In Adoration of Krishna: Pichhwais of Shrinathji  - Tapi Collection
Authors: Kalyan Krishna, Kay Talwar. Introductory Essay by BN Goswamy. Mumbai. © Garden Silk Mills Ltd., 228 p. with maps, illustrations and pictures. ISBN 978-81-905935-0-2   Distributed by Roli Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (India)

Contents: I. Collector's Note and Acknowledgements; II. A Realm of the Senses - Celebrating Shrinathji/BN Goswamy; III. Pichhwais for the Child God/Kalyan Krishna & Kay Talwar;  Catalogue: Nathdware & North Indian Pichhwais/TAPI Research Team;  IV. Pichhwais for Krishna the Beloved/Kalyan Krishna & Kay Talwar;  Catalogue: Deccani and South Indian Pichhwais/TAPI Research Team; V. The Aesthetics of Diversity: Catalogue of Variations in Embroidery, Brocade, Tinsel Print, Lace and Machine Print/TAPI Research Team; VI. The Appeal of the Miniature: Catalogue of Paintings on Cloth, Paper and Glass/TAPI Research Team; VII Appendix: Early Vernacular Accounts/Karuna Goswamy; VIII. Glossary; IX./ Bibliography

"In Adoration of Krishna: Pichhwais of Shrinathji unveils the wondrous world of pichhwais — the devotional textiles that hang behind the image of Krishna as Shrinathji, worshipped by followers of Pushti Marg (the Path of Grace) in India. Represented here are masterpieces from Praful and Shilpa Shah’s TAPI (Textiles & Art of the People of India) collection of Surat, regarded as one of the most significant repositories of India’s textile art. Never before has this subject been treated in such depth: the book covers the background of the sect, the place of these temple hangings in ritual practice, and the vast range of mediums and techniques involved in pichhwai production, from the painted pichhwais of Nathdwara and North India, through the artistic gilded prints of the Deccan and the complex kalamkari dye-patterned pieces of the Coromandel Coast. Also represented is a rare 17th century, commemorative zardozi pichhwai, and examples of embroidery in silk, pichhwais in brocade, tinsel-prints and, finally, machine-printed fabrics and lace from foreign shores — the range is encompassing.  In addition, there are miniature paintings on paper, on glass, and even pasted on wood, all of them associated with the Vallabhacharya sect.  With each type lavishly illustrated in colour, the book is a visual and aesthetic delight.

An evocative Introduction by Prof. BN Goswamy leads on to articles on the two main centres of pichhwai-making by textile scholars Dr. Kalyan Krishna and Kay Talwar. The entries cataloguing the collection and describing each pichhwai, the result of painstaking effort by the TAPI research team, constitute a mine of information. A unique feature of the book is a selection of stories translated from early vernacular accounts of the sect by Prof. Karuna Goswamy.

In Adoration of Krishna is an invaluable resource for designers, art historians and anyone interested in the decorative arts of Indian textiles in the context of the spiritual lives of thousands of people in this part of the world."