“What can you do with a rice grain?
You can feed it to the crow,
Or even a pigeon if you know.
You can take a bite too,
If you like it raw.
But can you make a god?
With rice and sticks
And no straw.
I can!
I live somewhere you might not know.
I am a Munda
And I make Gods with reaps of my pain.”

Munda are an ethnic tribal (Adivasi) group of people of the Chota Nagpur Plateau region. They are found across much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and in parts of Bangladesh. Their language is Mundari, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of the Austroasiatic language family. Since the primitive times Munda people have been wanderers & hunters before they became agricultural cultivators.

Unlike various communities across the world Mundas have extensive rituals to celebrate birth, death, engagement, marriage etc. Birth of a baby boy is celebrated as an earning hand to the family; birth of baby girl is celebrated as a caretaker to the family. They perform an engagement ceremony called as Lota-pani (which means Pot and water) in marriage, which is considered as one of the main rituals of life and is a weeklong festival for both the families.

Ointment with scented oil and turmeric is applied to the face & body of the departed, to give a last decoration as last ritual. Buried ancestors are memorialized as ‘Guardian’ spirits of the ‘khunt’ or genealogical family, symbolized by burial stones. The landscape of Chotanagpur is dotted with Cemeteries having clusters of these two types of stones, sasandiri (burial stones) and bhodiri (head-stones). Ancestors are given due respect as guardian spirits.
There are huge regards for everything nature provides – the air, the water and even the fruits of the soil. And so they turn all that they get into works of art, like the ‘Dhaan Murti’ (unhusked rice grain idols).

Dhana Murti or unpeeled rice grain idols are distinctive to this region. This is made using three key elements; rice grains, bamboo slivers and colored threads. The bamboo slivers are primarily soaked in turmeric water and dried in the sun to make them more pliable. Then the children loop the rice grains intricately between two thin bamboo slivers using colored cotton threads alone. Then the men sit to fold and coil the rice sticks into various forms creating both objects and idols.

The coiled sticks are held in place with a convolution of colored cotton threads, evolved overtime to look like beautiful patterns. The idol can be of goddess Lakshmi or Ganpathi, which is finally adorned with ‘bindis’ placed to fit the context. Its amazing how such an expression is conjured with such simple components and incredible work of art and design. Their final regard to mother earth is ‘kalash’ (Urn) and ‘Mor’ (Peacock), which are both symbols of prosperity, integrity, beauty and vibrancy. As the saying goes; patience is a virtue and what can be a better example than an expression with rice grains.

The floor is surfaced with sharp wood splinters and sawdust. Unlike other work-sheds, afternoons here are swift & hasty and the noise from turning of wood through overhead belt-drives fills the compound. Symmetrical pieces of wood colored in vibrant shades are stacked on the worktable; by evening, these will be assembled and made into simplistic toys.

As you pass through the row of artisans carefully finishing the wood, with a strong smell of lacquer and wood blocking nostrils, you stop to notice that none of them are wearing footwear and almost everyone’s feet has cuts and wounds inflicted from the wood chips scattered on the floor. “It is not a job, it is worship and the work-shed is temple. Do you wear chappals in temple?” is the reply you get when you ask them about precautionary measure of wearing footwear. Nor does anyone use safety goggles because it is seen as interference in viewing the fine details of wood.

Situated 60 Km southwest of Bangalore, there is a town called Channapatna, in local parlance it is often termed as ‘Gombegala Ooru’ meaning Toy-Town. Some 200 years ago, Tipu Sultan of Mysore had invited Persian artisans to teach the art of toy making to locals. This tradition of toy making initially started with a locally available ‘Aale mara’ (ivory wood). It was turned, machined and finished on traditional lathe. They used vegetable colors and lac to color the toys with simple symmetrical forms.

The craft has attained a Geographical Indication (GI) under the World Trade Organization and caters to global needs; also several other varieties of wood are now taken into account such as teak, rubber wood, red cedar, silver wood and Nepal wood. Since last couple of years, the trade saw a decline with an emergence of cheap Chinese imitations, but as soon as the customers became aware of the toxic chemicals used to make those toys, the handmade Channapatna toys came back in demand.

Here toy workshops still rely on traditional methods; the locally found wood is turned on lathe and colored with organic sources such as turmeric for yellow, indigo for blue, red from vermillion and brown from katha (A paste of Catechu and water). Artisans use a locally available cactus leaf as a file. Each piece is processed with hands & it is made sure that none of the toys have sharp edges. The lacquer finish makes them further smooth, imparts a luster and brightens up the colors further. These special qualities make Channaptna toys ideal for children.

The craftsmen too have moved on from traditional designs to contemporary designs and are open to exploring new collaboration to keep abreast. The town is getting orders from international corporate houses such as Microsoft. Puzzles, space accessories, kitchen utilities are also in great demand. One tenth of the total population of the town is directly associated with Channapatna toy business for their livelihood. The town is also becoming a major tourist destination for people who come in search for these toys.

“Its like bringing up a child when you are an artisan. You get that satisfaction when you see your product transform from the raw wood to the final shape, like them taking the first footsteps, then getting shapes, then making their initial forays into the market, and finally, you have to sell them. It’s like holding their hands through this whole process and then giving them away. It’s more than the money.” - Aruna Ranganathan, 2013, Artisan in Channapatna.

Images By KARTHIK VAIDYANATHAN, Varnam

The crimson sun sets over the sleepy town, bowing in a reddish orange hue over the magnificent fortress bringing every stone of its existence alive. The Banas River becomes still and the water reflects the unending wrath of calmness in the sky and the whole forest comes to a halt as the gorgeous big beast bends low into it to quench the day’s thirst. The birds fly away and the deer run afar in leaps as the tiger propagates his grandeur in an aura of elegance and grace. A villager comes to wash a basketful of black pots and glasses to the river; a potter, perfectly fit in the ecosystem of the forest and many uses of the little river flowing through the desert state of Rajasthan.

The town has seen many historic episodes and reigns. Passed on from the Chauhan Rajput king, Govinda to Vagabhatta, from Rana Kumbha to Akbar and Aurangzeb, the city has been patronized by almost all the rulers. Beautification and renovation of the city has been regularly undertaken in almost all the regimes. The city derives its name from Maharaja Sawai Madho Singhji I who is believed to have given the city its current plan in 1765 AD. The former Karauili State was integrated into Matsya Union, the March 17th 1948, which later merged with former Jaipur State to form the United State of Greater Rajasthan on the 15th May 1949. 

With the passing of time, Sawai Madhopur in itself has witnessed and nurtured a whole range of handicrafts practiced by the local artisans and this sector has flourished after facing a lot of hard times. One such craft of the region is the very unique style of pottery that they make. The pottery they make is black in colour and is made in a very special way.

The mitti, (clay) taken from the banks of the nearby Banas River is cleaned thoroughly, the unwanted stones and straw removed from its consistency. The clay is then stored and used as and when required. An Approximated quantity of prepared mud is placed on the wheel and turned beautifully by the potter, and a shape as desired is achieved with much finesse. The form is cut out of the wheel from the bottom, using a length of ordinary thread. The potter, skilled with the usage of his hands, manually shapes and polishes the product, till he smoothens it out. The turned and polished product is dried in the sun for two hours, in the shade for another two and finally fired.

The small community of kumbhars- the traditional potters, at Sawai Madhopur create a wide range of decorative figurines, paperweights and plaques of animals and deities in addition to the usual array of pots. Skillfully embossed and variedly structured, the beauty of this pottery lies in the love that the artisan puts into it and their story of revival from a completely damaged financial scene. The polishing of the terracotta wares before firing is what gives the end product a sparkly finish. When the firing is almost coming to an end, the artisan seals all the vents of the kiln, allowing a smoky atmosphere to be created inside the kiln, giving the pottery a greyish black hue, very centric to only Sawai Madhopur.

Images by – Manthan, Jaipur 

As one steps into the enchanting old city of jaipur, he/she is surrounded by an epiphany of crafts of every kind. What binds them all in the husk of the heat and the lure of the tales is an unending array of colours and motifs, be it pottery or textiles. Blue pottery, ever so elegant and always fragile, is a Craft, the pink city is celebrated for.

