- A unique art form preserved by a handful of families in Ahmedabad, Mata ni Pachedi, a cloth dedicated to the Mother Goddess, got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
- Mata ni Pachedi, which translates as ‘behind the mother goddess’, is a traditional hand-painted or blockprinted hand-spun piece of cotton fabric.
- This rectangular cloth features the mother goddess at its centre and is filled with her stories and legends. Natural and mineral colours are used to dye and adorn the cloth, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Mata no Chandarvo’ if it’s square-shaped and used for a canopy.
- Due to its sacred nature, this textile art is also known as sacred cloth, temple cloth, temple hanging, shrine cloth, or ritual cloth of the mother goddess.
- The art form dates back 300-400 years. Some of its practitioners moved from Viramgam region of Ahmedabad district to Ahmedabad city approximately 200 years ago in search of a better livelihood due to frequent droughts in Viramgam.
- This art form also grabbed headlines in November last year when PM Narendra Modi presented Pachedi to UK PM Rishi Sunak. Bhanubhai Chitrara recently got Padma Shri for the same art.
Gujarat’s handicraft ‘Mata ni Pachedi’ gets GI tag
