Gaatha

One of the earliest materials, durable and versatile, used for every purpose from storage of food to protection from the elements, was labeled as “impure”, once humans settled down in large agricultural societies. Leather, the material that on one hand, adorned the feet of kings, on the other hand, pushed its workers outside the boundaries of their cities and tagged them as “untouchables”. But this did not stop the leather craftsmen from making not just sturdy shoes for the common man, but also the most exquisite footwear for the royalty.

Over the course of centuries, a rich variety of footwear was created in India, in many different shapes and forms, using an assortment of materials and decorations. Perhaps, the enormous diversity of climatic conditions of the country, ethnic and cultural traditions, ritual conventions, and exposure to the outside world through voyages and trade, was catalytic in bringing about this abundance of styles.

Among these, the Jutti is one of the styles of footwear that has continuously evolved due to numerous influences from near and far. “Jutti” is an Urdu word for a shoe with a closed upper attached to a sole. Juttis come in many variations according to regional tradition, period and shoemaker, and are adapted according to the environment and materials. One of the unique characteristics of this kind of footwear is that they have no left and right distinction, and are inevitably flat-soled.

In Northern India, especially in Punjab, the curled upturned toe is a common feature of footwear, as is the beautiful, intricate embroidery, which today is still executed completely by hand. Earlier, shoes which have come to be known as Punjabi Juttis throughout the world; were embroidered with pure gold and silver wires all over, covering the entire surface of the pair. Some experts were even able to make such light shoes the cobblers used to say that even sparrows could fly with them.

Today, the jutti has evolved a multitude of styles, yet the fundamentals of its form and technique remain the same. Construction of one pair of juttis involves people from different communities: the “Chamars”, who process raw hides, the “Rangaars”, who colour it and the “Mochis”, who assemble the pieces together and do the final stitching and embroidery.

The process of making this most desirable footwear starts from a tannery where raw hides are processed using vegetable tanning method. For this, a substance called tannin, which is extracted from the bark of Babool or Kikkar trees, is used. It is in the tannery that an animal hide becomes strong, flexible, water resistant and consequently, wearable.

For colouring, sarfoola (yellow) and arsi gulabi (green) powdered pigments are mixed in water to make a thin solution of different shades of red and applied to the pieces of leather using a local shaving brush.

This processed leather is then cut into the components of the footwear. The shoe upper, known as Panna, is made of one piece of leather or textile, embroidered and embellished with brass nails, cowries (shells), mirrors, bells and ceramic beads. Even the bonding from the upper and back (known as Adda) to the sole (known as Talla) is done by cotton thread that is not only eco-friendly but also enmeshes the leather fibers with great strength.

While men handle the cutting, shaping and assembling of the shoe, the women work beautiful embroideries on the top, back and sometimes even instep of the jutti. Embroidering the juttis involves the use of stencils, for cutting and tracing designs on to the leather parts of the shoes. They range from simple cut-out shapes to be filled with simple embroidery, to intricate punches, weaves and embroidered designs.

In Fazilka town, which is famous for ‘tilla’ (golden or silver thread, earlier made with real gold and silver) embroidery, intricate paper checks are hand cut by professional check artists, making it an art form in itself. These are pasted on the shoe uppers, backs and insoles and distributed amongst women who then embroider these with gold and silver tilla. Fazilka’s Tilla juttis are the most sought after, for their detailing of design, intricate embroidery and impeccable finishing. The most elaborate ones have every inch covered with the tilla and appear as if made of solid gold or silver, making them a class apart.

In the towns Muktsar and Malaut, which are abodes of Punjabi jutti, the basic check designs are traced and embroidered on Rexene stencils, which are then pasted on top of the leather jutti. This method ensures faster completion, to meet the high demand these juttis have.

Patiala being the biggest market for all types of juttis, has now a large variety of juttis in designs, keeping with the trends. Material and technique take many variations, with the use of velvet and machine embroidery, as well as lavish “dabka” (fine metal wires) work.

