A new documentary shines a light on the Kutch weavers of Bhujodi and their exquisite craft

Filmmaker Gourab Ganguli reveals what it took to bring the story of this weaving community from Kutch to celluloid.
A new documentary shines a light on the Kutch weavers of Bhujodi and their exquisite craft

The Turban Weavers Of Bhujodi starts with Shyamji Bhai, from the weaving community of Kutch, arranging pieces of muslin and jamdani over his ivory yard in Gujarat. Hints of crimson, amber, charcoal and blonde intermingle ‘seam-fully’ as he lays the cloths down one by one. The lively folk melody from the heartland of Bhujodi is honey to the ears, and by the time he stands amidst his creations, the frame is humble yet proud. An honest smile spreads across Shyamji Bhai Vankar’s face. The scene fades away to reveal the title.

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

A few minutes in, every shot is as designful as the last, yet just as spontaneous. For a movie produced in collaboration with a fashion label (Injiri by Chinar Farooqui), it is far from an advertorial, showcasing the hardworking hands that weave exquisite pieces and tell extraordinary stories. I forget I am watching this from my Mumbai apartment, about a thousand kilometres away from Bhuj. I wonder what it must have taken to make a documentary so real, and how it all came together.

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

“A constant dedication to a strong culture of craft documentation, to begin with…”, says director and photographer Gourab Ganguli, in a chat about the making of the film. “I was new in Bombay and I was invited to photograph an event, which Injiri was a part of, by Lakmé Fashion Week’s Gautam Vazirani”, he says, “that is where I discovered Chinar’s work and fell for it! I walked up to her, quite shamelessly, and asked if we could collaborate and build a visual language for her brand.” Chinar said she wanted to make a film, not an advertorial, that Gourab was to direct. A long-standing symbiotic relationship that Injiri had with Kutch and their fabric left no doubts about why this weaving community from Gujarat was the hero of this film. “The possibility of something like this was so exciting! It was like a college assignment done better, which the world at large would get to see. It was a great mix of things for me, it was more than a win-win situation!”

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

The film was made on a budget, dirt roads and home-cooked meals brought Gourab closer to the people and the place. “The first time I went to Kutch it was peak winter and it was really cold!” It must have been hard, but Gourab says it was a much-needed getaway. Filmed in the winter months, over more than five trips, Gourab always saw this project as a welcome challenge. “Freezing under four layers of winterwear, with just a camera and a soundperson, is an experience of a lifetime”, he tells me. I am not surprised when I get to know that the crew was mostly just him. 

Gourab adds, "It was just a celebration of turban weaving and the craft of Kutch.” The movie focuses on the exquisite world inside Bhujodi, a small town located 8 kilometres southeast of Bhuj, and how Shamji Bhai Vankar and his family have preserved the tradition of Bhujodi weaving in its most unadulterated form. With contributions from well-known industry experts, the movie also serves as a portrayal of the iconic weave craft.  

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

“I was shivering the whole time, but the food was delicious. I could taste every ingredient. From chaas to chai, tomato curries to lentils, I would look forward to my lunches more than anything.” Many visits and prolonged interactions helped Gourab become a part of the neighbourhood. “Suddenly you realise people are talking to you in Kutchi and making lighthearted jokes, and you can understand them without someone to translate! But I was never at home, which reminded me to soak up every bit of the journey. It was like when I had first moved to Bombay” he says, “You would know! Don’t you get excited every time you cross the sea?” Indeed I do.

Through it all, Gourab developed a sweet relationship with Shyamji Bhai - the narrator and weaver who has been upholding his community and their craft for decades. Shyamji Bhai talks of how his practice was passed down to him by his forefathers, and how, even after years of weaving, he goes back to his buzurgs (elders) to get some feedback on his skill set. Invited to travel across continents, from Greece to London, Shyamji Bhai is telling the story of turban weaving and Bhuj to introduce his work to a new generation. Gourab and Shyamji Bhai connected deeply on being creators in their respective fields. “It was like I went to college with him, we would go out for ice cream, hang out from time to time. There was no plan, no script, it all just happened very organically. I take portraits, and I tried to take a portrait of him and his craft!”

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

An ardent lover of Indian textiles and handloom, Gourab is undoubtedly aware of the backseat that handmade fabric and age-old weaving practices have taken. “Whatever is around, you gravitate towards exactly that. Indian textiles are a huge part of the discourse on sustainability that has come up over the last decade. In India, right after agriculture, are handicrafts. This was a topic of conversation in Spain too!” The film, The Turban Weavers of Bhujodi, made it to the shores of Mallorca at the XTANT Trama 2022, a multi-faceted event focusing on handicrafts from around the world. “We live in globalised cities where we are so disconnected from everything, right from the food we eat to the clothes we wear. We are detached from the farmer, the land and the handmade. We have enclosed ourselves within convenient bubbles of comfort, and it’s high time we get out and ground ourselves in our context.”

The film’s sound is rooted in the context that Gourab talks about. The environmental soundscape takes over and transports me. The rustling of the yarn, nonchalant whispers and the carefree breeze takes centre stage many a time. I ask him if that was always the plan and the answer is simple. “There are some things that design schools teach you, I think this is one of them”, he laughs, “you always introduce the sound before the visual, it helps you mediate on it better. When we are somewhere, we are constantly listening, whether we acknowledge it or not. I see filmmaking as adding visuals to a soundscape, and I was very particular about using the sound and songs of the place and its people for this film too.”

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

The songs tell as much as the images and videos do, juxtaposing various narratives against each other. Away from micro-trends and fast fashion, this film triggers a conversation that is rapidly vanishing. A conversation about what love for all things Indian really looks like. Gourab retorts:

An age-old love for what grows in our soil transpires quite well on screen, especially since Chinar and Gourab are both NID alumni, a design institute that is known for its craft documentation since its inception. “Us being brown Indian people, we recognise something French or Italian more easily than something Gujarati or Bengali. That, to me is a problem to be worked on.” A classical dancer as a child, Gourab has always known the importance of cultural representation. “I want to create secular love for the land that I come from, it’s as simple as that. Fashion is just the shutrodhor.” A Bengali word, shutrodhor roughly translates to ‘facilitator’.

Photo - Gourab Ganguli

The Turban Weavers Of Bhujodi will be screened at an event in India later this year. When I inquire what’s next for him, Gourab reveals he is sitting in Jaipur right now, working on another film on the handloom of the region. On his mission to bring textile stories from the country to the world, Gourab can't wait to dabble in music videos, mixing fiction and documentary, and work extensively on one of his greatest inspirations: Tagore. “This film that I am making has consumed me at the moment. It is a little bit of a responsibility to have these conversations authentically, but you can never have a plan. I try to look at the brighter side of things, but the past few years has made me realise how frivolous plans can be. I just try to do what I like, and be excited about every single minute of it!”

The film is yet to have a public release. Follow @injiri and @gourabganguli for further updates.