BEYOND BRAILLE: Touch, Tangaliya and Talking Textiles

Category: Interior

Textiles are not just materials—they are stories, legacies, and expressions of culture and identity. This project reimagines Tangaliya weaving, a 700-year-old craft from Gujarat’s Dangasiya community, into a handwoven Braille talking textile. Tangaliya’s signature tactile dots, formed by twisting extra weft yarn around warp threads, create a raised texture that is both visible and tangible on both sides of the fabric. Here, touch is more than a medium—it becomes the message itself, where each dot narrates a story of optimism and inclusion. The textile panel titled “Constitutional Courage” transforms India’s Constitution into a groundbreaking handwoven form. The Preamble is handwoen in Braille using indigo-dyed handspun Khadi cotton, inviting both sighted and visually impaired individuals to experience its message through touch. This tactile artwork pays tribute to the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity, creating a sensory dialogue through the fusion of Braille and Tangaliya weaving. It repositions heritage craft not as nostalgia, but as a powerful tool for advocacy and contemporary storytelling. Tangaliya weaving itself is an act of defiance—born from an intercaste love story and rooted in resistance against India’s social hierarchy. This project honours that legacy, proving that heritage textiles are not relics of the past but blueprints for an inclusive future. It challenges fashion’s reliance on the visual, redefining textiles as multi-sensory narratives. Through these work, I aim to show that fashion can be circular, inclusive, and deeply human—where every woven thread bridges culture, innovation, and accessibility.