How the gamchha is a marker of identity and resilience in India

Dastkari Haat Samiti’s exhibition spotlights the modest gamchha, a fabric closely tied to the social and cultural identity of India’s working class

The gamchha can be a handkerchief, scarf, towel, sheet, garment, and even a blanket. The multipurpose chequered fabric synonymous with India’s working class is particularly noticeable in the warm and humid regions of East and Southeast Bangladesh, Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala where it is used to wipe sweat or worn on the head to reduce the effect of heat.  

The utilitarian nature of the textile has been documented through the multimedia exhibition Gamchha: The Extraordinary in the Ordinary by Dastkari Haat Samiti (DHS). The checkered cotton fabric – an omnipresent symbol for the poorest in society —is also a marker of identity and resilience.  

This is not the first time DHS has engaged with the cloth. In 2015, the organisation had commissioned women weavers in Phulia, West Bengal, to create 100 gamchha saris. “This cloth is tied to an auto or cycle rickshaw, or labourers wrap it around their heads. It can be also used as a baby hammock,” says Jaya Jaitly, president, Dastkari Haat Samiti. “I like to refer to the gamchha as the ‘Swiss Army knife of the fabric kingdom’ because of its many uses.” 

“During COVID-19, when migrant labourers were going back to their villages, everyone noticed them wearing the gamchha. Otherwise it has been a neglected fabric,” she says. “It’s time for the gamchha to step into the spotlight.” 

This prompted the DHS team to kickstart the project, and they went around the country looking for various gamchhas for this exhibition. While they found 400 variants, the exhibition has 230 pieces mounted on cane and bamboo structures crafted by National awardee and master craftsman, Vivekanand Bagchi.  

While most gamchhas have checks, others are striped or in a single colour with a simple border and can be used either for daily purposes or ceremonial use. In Tamil Nadu, the fabric goes by the name thundu and is available in shades of red, orange, grey and mustard, with smaller checks. On the other hand, the gamocha from Odisha has glimpses of ikkat.  

In Karnataka, if someone other than a labourer wears the gamchha, locally known as haigal meli, they are teased. “They are asked not to pretend to be hard workers. It is a question of class difference,” highlights Jaitly.  Kerala’s white thorthu towel assumes the role of the gamchha. It has the chutty (little motif) that shows the end of one thorthu and the beginning of another, she points out.