MUMBAI.- Woven Wonders of Varanasi curated by Mrs. Shaina NC, BJP MP, is an exhibition on the revival of Indian Textiles, which is on display from the 22nd of August, 2015, at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The exhibition has been organised in association with the Ministry of Textiles and is supported by Lakmé Fashion and was inaugurated by Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in the presence of Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Honorable Minister of State, (Independent charge), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Shri Chandrakant Dada Patil, Honorable Minister of Textiles, Government of Maharashtra.

The Museum has a large collection of textiles and clay models that showcase the sartorial diversity and culture of India. 'Woven Wonders of Varanasi' marks the launch of an initiative where eminent designers pay homage to the artisans and their craft. The exhibition brings together India’s talented weavers and fashion designers like Ritu Kumar, Anita Dongre, Ritu Beri, Gaurav Gupta, Varun Bahl, Rina Dhaka, Krishna Mehta among others, together on one platform to pay tribute to the Banarasi textile industry.

Bridging contemporary design and traditional craft, the exhibition aims to display the country’s textile tradition to a national and global audience, thereby providing a platform to showcase the best of India’s designers, weavers and textile workers and to encourage the Make In India Initiative.

On display as part of 'Woven Wonders of Varanasi', are woven saris by some of the master craftsmen from Varanasi like Haji Zahirul Hasan, Imran Matin, Bharat Shah, Hafeez Ahmed, Mohammed Zaki, Noman, Saeed-ur Rehman, Kaushik Selat, Neeraj Selat, Nikhil Selat, Rajesh Shah and Viresh Shah.

Contemporary interpretations of the Banarasi textile include garments by designers Ritu Kumar, Rina Dhaka, Krishna Mehta, Shruti Sancheti, Nandita Mahtani, Neeta Lulla, Varun Bahl, Dabiri By Ambika Jain & Divya Bindra Kapur, Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Payal Pratap, Gaurav Gupta, Rohit Bal, Raghavendra Rathore, Ritu Beri, Sans By Sanskruti Patel, Anita Dongre, Raw Mango By Sanjay Garg and Manish Malhotra.