The name ‘blue pottery’ comes from the eye-catching blue dye that is used to color the pottery. Some of the pottery is semi-transparent and most are decorated with animal and bird motifs. The pottery has a unique appearance as it is made using Egyptian paste, glazed and low-fired. This is an artform that stands distinguished from all other forms of pottery owing to its usage of a special dough prepared by mixing quartz stone powder, powdered glass, Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth), borax, gum and water. It is the only pottery in the world that does not use clay. The technique beautifully produces decorative items like tiles, door knobs, pots, vases and plates.

The history of the art of pottery is as old as the history of mankind, with the glazing techniques travelling to India from Central Asia and Middle East through several Islamic invasions while the Chinese porcelain continued to be imported to the Indian courts.  Founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh I, the historic city of Jaipur was well established as a thriving art centre. Blue Pottery took an interesting route in finding its home in Jaipur. Ram Singh II attended a kite flying session and watched two brothers from Achnera bring down the royal kites of his kite masters. Intrigued, he found the secret; they were potters by profession and had coated their strings with the same blue green glass that they used for their pots. Sawai Ram Singh II was impressed so he invited the brothers to stay in Jaipur and teach this unique form of glazed pottery at his new art school.

Blue colour, derived from cobalt oxide, green derived from copper oxide and white, other non-conventional colors, such as yellow and brown adorn this pottery kind.The traditional patterns and motifs in blue pottery are of Persian origins. The craftsmen have developed contemporary patterns too including floral, geometric designs, animals, birds as well as many deities like Goddess ‘Durga’ and Lord ‘Ganesh’.

The process of making blue pottery is tedious and time-consuming.The dough for molding is prepared by mixing the key five ingredients, previously mentioned.  It is then rolled and flattened to the form of a 4-5 millimeter thick ‘Chapatti’ (pancake) which is put into moulds with a mixture of fne ‘Bajri’(stones) and ‘Raakh’ (ash made from burnt wood). The mold is now turned upside down and removed, and the dough obtained is left to dry. The pottery item, cleaned and shaped, is rubbed with ‘Regmaal’ to polish the surface. It is then dipped in a solution of quartz powder, powdered glass, edible flour (maida) and water and dried. A design is made on the dried, coated vessel with a solution of cobalt oxide and edible gum and the coloring is done by using oxides of various metals. These oxides are mixed with edible gum and then ground on the stone and applied using a brush.

What gives the final touch is a coating of glaze, done on the products by mixing powdered glass, borax, zinc oxide, potassium nitrate and Boric acid. This mixture is melted and cooled to form small pebbles which are ground to a powdered form and coated on the vessel after mixing with water and maida. Finally, the prepared products are heated in the closed kiln fuelled with charcoal at temperatures of 800 to 850 degrees Celsius.

This beautiful craft continues to be the outcome of the creative expression and skill of the craftsmen. Over the years the craft was kept alive by her Highness Gayatri Devi who widely promoted Blue Pottery. It received a much needed boost in the 1960′s as internationally renowned artist; Kripal Singh Shekhawat entered the field of blue pottery. It thrives in many corners of the city and surfaces as an ancient foreign technique, evolved through time to make our own.

There is something excruciatingly beautiful about a little town in the heart of Rajasthan, specked with colour all the time. With the sun’s heat breathing down on them strongly, bobbed in bright colorful pagdis, the printers walk through the sleepy village located on the edge of a broad riverbank. Sometimes, they have big bundles of freshly printed cloths on their heads, walking through narrow knit streets, where the walls are splashed with colour and the smell of dyes drift through the air. It feels like a watercolour painting when the heat causes mirages, with printers walking past in colour-splattered lungis and vests.

From sophisticated printing and dyeing techniques for the royal attire to floral depictions across the local and temple textiles; Sanganer block printing dates back to the social upheavals of mid-17th century that may have forced Gujarati printers to flee to this city in the Dhundhar region of Rajputana, now known as Rajasthan.

Oral tradition suggests that the chhipa families of Jaipur began to shift their work to locations where space and running water were freely available, yet still within easy reaches of the capital city Jaipur. The Kachchwaha Rajput prince, Sangaji, founded Sanganer in the early 16th century and the little dwelling was thriving by the 17th century partially due to its strategic location on major trade routes. The riverbanks of Sanganer presented the ideal location with the added benefit of specialist dyers and cloth bleachers residing in the town. These artisans formed a large, supportive community with block printing at the core of their culture.

The ‘Syahi Begar’ black and red designs on gossamer white cloth adorned the Safa turbans or Angochha shawls of men of the local community. Buti sprigged floral motifs stamped upon softly coloured or white backgrounds graced Jaipur court society. Many chhipas in Sanganer remember the regular production of printed designs for local women. Some patterns mimicked the Bandhani (tie-dyed) head cloths particular to local Mali and Mina women. The bright yellow Mali chunnari or veil cloth is distinctively patterned with a single large red circular motif in the center of the rectangular cloth. On the other hand, the Mina Chaddar, a heavy cotton shawl, is covered with small flower-shaped arrangements of simple red dots on a dark-black background.

Dupattas and shawls bearing auspicious red designs on a white or yellow background adorned the pious attendees at Hindu temples. Home furnishings incorporate a wealth of folk imagery. Regimented borders of flowers, vines, animals and human figures flank the geometric jaal patterns in the center. Ranks of small soldiers accompanied by decorated cows, elephants or horses compete with vignettes depicting popular folk tales.

A critical component of block printing is block carving and it is an art form in itself. Two kinds of blocks-wood and metal are made in unique ways and have unique purposes. The traditional printing process began with a rigorous scouring and bleaching procedure called Teluni, to emulsify the oils on the cotton threads.

The cloth was treated with Harda, which functions as a pre-mordant link between the fibers and the various other ingredients. It left a yellowish tinge to the fabric, hence known as ‘pila-karna‘. The craftsman then printed the black area of the design using the Syahi (ink) pinting paste prepared using scrap iron, horseshoes and Gur (jaggery) in an earthenware vessel. After the black outline was made, the craftsman made the Begar, a mordant used for red. Alum was mixed with sticky tree gum paste and a pinch of Geru red ochre to bring out colour in the otherwise transparent paste. The begar paste was then applied using a ‘Datta’ block to fill in the ‘Rekh’ (the outlining block) and the fabric was dried for a week.

The fabric had to be thoroughly washed in order to remove the tree gum. The next step known as Ghan ki Rangai involves use of a copper vessel ‘Tamda’ on a Bhatti. Red dye matter along with Shakur ka phool or dhaura ka phool was added with drop of castor or sesame oil. The printer washed the dyed fabric in the running river water and allowed to dry in the scorching sun with sprinkling of water time to time. This resulted in a bright white background and clear richly coloured butis and butahs.

Over the past three decades, block printing in Sanganer has increased dramatically because of an expansion in the textile market all over the world. There have been a lot of changes with the introduction of chemical dyes in the 1980’s, which slowly led to a vast number of colours, with a boom in the number of possible designs and products, all of which has now given a new identity to Sanganeri printing altogether.

“One man loved a girl.
“Her parents know about this love.
“They catch the man and tie him to a tree.
“His beloved waited from dawn to dusk
“But her lover never came.
“‘The buffaloes are home again’,” the lad sighs,
“‘But my lover does not come.
“‘My cows have come to shed
“‘But my lover does not come.
“‘The lights will soon be lit
“‘But my lover does not come.
“‘The darkness deepens
“‘But he is not home.
“‘The sun will soon set
“‘But my lover does not come’.”

The sound and music of a Toda love song from the lush green lands of Nilgiri fills the air with soothing harmony. The vast spread plateaus of Tamil Nadu, are occupied by the pastoral community of Todas , settled since centuries. A style of life simple and organised, yet sophisticated defines the Toda tribe. With distinct features- tall and dark, the Todas can be easily identified with their attire. A single piece of white beautifully wrapped in rich red black and white shawl adds to their demeanour. Their traditional settlements ‘Mundh’, constructed using natural resources are interestingly decorated using Toda art form- rock mural painting.

