Pakistan, Feb. 13 -- Once upon a time, government records were written on them. Merchants used them for account books and priests for religious writing. In the early 17th century, papermaking centres flourished in Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Handmade paper became a political weapon when Mahatma Gandhi set it on par with khadi as a means of self-reliance. While its significance and journey as a material with 1001 stories have been forgotten in the current day, an exhibition in the Capital revives that memory through the words and the spirit of the Mahatma.

On the Twin Art Gallery walls at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) hang nearly 61 works of calligraphy that use handmade paper to celebrate 150 years of...