Muslin Publications

Muslin.Our Story, written by Saiful Islam and launched at the Muslin Festival, February, 2016.

Book: The book, ‘Muslin. Our Story’, was published to coincide with the Muslin Festival. This remarkable and definitive book on muslin takes the reader from the origins of muslin, its links with Bengal and Europe, including the extraordinary journey that the author undertook to discover the muslin plant. It leads the author from the banks of the river Meghna to the villages where dwindling groups of spinners and weavers practice a vanished art using the same tools and techniques of their ancestors. It is the record of a single-minded pursuit that opens up the ancient world of cotton textiles, a world where the past and the future, cotton and colonialism, national narratives and regal haute couture intersect in remarkable ways. Stunning imagery captured by world-class photographers along with other rare historical images and illustrations complement the text.

Author: Saiful Islam; Editors: Khademul Islam, Rahnuma Ahmed; Art Direction: Shahidul Alam; Images: Drik’s team and historically sourced images. Printed by Artron, China.

‘Muslin. Our Story’ (English, 247 pages, hardcover) is priced at BDT 3,500 and can be bought directly from Drik’s offices at DrikPath,16 Sukrabad, Panthapath, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh, Telephone: +8802-8141817, 9120125 or from a number of bookshops in Dhaka (Pathak Shomabesh, Aarong…etc.). Contact in Dhaka: Kamal Hossen, kamalhossen@gmail.com, (00 880 1712095729).

The book is also available on Amazon, UK (please contact islam.saif25@gmail.com), India (Art Books, Ahmedabad, artbookcenter_2000@yahoo.com and Thema, Kolkata, themabooks@yahoo.com) and Thailand (Hardcover and Good Design store at Central Embassy, shane@serindiastudio.com).

Have a quick look at ‘Muslin. Our Story’

The definitive book on muslin; the fabled fabric from Bengal known as ‘woven air’ by the Romans, can now be viewed. This book takes the reader on a journey from the banks of the Meghna river in Bangladesh to artisan villages and museums and traces the textile’s glorious past and current state.

Selected pages of ‘Muslin. Our Story’ can now be seen by clicking on the link below.

MOS-Flip Book-2021 by Saiful Islam – Flipsnack

Book Reviews:

Spinning a Yarn Unparalleled-Garland Magazine-Gopika Nath-December 2016

The Plunder of Bengal’s Craft-Miran Rahman-2017

Muslin. Our Story-Review-Khaled Ehsan-2017

Graphic Novels: The graphic novels in English (In the Land of Muslin) and Bangla (Muslin er deshey) were published at the same time as the book, ‘Muslin. Our Story’.  The illustrated novels reach out to the very young readers for their first step in discovering this rich heritage from Bengal. The graphic novels are available from the same locations as the book.

In the Land of Muslin-Instagram-2021