MUSLIN, THE FAMOUS plain-weave cotton fabric of Bangladesh, will bask in the spotlight next month as the renowned Drik agency hosts a month-long national exhibition at the Nalini Kanta Bhattashali Gallery, Bangladesh National Museum.

Opening on February 5, the exhibition will feature muslin artefacts and also relate the story behind this famed fabric.

The opening will also feature a book launch that will inform the readers about the origins of muslin, its links with Bengal and Europe and cover the journey that Drik undertook to discover its roots.

The book, titled “Muslin – Our Story” features stunning imagery taken by world-class photographers as well as other rare historical images. A trailer of the documentary film “Legend of the Loom” will also be screened on opening day and promises some interesting spoilers.

Following its opening, the Festival will host a Muslin Night on February 6 at Ahsan Manzil. The event is designed to boost public awareness of muslin’s history and also to display the revival of muslin weaving.

Lubna Marium and her dance group, Shadhona are set to perform the Muslin story against a historical setting, while current jamdani styles will be displayed by Aarong and the future of muslin portrayed through dresses made by fashion designers from the UK, India and Bangladesh.

The Muslin Night will be followed by a day of seminars and workshops on February 7, providing a platform for national and international experts to discuss some of the issues including muslin’s future, its legacy in Bangladesh and to develop plans for marketing the product. This is an open event with seats reserved on a first-come-first-served basis.

A Muslin Tour of Panam Nagar, Sonargaon and adjoining jamdani villages is scheduled for February 6 and will include a look around the English factory buildings where muslin was collected, assessed and packed prior to shipment. Participants can also meet the weavers who are responsible for producing the wonderful jamdani designs on the loom.

“Muslin is a story that initially came to us when Stepney Trust in the UK wanted to do an exhibition,” says Drik chief executive Saiful Islam.

“When we started to enquire about the cloth, we found that there were more dimensions to the story then simply the fine fabric and its designs. Initially what seemed like simply a craft revealed multiple dimensions including political, cultural, colonial, and social ones. Finding those dimensions made us look deeper and wider. It enlarged the radius of our enquiry, made us search for the plant, the spinners and weavers, even the garments themselves, which were missing.

“On the one side, you see that it’s so rich and so loved by the world. Then, you look at the other side and you quickly discover Bangladesh has nothing, no records, no artefacts. We realised we needed to do justice, to uncover the full story behind muslin and fill in these large missing gaps. We started to get involved in the weaving and became involved in the actual art of muslin. We also started to wonder what had happened to the cotton plant. What started from a research viewpoint quickly moved into the practical area. We evolved into hands-on researchers,” he continues.

“All along our aim was to establish an authentic story of muslin with all its dimensions, to make an effort at inspiring other people to revive a lost art and to also bring respect and attention to the craftspeople behind this story. The real people are the weavers and the farmers. I think that these people need to be recognised and acknowledged as the heroes behind the woven air of muslin.”