Collecting carpets was not a conscious decision for Danny Mehra, but he has an amazing collection of tribal carpets that are one of their kind.
I met Danny at Gallery Sumukha in Bengaluru and saw a range of tribal carpets from Central Asia and the Caucasus region that he explained were generally woven by women. They were at the forefront of producing these masterpieces, mostly for personal use.
The craft sadly no longer exists and these carpets are an ode to the past times. These carpets are between 100 to 200 years old and were actively used in the day to day lives of the homes and families.
As a passionate collector, he knows and remembers every single piece in his collection. “They are like our children you do not forget what they are, where they came from, their colours. One collector once told me that I had not lost my childlike excitement about any carpets even though I have been collecting for quite a long time.”
Danny and his wife Renuka, have travelled with their carpets to several cities in India, somewhat like the nomadic tribes that wove them. The couple loves to meet new people at their exhibition and and thrilled to see their faces light up with happiness when they encounter these joyous weavings.
Read the full story that first appeared in The Global Indian here:
Leave a Reply