‘Naibedya’ underway at Bengal Shilpalay

An exhibition titled ‘Naibedya’ is currently underway at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhaka. The exhibition is a tribute to natural dyes expert Ruby Ghuznavi.

Organized by the Bengal Foundation, the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh, and Aranya Crafts, the exhibition, started on March 2.

Prof Perween Hasan the Vice-Chancellor of Central Women’s University, inaugurated the exhibition on Thursday evening. President of the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh Chandra Shekhar Shaha, Managing Director of Aranya Crafts Nawshin Khair, and craftspeople who have worked closely with Ruby Ghuznavi were present at the event.

The event started with a musical performance by Laisa Ahmad Lisa and Niloy Haldar.

The exhibition will be open to all every day from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. until March 11.

Ruby Ghuznavi passed away on January 14 at the age of 87. She pioneered the revival of natural dyes in Bangladesh, starting from scratch and eventually setting up Aranya Crafts in Dhaka to test the market for naturally dyed cloth. In time, throughtrial and error, some 30 basic colourfast dyes were introduced by Aranya, which could, of course, be combined into a large range of colours.

Block printing and other craft techniques were worked into her beautiful fabrics and garments. Ghuznavi worked to raise the profile of Bangladeshi crafts in a global context. Determined to restore jamdani fabric to its former status as a fine luxury fabric, she was one of the key organisers of the 2019 Jamdani Festival in Dhaka which convinced both weavers and the public that high-quality jamdani could still be produced.