A History of India Through Chairs at the House of Mahendra Doshi in Mumbai reveals how deeply they are tied to the country’s cultural and design evolution. Tracing seating traditions and the everyday versatility of the charpai, the exhibition maps India’s shifting social hierarchies and lifestyles through furniture.
Chairs seem like simple things. They have legs; you sit on them when you’re working, eating, watching television, or just doing nothing. Everybody has chairs, and they seem quite fuss-free. Nothing special or cultural. But if Miranda Priestly’s long cerulean monologue in 'The Devil Wears Prada' has taught us anything, it’s that nothing in our cultural lexicon is ever entirely by chance. Everything is an accumulation of countless choices made by cultural creators, shapers, and sometimes even gatekeepers, that eventually trickle down to us, the so-called “mango people.” And chairs are no exception.
The journey of the chair, and seating as a whole, in India can be used as a map to understand the country’s design and cultural history. The first signs of elevated seating in India can be seen in early 200 BC Buddhist sculptures. “Asanas,” or special seats, appear throughout Indian dynastic history, from the Guptas to the iconic Mughal Peacock Throne commissioned during Shah Jahan’s reign. For the common person in India, the charpai was widely used for its versatility and durability.
Indian furniture also underwent significant change and evolution due to colonial influence. From the darker wood and intricately elaborate carvings of Indo-Portuguese-style chairs to the use of embroidered fabrics and more portable furniture in colonial-era pieces, the influence of external styles can still be seen in Indian furniture today.
Discover more about the country’s chair-journey at A History of India Through Chairs at the House of Mahendra Doshi in Mumbai. Conceived as a cultural, colonial, and historical archive of seating across the subcontinent, the exhibition traces how something as everyday as a chair can reveal stories about an entire country. On display are rare, carefully restored pieces, including an Indo-Portuguese Goan Grandfather chair, each intended to urge visitors to view these objects beyond their function—as “bearers of cultural memory” and documents of their time.
The exhibit also highlights how local craftsmen improvised and adapted the influences brought in by the Europeans, so that the products were more suitable for Indian usability and climate. Cane weaving, for instance, made chairs lighter and more breathable and carved rosewood and teak reflected regional aesthetics while ensuring durability. The transformation of seating from floor-based like the charpai, patla (a rectangular shaped wooden low-seating chair) to high-backed chairs and modern furniture can be seen clearly at the exhibition.
The exhibits are the product of the collecting process of these chairs that was started by the late Mahendra Doshi over fifty years ago, which has now been expanded by his children. ‘A History of India Through Chairs’, opens on 28th February and will run till 8th March, from 11 am to 7 pm at the House of Mahendra Doshi.
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