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Gujarati Yatra’ refers to the journey made by people from their original homeland in Gujarat on the west coast of India, to the south and east of Africa and finally on to Britain and other western countries. From 14 November 2017 until 14 April 2018 the Museum of Croydon, Clocktower hosted a multi-dimensional exhibition and events series with the intention to highlight the cultural heritage of Gujarat and the historical journey of the Gujarati community. This exhibition, tells the stories of the individuals and communities who made this journey, through their objects and oral histories. These stories also reveal the art, language, literature, food and religion of the Gujarati people and how these were preserved and adapted in different cultures. The history of the Gujarati Yatra is intertwined with, and helps us understand, changes in politics, trade, business, education and migration from the period before British rule in India to the present day. The exhibition is inspired by Subrang Arts, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and curated by Rolf Killius and Lata Desai in partnership with the Museum of Croydon. From the lengthy Oral History video recordings Rolf has selected and produced around fifty short films for the exhibition. After the closure of the exhibition and as a special part of the project all digitised exhibition material, such as exhibition texts, photographs, films, Oral History interviews are displayed and shown interconnected on the project website: www.gujaratiyatra.com (created by Sudipta Modi). |
