Madras is more treasured the world over as a checked cotton fabric than the erstwhile name of Chennai. The use of the Madras check cloth has been part of the tradition of the tribes of southern Nigeria—the Kalabari tribe! The southern Nigerian tribes wore it as their head dress or wrapped it around their torso. It held a significant place in the culture and tradition of the place—they believed that owning a piece of Madras is the greatest treasure a man can possess. Madras, here we are talking exclusively about the cloth, became synonymous with the “injiri” or the “real India”. To quote the cloth historian Eicher, “injiri ( Madras) holds a special place in Kalabari life as a symbol of a person’s journey into the embrace of the world beyond this life……the opening scene in the drama of life includes a piece of injiri that is ceremoniously delivered to the mother by the father for carrying the child. This personal emblem of entry into society for that child also becomes the...