‘Yatra’ is an ancient Sanskrit word meaning journey.

‘Gujarati Yatra’ refers to the journey made by people from their original homeland in Gujarat on the west coast of India, to the south and east of Africa and finally on to Britain and other western countries.

This exhibition tells the stories of the individuals and communities who made this journey, through their objects and oral histories.

These stories also reveal the art, language, literature, food and religion of the Gujarati people and how these were preserved and adapted in different cultures. The history of the Gujarati Yatra is intertwined with, and helps us understand, changes in politics, trade, business, education and migration from the period before British rule in India to the present day.

The exhibition is inspired by Subrang Arts, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and curated by Rolf Killius and Lata Desai in partnership with the Museum of Croydon.

Subrang Arts is a Croydon-based, Gujarati community organisation. The community activist Lata Desai and the ethnomusicologist and oral historian Rolf Killius, worked with them to create the exhibition and events programme. In this way the Gujarati community members have co-curated the exhibition.