Met Gala 2025: 4 Times Indian Heritage Took Over The World's Biggest Fashion Night
This was not just about fashion. It was about culture-alive, rooted, and travelling far beyond its borders. And for anyone who loves exploring the stories behind what we wear, it opened a different kind of travel trail. One that leads straight to India's heritage towns, weaving centres, and local workshops-where every thread has a past, and every stitch has a place.
1. Diljit Dosanjh's Royal Tribute To Patiala
The Moment: Diljit Dosanjh made a statement at the Met Gala 2025, but it wasn't just his fashion that turned heads - it was the heritage it represented. His custom Prabal Gurung ensemble paid homage to the royal attire of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, with an achkan, tehmat, and kirpan (ceremonial sword), all embroidered with Punjab's map and sacred Gurmukhi script. This wasn't just a modern look; it was a nod to centuries of Sikh royalty.
Travel Trail: Head to Patiala, where the city's royal history is woven into its textiles. Visit Adalat Bazaar or Sheesh Mahal and discover where traditional Patiala salwars and phulkaris are still handmade by artisans who've been passing down their skills for generations.
2. Kerala's Craftsmanship At The Met: The Red Carpet
The Moment: The Met Gala 2025 saw the red carpet not just as an accessory but as a showcase of Kerala's rich weaving tradition. Crafted in Cherthala, Kerala, this 6,840-square-metre carpet was created by the brand Neytt Homes by Extraweave, showcasing Kerala's centuries-old tradition of hand-weaving with sisal fibre. The blue and gold design added a subtle touch of South Indian artistry to the glamour of the event.
Travel Trail: A trip to Cherthala in Alappuzha district will take you to the heart of Kerala's coir industry. Watch as artisans craft everything from eco-friendly mats to intricate carpets, and learn the slow, meticulous process that has been passed down through generations. This is where tradition meets sustainability, one weave at a time.
3. Natasha Poonawalla's Parsi Heritage In Couture
The Moment: Businesswoman and philanthropist Natasha Poonawalla embraced her Parsi heritage at the 2025 Met Gala, wearing a custom Manish Malhotra creation that paid homage to the Parsi Gara embroidery. The vintage Gara style, once almost lost to time, now shone brightly as part of Poonawalla's statement look, blending Persian influences with Indian traditions.
Travel Trail: To see Gara embroidery up close, head to Surat in Gujarat, where the craft lives on in the hands of dedicated artisans. Alternatively, explore Udvada in Gujarat, a sacred Parsi town where these intricate, Chinese-inspired embroideries still hold significance. If you're in Mumbai, check out old Parsi boutiques on Grant Road for heirloom Gara saris passed down through generations.
4. Isha Ambani's Handwoven Benarasi Masterpiece
The Moment: At the Met Gala 2025, Isha Ambani turned heads with her elegant outfit, a stunning Benarasi train from Anamika Khanna, showcasing Zardozi embroidery - a traditional craft that has been perfected in Varanasi for centuries. The intricate gold and silver threadwork glimmered, reflecting the rich history of Indian craftsmanship and Mughal-era textiles.
Travel Trail: In Varanasi, take a stroll through the winding lanes of Chowk and Madanpura, where you can watch artisans at work, stitching gold and silver threads onto luxurious silks and velvets. To dive deeper into this art, visit the Crafts Museum at Sarnath or plan your trip around festivals like Dev Deepawali, when the streets of Varanasi become a living gallery of Zardozi craftsmanship.
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And then comes the question I have often asked him: When will you write a novel? He smiles. 'There is pressure from friends and readers. I think I must try next year.' That novel, whenever it arrives, will not just be a literary event. It will be a culmination of a life spent walking alongside the truth, writing not for fame but for faith. To read Kathakar Ashok is to encounter a voice that does not shout, but it stays. A voice that believes in the dignity of the ordinary, the mystery of character, and the weight of silence. His stories are not only literature, but they are also documents of cultural memory, chronicles of the heartland, testimony of resistance. And they must travel beyond Mithila. As Namwar Singh once said, 'The survival of Indian literature depends on the dialogue among Indian languages.' Ashok's work reminds us why that dialogue must be nurtured—because in it lies the plural imagination of our future. Because when India's many languages begin to speak to one another, not just in theory, but through translation, then perhaps we will finally hear the full music of our republic. Until then, we listen closely. Because Kathakar Ashok is still writing. (Ashutosh Kumar Thakur is a bilingual writer, literary critic, and curator based in Bangalore. He is a keen observer of South Asian literature and a lifelong student of Mithila's cultural memory. He can be reached at ashutoshthakur@
