Religions- creating life

By:

DHAIRYATA JAIN

CRAFTS OF

INDIA

PHULKARI AND BAGH

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The traditional craft of

Punjab

Flower working

Odni, dupatta and shawls

Bagh-the garments that

cover the whole body

Usually wore on

ceremonial occasions or

the birth of a son

Whole work done in white

and yellow silk floss on

cotton khaddar using Darn

stich

Starts from center and

goes on

Worn by women

CHAMBAL RUMAL

Himachal Pradesh

Made of fine cotton and muslin

Embroidered by silk and silver and silver guilt wire

Embroidery is done on a double satin stitch technique which ensured an exact replication of the image on the reverse of the fabric.

Subjects are drawn by the women in outlines

Charcoal was used for tracing

Motifs: related to lord Krishna

Silk embroidered square pieces of handspun and hand-woven unbleached mulmul, fine cloth that were used to cover dishes of food, gifts, to significant persons and offering to a deity, or exchange between the families of the bride and the groom as token of good will.

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WARLI PAINTINGS

Maharashtra’s folk paintings

The largest tribe found on the outskirts of Mumbai

Vivid expression of daily and social events of the tribe

Done on walls

Do not depict mythological characters

Depict social life

Rhythmic pattern

Human figures engaged in activities

Painted on mud using white and yellow and red [occasionally]

White color-grounding rice

Evoke powers of god

Series of dots makes a line

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MADHUBANI

Village in Bihar

Colors are applied flat with

no shading

Outline-double line

Generally depict nature and

Hindu motifs

Depict scenes

Traditionally done on wet

muddy walls of houses

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LAC WARE

Produced by the female lac

insect found in abundance in

the forests of Rajasthan, is

formed into a variety of jewelry

items.

Lac bangles are worn especially

on auspicious occasions and

also signify that the wearer is

married

Colors are bright and

frequently studded with glass

pieces.

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KUNDAN JADAU

Kundan is a Mughal technique.

High skilled craftsmanship

The tradition of Jadau work has

been in practice in the states of

Rajasthan and Gujarat since the

Mughal Era.

Jadau jewellery is also called

Engraved Jewellery and is unique

and a kind in itself.

Considered to be a traditional

jewelry of India, it is used in many

traditional and auspicious

occasions, like marriages and

festival celebrations.

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TANGKA PAINTINGS

A Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton,

or silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist

deity, scene, or mandala.

Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed

and rolled up when not on display, mounted

on a textile backing somewhat in the style

of Chinese scroll paintings

relatively small

These were designed to be displayed,

typically for very brief periods on a

monastery wall, as part of religious festivals.

A central "deity" is often surrounded by

other identified figures in a symmetrical

composition. Narrative scenes are less

common, but do appear.

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KASHIDAKARI

Kashmiri embroidery(also Kashida) is used for

phirans (woollen kurtas) and namdahs (woollen

rugs)as well as stoles

It draws inspiration from nature. Birds,

blossoms and flowers, creepers, chinar leaves,

ghobi, mangoes, lotus, and trees are the most

common themes.

The entire pattern is made with one or two

embroidery stitches, and mainly chain stitch on

a base of silk, wool and cotton: the colour is

usually white, off-white or cream but nowadays

one can find stoles and salwar-kameez sets in

many other colours such as brown, deep blue,

sky blue, maroon and rani pink

The craftsmen use shades that blend with the

background

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BLUE POTTERY

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The art of making blue glaze pottery came

to Rajasthan via Kashmir, the Mughal

emperors’ favourite retreat and, more

importantly, their entry point into India.

Mongol artisans combined Chinese

glazing technology with Persian

decorative arts

Jaipur blue pottery, made out of Egyptian

paste, is glazed and low-fired. No clay is

used: the 'dough' for the pottery is

prepared by mixing quartz stone powder,

powdered glass, Multani Mitti , borax,

gum and water

The colour palette is restricted to blue

derived from the cobalt oxide, green from

the copper oxide and white, though other

non-conventional colours, such as yellow

and brown are sometimes included.

