If you've grown up in India, perhaps your mind is already darting between memories from grandma's home, in which these objects likely define the space they occupy. It'd be equally appropriate to point out that these objects are quintessentially Indian, not necessarily in terms of their invention, but by the undeniable relationship we've come to forge with these forms.

The jaali, or the perforated surface, has for generations segregated gods from men, men from women, royalty from commoners, doctors from patients; the jhoola or the swing is inextricably linked to carefree, joyful times and soaring spirits while the bharni, the humble ceramic jar, has been the container of choice not only for tangy-sour pickles, but also for hiding childhood treasures and secretly amassed wealth ­– all in plain sight! These are designs that play to the very Indian impulse of wanting transparency along with privacy, stability with the option of mobility, and functionality yet multi-purpose usage.

"It's interesting that the word 'design' itself has not existed in Indian vocabulary, and is a recent addition," says Divya Thakur, curator of Design: The India Story, Objects Through Time exhibition, which wraps up at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) today. "That doesn't imply we didn't have an understanding of creation. It's just that our design language has been an evolutionary one."

Thanks to trade routes — both ancient and colonial — India has always had global influences. Be it embracing Islamic architecture and motifs or catering to European taste, Indian artisans or designers have traditionally followed a unified approach to art, or kala. "There was no distinction between high art and low art, or between art and craft, or architecture and design. Everybody did what was his/her highest skill, and that changed as our rulers changed. So, in that context, it was through contact with the British that we received the concept of design, and it filtered into our system," adds Thakur.

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