing I looked at, as needed to see more of India than just through the fabric.