Like other tibal groups, the Todas have their own set of customs and traditions which have close association with nature and life around them. They believe in 1600 or 1800 superior godlike beings, the two most important being On and Teikirzi. On, is the male god of Amnodr, the realm of the dead and Teikirzi is a female deity who lived in the Nilgiris and established Toda social and ceremonial laws. Other important deities are hill-gods, each associated with a particular hill along with two river-gods belonging to the two main rivers. Todas believed that Teikirzi and On first created the sacred buffalo and then the first Toda man. They are believed to have created the first Toda woman from the right rib of the first Toda man. The revered place of the buffalo in Toda society represents a remarkable feature of their life.

The entire lifestyle and beliefs of the Toda tribe revolves around farming and nature, where their religion is based on buffaloes and their milk, and the dairies revered as temples. During festivities and funeral, songs about the cult of the buffalo are composed and chanted.  Apart from an interesting range of customs and beliefs, the Toda tribe is famous for their distinctive style of embroidery. Passed on through generations, the embroidery is done on stripes of red and black colour. Locally called Pugur, meaning flower, the fine and intricate Toda embroidery is done by tribal men and women on shawls. The shawl adorned with the Toda embroidery is called Poothkuli.

Motifs are worked, by counting the threads. Patterns used in the embroidery are similar to the ones used as tattoos by the Toda men and women in the earlier days, so fine that it resembles weaving. Reversible embroidery, on unbleached white cotton woven in a balanced weave structure are woven with three stripes- two of red and one of black. It is in these stripes that the embroidery is worked before the two lengths of the fabric are sewn together with the embroidery motifs and patterns in darning stitch.

The embroidery on the shawls which is done on the left of the black stripe (around the two red stripes) is called the karnol, while the embroidered pattern on the right is called the karthal.A close resemblance can be traced between the Toda embroidery with Anatolian motifs, in terms of the crosses and rosettes, along with the bull, an important symbol of a tripartite belief system involving a symbolic colour scheme where Black indicated the Underworld, Red the intermediate realm of Earth, and White the Celestial -the colours of the Toda.

Toda embroidery, was granted Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2012. Today, the new generation of Toda’s are drifting towards the wave of modern city culture. You can still find them adorned in the traditional attire. However, how long this unique craft will survive will depend on its interaction with the world.

~

Text and Images by ~ Gina joseph

This story goes back to 800 years ago, when artisans of Saurashtra migrated to Madurai region of Tamil Nadu in late 16th century. The artistic traditions of Saurashtrain artisans flourished under the patronage of Nayak Kingdom and the migratory artisans created their space and place in the Kingdom. This confluence of two distinct local cultures gave a new meaning and identity to many craft practices.

Saurashtrain artisans carried the age old technique of resist dying and weaving methods from their ancestors. This tradition followed for several hundred years and was passed on from one generation to another generation. The resist textile methods such as tie and dye and batik are still practiced in Madurai, although, the number of artisans has reduced drastically in past few decades because of the socio-economic condition of weavers. The tie-dye technique travelled from west to south; however nobody knows how the name changed to Sungdi from Bandhini. Today, saurashtra artisans continue to weave, practice batik and sungdi in the surrounding villages of Madurai for sustenance.

A conversation with Saurashtra speaking weaver’s of Kaithari nagar, Madurai.

Seventy six year old T. R Atma Rao lives in kaithari Nagar village with his spouse T.A Vairamani in a small two room house. To use the given space wisely, thari (loom in Saurashtrian language) is raised from the ground level so that there is enough working space underneath the warp. He is weaving thuni (a generic term for cloth or fabric) since sixty years. Vairamani is sixty eight years old. She used to weave earlier but nowadays she is able to assist him only by spinning kendo (bobbins) for weaving because of weak eye sight. Their son passed away and their daughter is married and lives close by. He weaves for a master crafts person to support his family. According to him the condition of weavers will never change even if one is exceptionally skilled. In comparison to the amount of time and energy they invest in making one Cheelai (saree in Tamil), the returns are always insufficient to even run a small household like theirs.

Kaithari Nagar weavers weave excellent quality of jacquard silk and cotton sarees. This village was given especially to weavers to practice weaving in an open space without any hindrance by the Tamil Nadu Government. It is located 20 km away from Madurai.

The making of Cheelai ( saree) ~ After spinning and winding threads for warp-pashoth (silk) or paruthi (cotton), threads are stretched in the open space and smeared with starch using a tool. The threads are fixed to the left over threads of previous Cheelai by entwining each thread by hand using ash. Usually three thousand to four thousand threads are entwined patiently and skillfully in one warp by women. To create patterns on the Cheelai, jacquard cards are punched for the border and pallu. Elaborate floral, geometrical patterns and sometimes Madurai temple pattern can be seen rendered on the entire border of Cheelai. The main body of the Cheelai is enhanced with booti using lurex or zari threads skilfully.

The project Nool presents hand woven paruthi cheelai (Cotton saree) of 100’s to 120 fine count woven by the Saurashtra speaking artisan of Madurai. Comfortable Paruthi Cheelai in subtle plaid and neutral shades, enhanced with Jacquard pattern is suitable for any occasion.A special token from Madurai: Manjal (turmeric in Tamil) with turmeric dyed thread is considered auspicious and sacred in Tamil tradition. It is tied together during marriage rituals.

Images and Text by ~ Pankaja Sethi

“I am convinced that swaraj cannot come so long as the tens of millions of our brothers and sisters do not take to the charkha, do not spin, do not make khadi and wear it.” ~ M.K.Gandhi (Opening speech at Belgaum Congress, 26-12-1924; 25:465.)

Khadi means hand spun and handwoven cloth. In 1918 Mahatma Gandhi opened his movement for Khadi as a relief programme for the poor masses living in India’s villages. Spinning and weaving was elevated to an ideology for self-reliance and self-governance. He appealed not only to those in need, but to each person to do spinning at least about one hour per day, as a sacrifice to the country, as ones duty towards the suffering countrymen.

In 1920, at the Nagpur session of Indian National Congress, the Non Cooperation movement was initiated. ‘Khadi’ was encouraged as a replacement to the boycotted foreign cloths.The first Khadi Production Centre was established at Katiawad, Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi referred to Khadi as “The livery of freedom”.

Anyhow,different tribes in India were involved in making yarn through spinning since thousands of years.They used a simple tool called ‘Takli’, to spin the raw cotton on a vertical spindle. Charkha came as a better tool to produce the same. Also, manufacturing it supported a niche group of artisans (involved in wood work.)

There are mainly two types of charkha:-
a) Bardoli charkha – which has a box-form and is known to be invented by Gandhi Ji.
b) Yerwada charkha – has a regular form which one gets to see in many weavers house.
Both the name comes from the Jails, where Gandhi Ji was incarcerated during freedom struggle.

Charkha is mainly made out of wood; craftsmen first make different parts like - akcha madiya, akca paritachap, clip etc; and then later assemble them.Many types of small tools and machine for wood-work is used in the process. Ahmedabad and Vardha are the two main centres of manufacturing charkha.

Today, craftsmen have also started making miniature forms of charkha, which people use mainly as a souvenir or as a memento. “ Gujarat Vidhya Peth, at Ahmedabad, is the only place where Charkha is still in use. ” as told by Kanthi Bhai ~(from Kalamkush)

“I see khadi dying. Hence if khadi, which is the main plank of the constructive programme, is to be saved, it ought to become self-supporting. Those who do not spin have no right to wear khadi. All those who wear khadi must spin so that khadi may survive.” ~ M.K.Gandhi

Khadi & Charkha were not only the means to achieve Freedom. They were part of spiritual nourishment as a meditation for every likes of people. It helped sustain the freedom struggle for decades & attain it. Now more than 60yrs in Independent India, are the two symbols fading away from our daily lives?

