Date/Time
Date(s) - Saturday, July 19, 2025
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm
By Somdatta Basu
Threads of Legacy: MFAH Showcases Rare Indian Textiles from the Parpia Collection
Houston, TX — On a vibrant Saturday afternoon, the IACCGH Business Hour on Open Forum aired a special cultural segment spotlighting the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s (MFAH) acclaimed exhibition From India to the World: Textiles from the Parpia Collection. The hour-long conversation blended history, art, and heritage, featuring in-studio guests Amy Poster, Consulting Curator of Asian Art at MFAH, and esteemed collectors Banoo and Jeevak Parpia. Hosting the segment were Dr. Subodh Bhuchar, Jagat Kamdar, and Smriti, who together brought warmth, curiosity, and insight to the discussion.
Dr. Bhuchar set the tone with his signature wit and welcome, noting that while others might be playing golf or running errands, Open Forum listeners were in for a cultural treat. He highlighted India’s lesser-known but profound influence on global textile heritage. “One of the most important things that India gave to the world was textile,” he said. “It’s a little-known fact, but amazing.”
Amy Poster traced MFAH’s relationship with Indian art back to the 1930s, when the museum first began collecting Indian textiles. The turning point came in 2018, when the Parpias visited Houston to deliver a lecture. “Now that the collection is largely here in Houston, we decided to return to the subject of Indian textiles with a new exhibition,” she said.
Collectors Banoo and Jeevak Parpia, who reside in Ithaca, New York, began their textile journey after visiting the iconic Calico Museum in Ahmedabad in the 1980s. Their fascination evolved into a deeply personal and scholarly pursuit. “Our interest is what binds us really strongly,” said Banoo, a social epidemiologist with a Ph.D. from Cornell. Jeevak, a physicist, noted the regional and artistic diversity of Indian textiles as a source of endless inspiration.
“Textiles, in our opinion, define the Indian aesthetic like no other medium does,” Banoo emphasized, referencing archaeological evidence of textile traditions from as far back as 7,000 BCE. The Parpias’ collection includes a stunning array of embroidered and woven works — kantha, phulkari, ikats, court silks, tie-dyes — many originally used as ceremonial items or traded as currency during colonial times.
“This was never about investment,” Banoo clarified. “Always for their beauty. Each piece tells a story.”
Poster shared that the exhibition has been met with an enthusiastic response from Houston’s South Asian community and beyond. “People left their jobs and businesses to see this show. They came Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,” she said. MFAH’s programming has extended the exhibit’s reach through children’s weaving workshops, adult lectures, and upcoming music and dance performances rooted in textile traditions.
Highlighting the educational and cultural scope, Poster announced that award-winning author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni would return to the museum for an event on August 16.
The Parpias’ partial gift and promised donation of the collection to MFAH is a lasting legacy. “This collection is now in America. It’s now in Texas and Houston,” Poster reflected. “It could have gone someplace else. But Banoo and Jeevak Parpia decided they wanted it to stay here.”
From India to the World: Textiles from the Parpia Collection is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston through September 14, 2025.
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