I became really inspired by an article I had read about the muslin fabric and I think my journey started from there. I started to research this garment and also another very rich product of Bengal which is the indigo dye, and the thing is I realized the digger you deep, the more dirt comes out and that’s exactly what was happening when I was researching these topics. I was becoming more and more aware about the looting of Bengal’s Lost Heritage by its colonizers and the deliberate omission of history. And most of the time, the popular history that is presented is of a famous takeover carried out by the West. So it really is an attempt to reverse or counter the narrative of the glorious conquests of the British Empire and bring out the story of the colonized whose blood, sweat and tears helped to enrich the Empire that pillaged their homeland and exploited their resources, craftsmanship and lives.

The recorded history of these two very rich products, muslin and indigo conforms to the convenient narrative of British imperialism - that is of pride, conquest, and glory of the west. It completely omits the dark history of oppression and exploitation of the colonized native population. Nobody talks about who were the weavers who wove this incredibly refined fabric or cultivated and processed this unique blue dye. Nobody talks about how this whole process of exploitation led to the impoverishment of a once rich region of the world. The continuous pillaging of the colonizers of the natural resources, crafts through tyranny led to extreme deprivation and impoverishment of people as these regions were not always poor.

I feel it is so important to highlight these facts of history that have completely been overlooked. It is part of our historical prestige and symbol of our cultural pride. My job as an artist is to tell the stories of underrepresented communities to make sure their contributions and their history doesn’t get erased. To educate my own people as well as others why it is important to get recognized for who we are. Not what the media or certain groups of people portrays us to be.

The thing is that these things have not stopped, exploitation is just in different forms. It is important to tale back this lost prestige by acknowledging and showcasing the true history behind the known or popular history that is usually presented to the world.