A mother, wife, daughter, sister, a farmer, a mason, a carpenter, a cattle rearer, a sweeper, a washer, a cook, an individual, a woman and at last an artisan trying to live with peace and pride. Such are the women of the Meghwal community from Rajasthan.

Originally, migrants from Pakistan, these Hindustani folks settled in villages lining the Indian border. Cattle rearers and agriculturists by occupation, later, with the support of Indian government they were allocated agricultural land. Soon after which they migrated to the present day Rajasthan. Their language is a mix of Hindi, Sindhi and Urdu…

While men go to the field,  women are occupied in household activities, managing children and assisting in agriculture. They learnt it at an early age, since the average age of marriage is 18 years, sometimes even earlier…. They live in nuclear families as a part of their custom. An average house has 7-8 members including 3-4 children.

The months of March to April and October to November bring the harvest and their festivals like Deepwali, Navratri, Teej etc. During this time a woman or a girl’s day begins at 4am and ends at 10pm. Nonetheless, these women find time to embroider.

Hand embroidering has ever since been a part of these dessert dwellers as an everyday wearable and the mark of one’s skills, for instance, during marriages, which still happen within the caste. Every gift to the groom is  hand embroidered, even the most unimaginable object like money, bidi, mouth freshener packets etc are put along to decorate the embroidered patch!!

They practice many types of embroideries, namely Soof, Kharek and Pakko. With modernization and government initiatives they have also learnt new contemporary stitches, although Pakko style continues to be their forte. Pakko embroidery is done by the Sodha, Rajput & Meghwal communities. Pakko literally means solid. The designs and motifs are very similar to Ahir, but slightly more geometric. The outline is done with chain stitch, but the filling is a dense variation of buttonhole stitch and open chain stitch, which gives an embossed look.

Mirrors are used frequently. Like Ahir, originally the designs were done directly on the fabric without any stencil, the wrap and weft are their guides and needle is their brush.

Local names of the stitches are:

Cross stitch – Kanadaa

Mirror stitch – Kaanch (Pakka)

Chain stitch – Lath

Open chain stitch – Sankali/Pakki jaat

Lazy daisy stitch – Chirki ki panadi

To them, embroidering has been an expression, a reason to sit together, memories handed over by a mother to her daughter and a matter of pride. The people are culturally rooted.  Age old practices are still being followed, except those that have lost relevance due to globalization.

Yes!! Globalization!!It is not a new term for them, as worldwide channels are available to these people through dish TV. With electricity reaching far off villages and television box getting affordable, a five year old wearing jeans, dancing to the tunes of Dabang with sunglasses dangling at the back of his collar might not be a rare sight but the parameters of true success for a country whose economy and essence is based on its legacy of skilled artists- artisans, a country where every person, cluster, village was not only self-sufficient and sustainable but opulent and openly sharing its knowledge and wealth with others… The parameters will truly be achieved when that five year old grows up to take pride in what he or she was born with and will know how to steer it to his and his people’s good.

The stunning Gotta Patti work on the ethnic wear of the Rajasthani womenfolk is a spectacular embroidery involving an array of techniques. This process of fabric ornamentation involves applique work with small cut pieces of golden lace. Traditionally done on dresses, dupattas, sarees, ghagras and even turbans for festivals and occasions, gota work is now loved by women of the world for the touch of royalty it gives to anything it embraces.

Gota Patti work, also known as ‘Aari tari’ or ‘zardozi’ or ‘Lappe ka Kaam’ has traditionally been used for a variety of garments and textiles used by the royalty, members of the court, temple idols and priests, as well as for altar cloths at shrines and prayer offerings. These Gota ribbons were woven with a wrap of flattened gold and silver wire and a weft of silk/cotton thread and used as functional and decorative trims. With the subsequent substitution of pure gold and silver with gilt or lurex and the mass production of gota on power looms at Surat and Ajmer, gota came to be used by all communities and castes of Rajasthan.

Raw materials like fabric and gota are available locally. Tie-dyed georgettes, pastel chiffons, tussar silks, crepes and khaadi-cottons are commonly used base materials. Firstly, the fabric is tied to two sides of a wooden frame (khaat) using thick cords.

The pattern to be embroidered on the base fabric is printed, the process is called Chapaayi. Tracing paper with perforated pattern known as ‘khaaka’ is placed on the fabric and rubbed with a white paste of chalk powder, making the design appear on the fabric.

‘Takaayi’ is the process of stitching Gota on the fabric. ‘Gotapatti’ is actually the cutting and folding of these tapes into basic rhomboid units, referred to as ‘patti‘ (leaves), and combining them to create elaborate motifs. These designs and motifs are inspired by nature, birds (peacock, parrot, sparrow), human figures (Bani thani), animals (elephant, horse). Contemporary designs like paisley, geometrical patterns, palanquin, checkerboard are also in fashion.

These motifs are structured into buta, butties and cut into various shapes likes flower pot (Gamla), Keri (Mango) and champak flower and stitched with the base fabric by chain stitch or by hemming. A very unique part of the history of this craft is the use of blue-green metallic coloured shells of a particular variety of beetle for the ornamentation, amongst the gold and silver of the embroidery. This was exclusively done for the royalty.

Lives are lived, stories are formed, they are documented… as Scriptures, Images – moving or still. Generations pass them on making eras immortal in time… in people’s memories… even after generations pass away as slots in time, stories live on… Like rivers they change their shape along the way. And so, the truth we know remains but a cumulative mirage of its journey… A mystery covered under layers and layers of dust, the story reveals itself fully only to a true seeker.

A similar quest takes us to the story of a metal that made ancient Indian Sages write scriptures on its uses, people from the most opulent eras in the history of this country see it as the most appropriate metal for activities related to gastronomy, a metal that made its place in the Olympics, only after Gold and silver.

With an era after its name (The Bronze Age), humans have been working with bronze for over 3,000 years in various parts of the world, using it for weapons, coins, utensils and an assortment of other household purposes. Bronze, is an alloy of Copper (70-80%) and Tin (20-22%). While pure copper is obtained from melting electrical wires, Tin bars of 30Kg each are mostly imported from Malasia. Both the metals are heated together upto 400 -700 degree C to form Bronze. This molten metal is ready to be made into sheets or to be poured in molds to give it a desired shape. The object is then filed either on lathe or by hand buffing to acquire varying levels and kinds of finish – natural/antique finish gives a smooth, shining surface with some undulations deliberately kept, mirror finish will make the same sparkling smooth, mat finish gives it a smoky touch.

To test the purity of the metal, it should make a sweet resonating sound upon a strike. For this quality of the sound it generates, Bronze is primarily used to make temple bells and bells/ rattles/chimes in general. Another way to test it is by bringing it in contact with sour substances like lemon juice. Pure Bronze does not change color, any amount of impurity in it shows up as discoloration. So, it is also considered good to have food in Bronze utensils. The metal has been tested in laboratories all over the world for its self-cleansing properties. As compared to steel, glass or plastic utensils, Bronze shows nil microbial presence under microscope one hour after they were washed in warm water.

“कांस्यम् बुद्धिवर्धकम् “meaning – eating in Bronze utensils enhances Intellect. Popularly known as ‘Kaansa’ in India, one can see many mentions of the metal in Ayurvada. Rajtarangini and Bhavprakasha are two such Granthas. And our deeply rooted societies took up these learnings and implemented them in their living. While the Royals ate in the Gold utensils, the Ministers in Silver, Bronze was the metal of the masses. And those who could not afford metal ate on dried sal/banana leaves. But never was Iron or steel considered for eating purposes.

With its mass Industrial production and cheaper rates Steel has literally stolen our kitchen space. Is its durability a lifelong promise of ripping us off our superior eating and living practices… Not too far back in time were people who used to fight wars carrying at least 20kg of armor and weapons on themselves… can you imagine only a mile’s walk with just 10Kgs on you… not until you are specially trained to do so… Does this raise any questions on our current behaviors and practices… on What, How and When we eat, sleep and work, so that we are not seen as a society of consistent mental and physical decline… a weak stream in the course of this river… The story of mankind is…

Shri Vipul Doshi, who manages the operations of ‘Viral Amit Shah Ni Pedhi’ upon being asked about the Jain tradition of having dinner before sunset very lightly mentions –“When someone close to your heart is far from you, no matter how exquisite the delicacies being served to you are, you do not want them. And we share the same relation with Sun”.

