initially looked towards southeast asia for indian textiles of greater antiquity its almost impossible to find textiles in india which predate the 17th century says ms shah but in indonesia these heirloom cloths are connected with the spirits of ancestors which explains why they have been preserved for 600 yearsall manner of trade textiles emerged from the bamboo baskets high in the attics of sulawesi homesincluding a vibrant 15th century blockprint from gujarat depicting 13 courtesans busy adorning themselves playing musical instruments and petting parrotsa new chapter in the textile story started in the 17th century when the portuguese dutch and britishwho initially viewed indian textiles as currency for the spice traderealised that the cheery chintzes and delicate muls would be welcome in the dreary environs of europe the outcome was a booming trade and strange crossbreeds like kalamkari dutchmen and mochistitched hunting scenes the chinoiserie designs were very popular in europe in the 18th century says ms shah pointing to a radiant palangposh that reflects the confluence of three cultures so even the traditional coromandel tree of life meant for the british market in that period acquired chinese overtones and peony blossoms it is these palangposhes and pichwais of the past that the new garden gallery hopes to rediscover for mumbai many smalltown collectors have museumquality collections which never get seen says ms shah adds mr shah we want this to be a space where people can interact to talk about culture and textilesan alternative to the cocktail circuit we want to contribute in some real way to the otherwise dormant textile life of the city