The much-awaited annual exhibit is back. With textiles, fabrics, art and artefacts — handcrafted and culled from across the country — CIMA Art In Life is on from 11am to 8pm every day till September 30 at CIMA (Sunny Towers, 43 Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue). Go grab the goodies!

Usually when you go into a gallery, it is ‘do not touch’. In this show, we want people to touch. Our products this time have much more variety, simply because a lot of the stuff has been commissioned. This year we have got a larger line of bags, but everything related to textile. There are iPad covers made of cloth. That is the emphasis of the show — everything done by hand. This time we went to Murshidabad, Dinajpur... Rajasthan from where we got a lovely bench, boxes.… For me, it’s illuminating. What you learn from a piece of cloth is spellbinding. The motifs tell you the story of where it came from, the people who brought it here, how it was accommodated and absorbed and made into our own.

— Pratiti Basu Sarkar, chief administrator, CIMA

We have tried to go deeper with our collection, to get to the right people, to find out authentic artefacts.... At the same time, a lot of products that are affordable. This time we emphasised on the Chettinad district of Tamil Nadu. We went right into the weavers’ homes and picked up the saris. We are also showcasing a lot of things that have a contemporary use. A master weaver gives a contemporary expression. That’s something we as an arts centre would like to promote. We are working with a little village near Santiniketan, where one of our artists has started a workshop with the village folk. They are doing a whole genre of scarves.... We also like to look at kitsch in a contemporary way. So, we’ve got a lot of folk artists to do contemporary things.

—       Rakhi Sarkar, director, CIMA

“Contemporary yet heritage art pieces, curated by CIMA Gallery’s fine eye, is what makes this exhibition special. It’s soul food for the designer in me,” said Kiran Uttam Ghosh, a CIMA Art In Life regular, looking super stylish in a white shirt with dhoti pants. Her shopping list was long — a kantha stole, a khadi sari, wooden bangles, multilayered chains, dress material... and more.

Aparna Sen loved the masks on display. “I have a collection of masks at home. In fact, we have far too many and I don’t know where to put them! The ones here are stunning, I will surely buy one,” she said.

Saris and stoles to bags and jewellery, Helen LaFave was spoilt for choice. “I like the fabrics and Indian women look so beautiful in saris. Perhaps I shall try one someday!” laughed the US consul-general, browsing through the pretty silks. Her shopping bag also had a handwoven silk scarf and a teapot with an elephant motif.

A first-timer at CIMA Art In Life, Gargi Roy Chowdhury felt like a “kid in a candy store!” “I go weak at the knees when I see such lovely saris around me. I have never been to CIMA Art In Life before and I realise I could’ve added so much more to my collection. I am going to make up for it!” said the Ramdhanu actress, admiring a turquoise sari and then trying on a sling bag with mirror work.

Off to Italy the very next day, gift-shopping was high on Lovey’s agenda. She picked a gorgeous gold-and-magenta Benarasi stole for a “young girl” and a black bag with embroidery and mirror work for “an elderly woman”. “The stole looks ethnic and should be a good gift from India. And this bag is so cute, one can use it as an evening bag with any dress,” said the Kookie Jar lady.

Cesare Bieller is a big fan of the cloth-bound diaries at CIMA. “I have a collection!” said the consul-general of Italy. He also browsed for shirt fabric, kurtas and bags. “It is wonderful! I have decided that I will buy all my Christmas gifts from here.”

“I look forward to Art In Life every year because I know there will always be something new and exciting. And the one thing I love is that everything here is handcrafted. Iti (Pratiti) and Rakhidi pick the best and it’s really hard to resist most things,” said Eina Ahluwalia. The jewellery designer’s shopping bag had a decorative brass lock, a south cotton sari, a draped kurta and dress material.

A regular at Art In Life, Sunita Kumar zeroed in on a fuchsia pink chiffon Benarasi woven sari. It would be a first in that colour in her wardrobe. “If I get to keep it that is! I am toying whether to pick it up for my daughter or granddaughter or for myself,” she smiled. She also liked a yellow woven chiffon and a white-and-blue scarf.

“I am a regular at CIMA Art In Life. Last year I had picked up a lot of home decor products, including a beautiful doorknob,” said Mahua Chatterjee, draping a red-and-black stole with gold motifs in front of the mirror. “I love this stole. It’s so pretty. I can team it with a black salwar kameez. The saris are beautiful, chosen with so much care and love,” added actor Saswata’s wife.

Guess what Priti Patel told her husband when he dropped her off at CIMA? “Give me your credit card!” laughed the Manipuri dancer, who loved the saris. “This black-and-red sari is perfect for winter. Stunning!”

Stephane Amalir, director of Alliance Française du Bengale, dropped by with wife Laura and daughters Alice and Melissa. He checked out T-shirts for his 11-year-old son Arthur. “When he is in France, this will remind him of the writers!” said Amalir, for whom Art In Life is “fantastic India”.

“Very nice things,” said Minu Budhia, after scanning Art In Life for scarves, palazzos, bags and stoles. A pair of white and black palazzos was one of her picks. “I like the print and it is cotton, so it’s comfortable.”

Dolly roy didn’t budge from the Chettinad sari section! “I have picked up a dozen Chettinad saris and I will pick some more. I buy my saris only from CIMA. The collection is amazing,” said India’s first woman tea taster.

A bunch of stoles caught Rita Bhimani’s eye. “I love this mul stole, it’s so fine... and I can wear this with many things,” said Rita. Made by a tribal group from Bengal, the stoles are a part of an art initiative by CIMA.

Rita’s other pick was a white-and-gold Kerala cotton sari.

“I want to change my bedside table now!” was seven-year-old Alice’s (right) request to mom Laura after she spotted the elephant-shaped stools in wood (topmost picture). Sister Melissa, 9, loved the colourful fabrics.

Laura loved this embroidered silk dupatta. “I would wear this with a simple black dress.” She found a dokra merry-go-round (below) from Odisha “absolutely charming and whimsical”. “I see this in our house in France in a prominent position to remind us of Bengal,” she said.

Pictures: Pabitra Das and Rashbehari Das