Nestled among wetlands, rice fields, lush greenery and river banks; Barama Block in Baksa District, Assam, lies about 70 kms from the state capital of Guwahati. The relatively new district was carved out from neighbouring Nalbari district in 2003 after the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council came into being. After decades of violence due to various militant groups, the area is finally experiencing a time of relative peace and quiet.

Handloom weaving has a very large presence in the socio-economic life of Assam since time immemorial. The loom is a ubiquitous possession, used by women in almost every household as a way of life. It is one of the oldest and largest industries in the state. In olden times, the skill to weave was the primary qualification of a young girl for her eligibility for marriage. The tradition of weaving is passed on from one generation to another and is widely seen even today.

Barama Block which is home to a number of different groups including Bodos, Assamese, Rabhas, Bengalis etc witnesses a great diversity in the local culture in terms of eating habits, ritual practices, language and so on. This multi-cultural identity of the area is also reflected in the clothing patterns and the weavers’ output. While the Assamese weavers weave gamochas and mekhela chadors, Bodo weavers weave aronais, dokhnas, and lengas. They also weave other fabrics like handkerchiefs and shawls.

The techniques of weaving have been handed down over generations, allusions to which are available in Assamese scriptures and literature, with very little change. Weaving in the state is known for its pristine simplicity and unequalled charm.

All kinds of materials are used for the fabrics. The most commonly used materials are cotton and acrylic. Weavers also use wool and various variations of silk – including Muga and Eri, which are indigenous to Assam. Early in the morning, the process starts with putting the yarn into circular rolls, bobbin, through two spinning wheels. After this, several of these bobbins of red and white colours and fitted into a contraption called the ‘Xaja’.

After this, the threads are spread out through the Xaja. For the gamocha, 470 threads are necessary with mainly white threads and periodic intervals of red threads. Similarly, other garments have their own count of threads necessary – chador needs 1,000 threads, a mekhela needs 900 threads, a wedding ‘Gamocha’ which is known as a ‘Pinda’ needs 800 threads. After spreading them out, each thread is then individually put through a metallic frame with small openings for the threads, to separate them.

It is important to note here that the weavers will not weave only one Gamocha at a time. Since the process is laborious and time-consuming, they will weave several Gamochas at one time. I was informed that there is enough yarn to weave about 18 Gamochas in a stretch. In fact, the household was weaving these to give out during the celebration of Bohag Bihu, a celebration to mark the beginning of the Assamese New Year on the 13th of April every year.

After this, the eldest woman member starts to weave the Gamochas. The constant movement of the hands and feet leads to a rhythmic sound which is soothing and musical. However, this is not an easy task. The weaver has to use both her hands and legs to complete this task – the hand is used to move the bobbin which controls the horizontal thread with the help of a handle; the leg is for pedalling the fabric forward.

While this Gamocha has a relatively simple checked pattern with no flowers or designs, the weavers also make garments with elaborate designs and flowers. Even these intricate motifs are woven by hand, as most of them don’t possess a ‘Zakat’ or flower machine. For Zakart it is important to get the design drawn on a graph paper. Each block on the graph paper represents one or a set of two threads. Depending on the design, the weaver must weave thread for the motif either above or below the other thread. This is an extremely delicate procedure.

Very few of these weavers however sell their clothes in the market. The few who do sell their products in the market usually don’t own any land and do it out of compulsion, rather than choice.

The lack of commercial activity related to handloom can be attributed to several reasons including oversupply in the local area, seasonal demand and no market linkages with other markets in nearby towns and cities. For commercial activities, several models are practised. Some of the forms are:

- Weavers weave clothes mainly for their own household and will take orders only during festivals such as Durga Puja, Bihu, and Kali Puja
- ‘Aidha’- means half-half. Customers will buy inputs and provide it to the weaver. The weaver will then weave clothes – keeping 50% of it for her and giving the rest to the customer.
- Weavers sell their fabrics in the local bazaars every week/fortnight

All the women members of the extended family came out for the exercise. About four women contributed to it at different times during the day, for different activities. As the sun began to set, they decided to call it a day. Looking at the whole process made me realise that it brings the whole family together. All the women members pitch in to help, and help from neighbors is not unexpected, either.

~
Text & Images by
Sujan Bandyopadhyay

Ponk ponk, goes off the Goan morning alarm. It’s 6 AM and the Poder appears in the horizon looking like an umbrella blown inside out. He adeptly balances the bamboo basket on his head carrying loaves of Pao, fresh from woodfire oven.

Mario de Miranda scratches this onto paper; a picture that speaks of Goa to many. Pao matched with no spice potato-onion sabzi is a typical breakfast of a Goan household.
The fisherman presents his assorted catch for the day.
Not each one prefers the same fish.
Women, strong and gay and bright hold a conversation on the fish they got for the day.
Was it Pomphret, Salmon, Bonbil, Gobro or catfish…
Their fish for the day, that’s all they care

Man, an eternal traveler has traversed landscapes… on foot, on his rides, on flights in search of better lands, wealth and at times merely for wander lust… trading goods for necessity and pleasure on the way. One such route came to be known as the Silk Road, connecting the Far East to the West. Caravans passing through markets had men trading their wares, which at times also seconded as currencies. Among the usual grain, spices, slaves, silk and beasts the fabric of Ikat was first bartered as currency around 207 BCE to 220 CE.

Ikat is a fabric with diverse histories owing to its multiple origins; however, the name is a Malay word literally for ‘to tie’. It is a weaving technique where in the weft, the warp or both the yarns are dyed selectively through a resist-dye process so that the patterns emerge upon the criss cross of the yarns.

Patan, the former capital of Gujarat is the home for double Ikat, which incorporates a very high level of intricacy and skill. It starts with dyeing both the warp and the weft and matching them to form motifs at regular intervals. This requires pre calculation of where the dye should come on the yarn (warp or weft), for it to accurately form an overlap with the same or different colored stretch on the second yarn (weft or warp), to weave a majestic double Ikat fabric called Patola.

Considered to bring in luck and prosperity, a Patola Sari is often passed on as an heirloom or worn during baby showers. Both the sides of Patola sari display the same design. Each sari can survive over a century without losing its color and grandeur. On a Patola, the square represents security in every aspect of life. The elephant, parrot, peacock and  kalash (metal pot) are considered saubhagya& (good luck). The demand for such an exquisite piece of hand woven textile is naturally much higher than what a handful of weavers in Patan can collectively create and those who can pay its price are also few in numbers. To cater to more lovers of Patola, a simpler version with similar visual effect but lesser intricacy and therefore lower price range was invented. The Single Ikat Patola of Surendranagar and neighboring villages came to the rescue of the weavers, the technique and the buyers in the region. About 70 years ago, Rashtriya Shala, a Gandhian institute in Rajkot organized a training camp and started special Patola unit to train weavers. Experts in Patan Patola provided intensive trainings.

A Gujarati folk song hums ‘padi patola bhat fatey pan fite nahi’ that speaks of the colourfastness of the natural dyes used in Patan Patola. Haldi, manjistha, ratanjyot, indigo, katha gave way to chemical dyes due to cost and efficiency concerns. It gears up the bleaching and dyeing process. The pure silk yarn accommodated cotton and rayon. The price plummeted as less as 1:100 due to which the Patola now found new takers; the middle and the lower middle class.

The migrant Vankar and the historical Maheshwari communities, now the native weavers of Rajkot and Surendranagar have mastered the technique of weaving musical compositions in cloth. The affair goes back to the times when elephants were the royal rides and their adornments were a serious affair of craftsmanship. Symmetry from leaves and flowers formed the understated classic human aesthetic. These characterize the Patola. Popat (parrot), Narikunj, Phulwadi, Chowkdi (cross), Chaabdi (Basket), Choktha, Navratna, Paanchphul, Sarvaiya, Laheriya are also the varied Bhats (patterns) one finds in the story that the Patola so intricately recounts. Traditional patterns have also seen a lot of tributaries of experimental patterns emerging out of them.

