Far from the madding crowd of malls

This exhibition follows the blockbuster Alexander McQueen show at the Metropolitan Museum and seems designed to accommodate the same volume of crowds, although it is not as mesmerizing as the McQueen exhibition; not as persuasive in illustrating how everything from accessories to runway shows can be turned into art. Nonetheless,The pain must have been excruciating  Mr. Gaultier has contributed a great deal not only to democratizing fashion but to promoting ideas of beauty, gender, race and class that challenged mainstream mores. For this reason, it is particularly nice to encounter his subversively but exquisitely crafted objects in an art museum. The National Crafts Museum at Delhi's Pragati Maidan has been an interesting and important institute at least since the Eighties. Whether you are passionate about local art and textiles or not, this space offers authenticity in its representation of the Indian way of life that is calm and reassuring.

Far from the madding crowd of malls, the Crafts Museum has, for many decades, been a haunt only for those who light an occasional candle at the feet of indigenous craft. Also for curious foreign tourists.But even today you will find a number of Delhiites who have never set foot here. There are also those both in Delhi and outside who visit the capital frequently for work or pleasure who are simply unaware about its existence. Run by the Ministry of Textiles (MoT), government of India, and set up over the Fifties and Sixties with work continuing into the Eighties, the museum has a village complex, finely maintained and well-appointed art galleries and open spaces designed by architect Charles Correa that link ancient concepts of Indian living with modern design.Why doesn't it get footfalls then? It's an old lament but one with a new ringtone because under Ruchira Ghose, the chairperson, the Crafts Museum has in the last three years or so, been trying to stand up and walk with more strength in its arthritic knees.