GOTA PATTI

A form of metal embroidery which

originated in Rajasthan.

It is crafted using appliqué

technique with a strip of gold or

silver or various other coloured

ribbons of different widths woven

in a satin or twill weave.

It involves placing woven gold cloth

onto fabrics such as georgette or

bandhini to create different surface

textures.

Plastic Gota and is highly durable

as it has a good resistance to

moisture and does not tarnish as

opposed to metal based Gota.

The process is lengthy and time

consuming.

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PATTU WEAVING

THE MEGHWAL COMMUNITY weave local wool into narrow strips, or patti, that are then stitched together to form wide shawls known as pattu that are worn by members of all communities in the region.

The base cloth of the pattu is in either plain or twill-weaves and the motifs are created through the use of the extra weft is usually of a colour in contrast to the base cloth and is inserted after every two picks, thus producing an impression of finely embroidered fabric.

The pattu constitute an important element in local rituals among the Meghwal, the pattu weaving community, pattu form a part of the gifts given to the prospective groom`s family when fixing a marial alliance; they are also gifted to all the immediate relatives to the groom during the marriage ceremony.

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PHAD PAINTING

A style religious scroll painting and folk painting, practiced in Rajasthan state of India.

This style of painting is traditionally done on a long piece of cloth or canvas, known as phad.

The ancient tradition of scroll painting survives in Rajasthan as Phad.

A Phad is a long rectangular cloth painting that tells of the adventures and travails of Pabuji, a local hero or other epic heroes.

The Phad is painted in bold colors and is rolled on two shafts of bamboo, thus making it easy to carry.

The large-scale horizontal paintings on cloth portraying the epic lives of the local hero-gods are popularly known as Phad paintings. These paintings have the mammoth task of representing a complex and a full blown folk epic narrative, which it achieves through a very specific style of representation, filled with figures & pictorial incidents, these paintings form a kind of dramatic backdrop to epic story telling performances.

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BLOCK PRINTING OF BAGRU AND SANGANER

Practiced in the vicinity of Jaipur and share a common

vocabulary of bel(creepers), buta and buti (floral motifs

of varying sizes) and jaal(floral net).

Sanganer`s graceful curvilinear floral motifs and colour

palette of reds and blacks printed against sun-bleached

white, cream or grey-blue backgrounds are defined as

much by its employment of the direct printing technique

as the Mughal influenced aesthetic prevalent at the

court.

Dyed and mordant prints of Bagru catered to the folk,

trading, agricultural and artisan communities that

constituted the local population. Each of these

communities had a specific sartorial code; the

combination of colours and motifs used on a printed

skirt, veil or garment could identify the wearer`s

community and occupation as well as the season.

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KANTHA

Kantha is a type of embroidery popular in eastern South Asia, especially Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha. In Odisha old saris are stacked on each other and hand-stitched to make a thin piece of cushion. This is normally used above a bed cushion or instead of a cushion. The use of kantha is popular in "Kantha saris" traditionally worn by women in Bengal.

Kantha stitching is also used to make simple quilts, commonly known as Nakshi Kantha. Women in Bengal typically use old saris and cloth and layer them with kantha stitch to make a light blanket, throw or bedspread, especially for children. Kantha is very popular with tourists visiting Bengal and is a specialty of Bolpur, West Bengal, India.

Kantha is still the most popular form of embroidery practised by rural women. The traditional form of Kantha embroidery was done with soft dhotis and saris, with a simple running stitch along the edges

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KALAMKARI

Kalamkari designs: The women figures are always shown in yellow tones. The celestial gods with an aura are always painted blue. The evil demons are featured in red and green shades.

The art form emerged from the temples, religious themes are most popular and striking.

The iconic figures of gods and goddesses are very common too. Often a painting or a saree will feature the sun chariot in its glory.

The red is sourced from madder root or pomegranate seed. Black comes from myrobalam.

The hands of the artists are naturally free while they paint. Hence no two panels look similar. This is a trademark of an original piece.

Textiles featuring household items have classic, linear block prints.

All Kalamkari designs, patterns and prints are still made from natural vegetable dyes and not harmful chemicals.

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