The single Ikat Patola sari has motifs, which are less densely woven as compared to the double Ikat Patola. The colors are different as well, with not more than three colors in a sari in varied shades. They also use zari, giving certain sheen to the sari, which also increases its price. The body of the sari is mostly plain with bold stripes of the same colour in different shades and borders lined with animal or plant motifs. The saris of a higher range have motifs on the body as well.

The preparation of Patola is an elaborate process. Following are the seven main steps of preparing a Patola:
~Making silk pure. Cotton, rayon are directly sourced from the market.
~Making the weft.
~Making knots on the warp & weft as per the design. Tie-dyeing the knots on warp and weft.
~Process of dyeing: The weft silk threads are tied separately with cotton thread on the portions already

marked out in conformity with the proposed design in the fabric. This tied portion is meant to remain unexposed to the colour while dyeing. United portion, which has absorbed one colour, may be tied while dyeing in another colour. Tying untying, re-tying and dyeing in different shades are the main features of this process. After completion of dyeing work of wefts, the threads of the warp are put together in a sequence on the loom, so that the design becomes visible. The threads of wefts are wound on to bobbins and kept in the bamboo shuttle for weaving process.

~Process of adjusting each threads of warp and weft: The tension of the warp threads is removed by the help of needle after every 8 to 10 inches are woven. Patola weaving is a highly accurate just a positioning of warp and weft of similar colour to obtain perfect design and harmony. The process is labour intensive, time consuming and requires high order of skill and dexterity.

~Process of finishing the fabrics. It takes about 10-12 days to prepare tie- dyed design on warp and weft threads for a sari that is 6 yards in length and 48 inches wide. Two weavers working together weave just about 8 to 9 inches a day. It takes about 7 days to weave a complete sari.

Technologies like Proweave, a digital drawing software have brought the pace and efficiency, characteristic of the modern world to this deeply traditional craft byhelping them print on paper the pixilated Ikat designs before transferring it on the loom.

This craft faces the challenge of not extinction but the loss of originality in the process of fitting and existing in a world that is inclined towards standardization and consumerism. Only if the next time a weaver’s child would not have to hesitate in taking up the craft in lieu of acquiring a degree to get a job for aspirational or simply livelihood reasons would it stand a real chance of survival.

They call themselves the ‘triumphant (through) water buffalo’. They are the Minangkabaus. The tribe inhabits the Sumatra islands. And they thank the water buffalo a thousand times over. Their majestic architecture, their headgear, their reverence all for the water buffalo. After all, when the Javanese appeared with their giant male buffalo in a conquest that was to seal their fate, it was a combination of trickery and the suckling hungry buffalo calf that saved them. All they did was to tie some sharp knives to the horns and when, in the arena, the calf sighted the opponent buffalo, it went straight under it to nurse and slit the animal fatally. Now there weren’t any rules to what could be used in the fight, were there?

When a woman puts on this head dress, she puts on ‘adat’. One such suggestive head dress pictures ducks returning home in the afternoon never breaking their single hiking trail. Adat represent adats which are the traditional code of conduct that a Minangkabau must never break.

The forest was denser… life expressing itself unhindered had covered the abandoned rock cut caves. The caves were formerly said to be inhabited by Buddhists. Tigers (Bagh) chanced upon them in their wanderlust. They had found a home that had beautiful Buddhist mural paintings adorning the walls in addition to the cool, shaded refuge from the world outside…Villages around the area started referring to the caves as the tigers’ home. And they came to be called Bagh Caves.

The Khatris are a community whose inward beings dance the Sufi way. They came under the influence of a sufi man and it stuck a long lasting chord. Originally Ajrakh printers they ventured into places to sell their fabrics and their enterprising ways kept them upfloat. From Larkana in Sind (today’s Pakistan) to Pali, to the Marwadi Thar, to Manawar in Madhya Pradesh, their journey came to a stop and they settled down in Bagh in 1962 as they saw their grandfather and uncles returning back to their ancestral land (Karachi, Pakistan) during Partition.

They discovered something that was seminal to their work and their lives. The river of the area, Baghini, was special. It’s copper content was high and that would account for all the beautiful deep colors in the fabrics that would be offered from the region. Also, the flowing water would contribute essentially to the dyeing process. Innovations made way and the printing flourished. Block designs were instrumental to the innovation. Of the paintings of the Bagh caves and that of Taj Mahal, they spoke. The base fabrics were experimented with. Vegetable dyes were adhered to.

Some of the traditional motifs used are ‘Nandana’ mango motif, ‘Tendu’ plant motif, ‘Mung Ki Phali’ motif, ‘Khirali Keri’ motif, ‘Leheria’ motif, ‘Jowaria’ motif and the ‘Phool Buta’ motif. This craft gives great
flexibility for developing innumerable surface designs through permutations and combinations of borders, ‘Buti’(motif) and ‘Jaal’ (floral net) blocks.

An elaborate process of printing and dyeing gives birth to the fine craft of ‘Bagh’. With wooden blocks made taking inspiration from the alluring fauna and architecture for printing, many traditional and contemporary patterns are passed onto cloth using natural dyes. Also called ‘Thappa Chappai’ (Thappa means Blocks, Chappai means printing) or ‘Alizarine print’ since ‘Alizarine’ gives it its characteristic red color Bagh has come a long way from its formative years.

The raw materials involved are base fabrics of cotton or silk, natural dyes and wooden blocks.Cotton is readily available from the nearby markets of Indore. Alternatively, silk-by-cotton fabric is purchased from the towns of ‘Maheshwar’ and ‘Chanderi’. ‘Cambric’ cloth is purchased from Mumbai to make dress materials while ‘Mulmul’ fabric comes from ‘Bhivandi’ town. Again, Silk cloth materials like ‘georgette’, ‘crepe’ and ‘chiffon’ are procured from Indore and Mumbai. ‘Tussar’ silk is procured from the towns of ‘Raigarh’ and ‘Bhopal’. Finally, ‘Dhaka Jute’ is purchased from Delhi.

Raw material processing is carried out in copper tubs. The fabric is washed to get rid of the impurities and left to dry in the sun. Once dry, it is dipped in a solution made of castor oil and goat droppings, which react with each other to generate heat and this makes the fiber absorbent. The cloth is dipped in this solution repeatedly and trampled on by foot to produce froth and then left to dry. After this, it is soaked in a starch solution of ‘Tarohar’ and ‘Harada’ powder and sun dried again. This also gives the fabric its yellow tone. It is necessary to dry it in the shade to prevent the desired yellow color from turning green due to the sun.

A paste is made by mixing the dye with ‘Dhavda’ (a kind of flower) gum. There are two types of pastes: one is a red in color and the other is black. For the printing of red color, alum is boiled in a solution along with Tamarind seeds to create a paste. For black, Iron rust is boiled till it becomes a thick paste and this is used to print black. After preparing the pastes, they are filtered and poured into wooden trays. This dye is applied to the wooden block by pressing the block onto the tray.

Meanwhile, the yellowish cloth obtained from the earlier process is evenly stretched across the table. A black boundary is drawn with plain stamps around the cloth. The cloth now becomes a canvas for the craftsman who skillfully prints and matched the intricate designs. He starts printing in rectangles, beginning from the outer portion of the cloth and moving inwards until it is covered. He avoids overlapping of the prints by putting an old cloth or paper where the printing has already been done. It is left to dry and washed once more.

For the ‘Bagh’ printed cloth to have its characteristic contrast and finishing, it must pass through another dyeing process. ‘Alizarin’ mixed with ‘Dhavadi’ flower extracts are boiled together in a big copper container concealed in a cement structure. The printed cloth is then left to boil in it for five to six hours. The printed dye containing alum reacts with Alizarin to produce red. At the same time, ‘Dhavadi’ flowers work like a bleaching agent on portions printed with ‘Harada’, creating white areas. After this process, through which the designs turn red, black and white, the cloth is left to sundry in shade.

The printed dry fabrics are finally taken to Baghini River for subsequent washes. The iron content of the river and the running water helps in bringing out finer colors and also softens the fabric. Though for all the previous stages, the artisans use the water stored in in-house tanks.

The craftsmen only use teak wood, locally known as ‘Sagwan’, sourced from Valsad, a town near Gujarat-Maharashtra border for making Bagh printing Blocks. Teak provides the perfect base for carving intricate motifs as it is a dense and strong wood. It doesn’t absorb water or distort in shape even after years of usage. The craftsmen use a hand-drill arrangement that involves a bow called ‘Kamthi’ and a driller ‘Saarardi, to drill out larger portions of the design voids from the block. For finer carving and finishes they use a variety of chisels of varying shapes and sizes. These tools are also handmade by them according to their requirements. Once prepared, the blocks are immersed in oil for a few days to protect them against warping and insect attacks. This is important since the block is going to be in constant touch with water-based dyes, which make them more vulnerable to decay. Wooden blocks range from as small as an inch to as large as sixteen inches in size. While a basic block (3’ to 4’ across) takes a day or two to be made today, an intricate one may take almost a week’s work.

The local Adivasi community that practiced the block printing technique lacked sustenance and Ismail Khatri played an important role in their revival.Today, Bagh sustains more than 2500 artisans and also the craft is a matter of joy and astonishment to all those it reaches to. From Lehengas and Ghaghras, to sarees, salwars and dupattas, to skirts and shirts, to bedcovers and curtains, lampshades and scarves, kerchiefs and wall pieces; adaptation to the world about, has secured it’s survival. A name is a symbol. It represents something. The tiger, oblivious to it’s place and position in the human world, has lent it’s name to this human endeavour, which is not just the palpable final object, but the human spirit that is essentially the tiger’s spirit as well.

He loved her. She right back at him. They lived in the hills amidst vast expanses of empty lands. Their love seemed to be born of the landscape. Man, a tribal soul had fought and killed for what he called his own today. The princess’ father was a blind man. And as he groped his way about, the prince got killed. A pyre flamed up, the agony of love drew her into the pyre and they both rose up to the heavens. Their premature departure wasn’t quite; they returned. The princess set herself with the tea plant as leaves while the prince turned white as salt. And ever since, butter tea is brewed in Ladakh. The prince meets the princess now on a different sort of pyre.

At 5:30 am in the morning, 15100 feet above the sea level he’s rushed, separating his Pashmina goats ready for milking. The Changpa nomad and the goats, both have learnt to adapt to the tough terrain. The landscape is passionate, unforgiving and beautiful. The hurry is to send the goats for the fodder of the day… a grazing pasture that could be miles away.

A beautiful elixir for the life of goats… In response to the severe cold of altitudes over about 15,000 feet, Capra Hircus, a specie of goats produces an undercoat of extremely fine wool called Pashmina. “Soft gold”, it literally translates as. The finest is known to grow on the Himalayan Ibex’s underbelly.

Summers come, they rub themselves against rocks and shrubs, leaving behind fine short haired fleece. It’s collected and is worthfully sold. The fleece is called Asli Tus, renowned for it’s soft silkiness, featherlightness and warming attributes. The wonderous ‘ring shawls’ that slither through a small thumb ring take birth from the fleece. ‘Shawl’ from Persian ‘Shal’ is a garment made of a length of woolen fabric.

The wool collected every spring before the goat grows a new coat each winter is cleaned. Combing separates the hard and the soft fibers. Then on the Charkha it is carefully hand spun. The wool merchant separates the yarn for use as warp and weft. For a colourful Shawl, the Rangur(dyer) at this stage would see the yarn arriving at his door. After dyeing, the hanks of wool morph into bobbins and are made ready for warping.

One warp for each shawl at a time is the usual way… The warp (Tani) is wound straight from a bobbin, which stands on the ground with the aid of a warping stick which ends in a hook through which the thread passes. This passes through a ring attached to the ceiling, to keep the flow smooth. The warp winder goes around, winds the warp around the four pegs stuck into the ground. The finished warp is attached directly to the loom. A bamboo stick is inserted in the lease. The warps are then sized.

The designs are laid and a writer transforms the designs onto a Talim in form of script or a series of hieroglyphics. It’s woven as Urdu is read (left to right) and the Talim is read as one reads English (right to left). The Talim consists of a set of symbols denoting various numbers of warp ends and a second set denoting the different colours the Kani (bobbin or small individual shuttles for the different colors of the motif) has to go over. The master weaver chants along from the Talim and the weavers play the music on the loom accordingly. The weavers are at the looms for about 8 to 15 days to create a plain full length Pashmina and the number of days increase with the intricacy of the design if it’s a Kani Pashmina shawl.

With their coloured strips, elaborate floral motifs, the shawls till date remind us of Persian richness. Chand-dar or Moon shawl hosted a medallion in the centre and quarters in the corner just like the ground it would adorn. Badams, Panjdar (five fingered flowers), Cheet misri (Egyptian print), Kev Posh (root flower), Gul-e- noor jehan (a flower liked by Noor Jahan), Gulabkan (roses), Yumberzal Posh (meadow wild flower), Marder (snake like forms), Gulkar (only flowers), Ragas Chinar (leaves of Chinar), Taj (Taj mahal) created language of the shawls. William Moorcraft wrote about the advanced and organized system of division of labor in industry between 1820 and 1823. More the intricacy of the shawl, twelve or even more specialists independently worked on the same shawl.

Shawl weaving remained one of the most important economic activities of Kashmir till the late 19th century. The Nawabs of Oudh, the Rajput princes and the elite of Hyderabad wore Jamas and Angarkhas of elaborate designs. Akbar got a pair of shawls stitched back to back and it went on to be called Dhoshala, the style continued. Such shawls were often given as bribes to please British diplomats. Imagine all that it took to pack off the British back to Buckingham palace. Late 18th century saw the empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon 1 of  France and the English royalty exemplifying their taste for the Kashmir shawls. Queen Victoria wore, folded diagonally, the square shaped shawls she received as an annual tribute from the state of Kashmir. Till date, Pashmina shawls form the most treasured possession in the wardrobe for those who live a tasteful life.

As a contrast to the tastefully built up world of the humans of high esteem lay the vast stretches of grazing lands in the Himalayas…. with absolutely nothing that can be called as built up till as far as the vision goes… and there lives Sonam, a 9 year old Changpa Nomad girl, with her dog. She is busy flocking the Pashmina goats near the lake. The goats have grazed, the men have eaten and drank and sung and they must return home. It’s still winter, there’s still time for the spring to blossom. She, her family, the goats, all have coats of the most exquisite fur to wear…. life is beautiful…. more so, outside of the wardrobes….

He sits cross-legged in the lap of hills. He has a knowing, settled air to him. A brush of fine bristles is held in his secure hand and the contours slowly become visible of a thing; beautiful, that shall transcend time. A story has to be told… The mountainous backdrop, the trees, the rivers, the birds, the sounds, the voices, all partake with the painter.

A group of women, beautiful maidens; firm, shapely bosoms, lustrous skins, chiseled faces, fish shaped eyes, full lips, slender and curvy; like one of those gorgeous snow capped curves in the pristine hilly backdrop, perfectly morphing into it…. their long hair, their beautiful attire, fluid and translucent; just enough to show their well formed figures, their ornaments; of gold and colorful gems, adding regale to their understated beauty… They are all looking for their playful lover -Krishna, who seems to be at his tricks again…. This along with many other narratives from the Bhagvad Purana or Jaidev’s Gita- Govinda form the theme for the paintings taking form in the beautiful Kangra valley. The miniatures feel to be a natural outcome.

Nadir Shah’s invasion of the northern states led the Kashmiri painters from the Mughal ateliers to seek patronage with the Rajput kings. A family of painters from Kashmir, with a trained hand in the Mughal style, reached out to Raja Dalip Singh for a roof over their heads. He ruled Guler, a town in the Lower Himalayas. It stands at the entrance of the valley bordering on the plains. The family saw the local art sensibilities, the Mughal way. A new form was born. The same stories found a new narrative arc.

Patronage of Maharaja Sansar Chand, a Krishna lover, saw the commissions flowing in, the art sustained and flourished. A painting that sits in the Chadigarh museum at the moment shows Raja Govardhan Chand of Guler sitting on the terrace enjoying music. It marks the transition of the art form to Mughal style….

Thereafter Mahabharata, Ramayana, the idyllic Radha Krishna found new kind of brush strokes. The colour tones became softer, the palette simpler and the experience sublime. The hills, the Himalayan houses, the trees and the vastness of the valleys became the backdrop for Radha and Krishna’s togetherness. Krishna’s turban and Radha’s Ghaghra took a Mughal spirit. Vibrant and elaborated, detailed and intricate, the narratives have a different sort of playfulness. Refined and fine lines, extraordinarily beautiful women, like the flower blossom she would hold in her hands. This shift from dramatic to realistic wasn’t subtle.

The preliminary sketch leads to application of Khadiya, a white paste to fill the holes that the paper might carry. An agate stone comes in; it is rubbed to burnish the paper before the brush, the colors all start to play shades, lines, forms and purpose.

Long time ago, his ancestors sported color stains in far greater number than his hands, his face and his clothes carry now. The natural world was their world. The colors used for the paintings; white, red, orange, mahavar (alta), yellow, green, blue, black, silver/gold (halakari), gond (babul tree), still keep the natural connection intact, just better organized.

Tales of nature’s moods influencing ours taken from Baramasa by Keshavdas, the story of Nala and Damayanti, the Shringar Rasa (the erotic emotion) also took birth on the canvas. Nayika Bheda, a text, part of Natya Shashtra, classified the Nayika (heroine) in various states in relation to her lover (Nayak). Eight women in one woman…. Distressed on separation, nervous before union, pleased at subjection, separated on differences, enraged and jealous, betrayed and longing, and the stealthy one who secretly crosses rivers and averts storms to see her lover. Hugely popular atthe time also flowed onto the canvas.

The word Pahari (from the hills) is used generically for all the paintings originating in the hill states. Nurpur, Basohli and Chamba also offer miniatures of a less refined taste but emotionally intense.Love for the hills and valleys or longing for idyllic women and enchanting colors has timelessly been in the human fabric… and so the stories depicted in these miniatures have fascinated, influenced,and formed minds for centuries. Stories are mirrors, if you really look.

A house, she wanted to build, with every twig and stone the earth embraced, bonding with her mother, the earth. Not for a moment could she exclude herself from her imagination enthralled in a faraway land. Orchestrating these elements she creates a labyrinth of intersecting lines….ecstasy… her play.

Living in the mystical times a poet, scholar followed the winds from Persia along with his followers to the majestic vale of Kashmir bringing along the best of the crafts to flourish in harmony with the inhabitants. Known as Shah Hamadani, a Sufi poet and a scholar introduced Islam along with elements of Islamic architecture and the art of Islamic geometry in wood through the crafts of Pinjrakari and Khatumbandh.

“Pinjra-Kari” is a craft of making screens of interwoven wooden laths forming intricate geometric patterns. Traditionally used in elements of architecture like windows, balconies, partitions and ventilators. These lattice patterns are based on Islamic geometry, where the circle brings in the three basic or fundamental shapes or figures of Islamic geometry; the triangle, the square and the hexagon. The triangle symbolizes the human consciousness and harmony; the square represents physical expression or materiality and the hexagon the Heaven.

These exquisite lattices bring into being a fascinating play of light all day long creating sublime moments between the dweller and the beholder. Adorning the windows and extended balconies called Zoondans or moon observatories, Pinjras had functional attributes rather than just decorative. Besides the valued privacy, they were very cleverly used to control the Sun in summers and cold drafts during the extreme winters. In winter they were covered with a layer of oiled paper to keep away the cold breeze and insulate the space inside creating a green house. The paper used for this was made locally and was know a Khosur Kagaz. In India the first paper industry was developed in Kashmir established by Sultan Zainul Abedin of Kashmir in 1417-67 AD. It also catered to the demand for large craft industry involved in Naqashi a fine art of miniature painting on paper and papier-mâché products.

A Pinjra-Chan (Pinjra maker) needs a good understanding and knowledge of geometry and dexterity of using tools of wood and construction methods. The construction of Pinjra uses precision hand tools of fine quality; one can see the impressions of these fine tools in old Pinjrakari when looked closely.

The construction of interlocking small pieces of wooden laths in a geometrical pattern results in a lattice. There are two types of joints, a halved lap with a bridle joint and a simple Tenon and Mortise joint. Halved lap and Bridle joint is formed by making grooves in the baton. These grooves vary in shape and size depending on the thickness of the batten and the type of design. It could be a rhombus, rectangle or a cube. These grooves form by removing the material on one side of the batten at previously fixed intervals. The groove of one batten goes into the groove of another. Depending on the pattern, the grooves in a batten are on one side or on both sides. The geometry and the construction of these joints exert tensional pressure as in weaving and keep the laths in position without the use of glues or nails. An outer frame that holds this delicate lattice also acts as the structural member for windows and other uses.

Four kinds of trees supply wood for this art of Pinjrakari: Kaiur or yar (Deodar, Himalayan blue pine), Budloo or Sun-Gal (Himalayan silver fir)) and Doon Hut (Walnut). The Pinjra patterns are made from a selection of traditional designs. Craftsmen have developed a set of scales called Kannat for different patterns. The Kannat or measurements help ease of making, to cut the battens into different lengths and sizes. In this way, skilled artisans can make highly complex designs without resorting to mathematics every time and without necessarily understanding their underlying principles. The use of Kannat and the intrinsic nature of repeated components make the process mechanical. These Kannat’s are the formulas that were inherited from one generation to the other.

A fine mud coating sometime was used for finishing of pinjra as a protective coating for a longer life. This coating also acts as a binding agent to put all the small pieces in place. Kashmiri Pinjrakari is unique and differentiates itself from other forms of latticework seen in stone, metal or wood from across the world. Uniqueness of Pinjra found in Kashmir is in its fineness of scale of the batons. Sections used are as fine a 5 mm thick and 18 mm wide. Larger square sections of 20 X 20 mm are used for patterns that are very basic, like perpendicular batons crossing each other. Simple grooves running along the centre of the batons and minute notches along the width add to the visual intricacies. A simple “V” notch on a square opening creates an eight-pointed star profile.

Prevalent in Islamic art is the star, a chosen motif for many Islamic decorations. In Islamic iconography the star is a regular geometric shape that symbolizes equal radiation in all directions from a central point. All regular stars — whether they have 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16 points, are created by a division of a circle into equal parts. The center of the star is center of the circle from which it came, and its points touch the circumference of the circle. The rays of a star reach out in all directions, making the star a fitting symbol for the spread of Islam.

Over the time this craft languished, for its high value, time consuming and declining patrons. Later modern materials like glass, metal grills and readymade industrial mesh replaced traditional Pinjra. Some artisans and walnut wood carvers have picked up the art of making while repairing and restoring old Pinjra and also happen to cater to the local needs of the Pinjra. Pinjrakari today is not practiced and made the traditional way of interlocking batons. The use of glue or nails is prevalent now for its complexity. Origins of Pinjrakari as practiced by Shah Hamadani and his disciples dating back to 1373-1476 are seen in Tral a remote village east of Awantipora. A Namda Gari Mohala and Zadibal area in Srinagar have traces of some of the fine Pinjrakari. Also to be seen are traces of dilapidated Pinjra on abandoned ruins of houses scattered across the valley.

Frozen in time, these houses stand still waiting to be embraced…each one with a story to be rewritten. While the breeze caresses through, her fingers slide over the fine grooves of Pinjra; a call sieves through, it’s Abbu, expecting her for Kahwa. She springs back with laughter leaving her house unfinished… some twigs follow the breeze…
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Text & Images by Sandeep Sangaru