Even among the basic juttis, there are many regional variations. The Salem Shahi Juttis are named after the Mughal prince Salim (Jahangir), and are characterized by a pointed, sometimes curled toe and a spade shaped sole. While the “Lucky” jutti is called so because of a narrow mid section, “luck” meaning waist in Punjabi, the Khussa juttis stand out with their upturned front representing the curled moustache of a “Punjabi Gabru” (Punjabi young man). The Kasuri juttis, with their unique toe indent design, transcend the borders, when people bring back these unstitched juttis to Maler Kotla, Punjab, from their relatives in Pakistan.

With passage of time and dictated by technological improvement and market demand, many different materials, colours and styles are being produced. Although these novel styles are popular among trend conscious youngsters, the basic essence of this footwear still remains. There are many patrons who appreciate original craftsmanship and take only the finest of the handcrafted pieces.

The survival of such rich crafts reflects the unstoppable spirit of tenacity and toughness of the Punjabis who enrich our culture with beautiful colours, unceasing passion and energy, and a zest for life.

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Chamars, Cutting, Embroidery, Fazilka town, Fazilka’s Tilla juttis, footwear, Gold and silver wires, Jutti, Malaut, Maler Kotla, Mochis, Muktsar, Patiala, Punjab, Rangaars

The onset of much awaited monsoons, bringing heavy, rumbling clouds in the dark skies above… and roaring crowds below, pull massive chariots for the gods who have decided to take a stroll…

Every year, on the day of Asadha Shukla Dwitiya (second day of the waxing moon phase of the Asadha month according to the Hindu calendar), the biggest and the most elaborate festival of Lord Jagannath, a form of Krishna, is celebrated. On this day, the deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra are taken out from the temple, on chariots in a ritual procession to the Gundicha temple, where they stay for seven days and are then brought back to the main temple, Shrimandira.

These huge, colourful chariots are drawn by hundreds of devotees, and watched by millions, who believe that seeing the gods in procession expiates them of all sins.

A legend in the Satapatha Brahmana says that a chariot was metamorphosed from Indra’s lightning weapon, Vajra, when he fought with a demon. Rath Yatra is also known as Gundicha Yatra, after Gundicha, the mythical queen of Indrayumna who founded the great shrine of the deities. The master craftsman of the heavens, Vishwakarma, carved the images out of logs and these images were brought in a procession to the main temple from Gundicha temple. Since then, the images make an annual visit to the Gundicha temple, where they were originally made and this festival is said to be that ancient.

During the Anasar period, when the deities are believed to have become sick after their ritualistic summer bath, they rest for fifteen days, during which, Patachitra Paintings depicting the gods are worshipped, instead of their idols. At the end of this, in the month of Asadha, they go to visit their birthplace at Gundicha temple, in a big procession, which is the Rath Yatra of today.

When gods travel, the scale is massive and majestic and hence the monumental chariots surrounded by thronging devotees in a magnanimous procession. Whatever may be the legend, even to this day, each year, new chariots are built and lavishly decorated and the procession brought out in its full grandeur.

A vehicle that carries the divine gods ought to be grand in scale and adornment and is therefore a humungous task of great responsibility. Under the guidance of ten master craftsmen, around 60 craftsmen from surrounding villages assemble in this holy town of Puri, and work for two months, starting on the auspicious day of “Akshaya Tritiya”.

Tonnes of wood are sent from forests specially maintained for this purpose. Each chariot has its fixed set of specifications. The chariot of Lord Jagannath is known as “Nandighosa” and is 45 feet high, with wheels 7 feet in diameter. It is painted yellow, matching his clothes, for which he is known as “Pitambara”. Lord Balabhadra’s chariot, “Taladhwaja”, is 44 feet high and painted blue, and Subhadra’s chariot, “Deviratha”, is 43 feet high and is painted red.

The chariots cover a generous area, spreading 40 feet by 40 feet, in a stepped square form. They are topped with temple shaped with colourful appliquéd cloth canopies, another beautiful craft that Orissa is famous for. Sixteen large wheels support and pull each gigantic structure.

Construction starts with the wheels, then moves on to the main platform and finally finishes with the top structure. The craftsmen use indigenous tools, specially fashioned for ease of grip and better control. Each and every single bit of the chariot is cut and put together by the sheer power of basic tools and perseverant hands, with basic yet strong wood joinery techniques.

Remarkably, for such a massive piece of construction, no sketches are made and no rulers or scales are used. It is all in the master craftsman’s mind, which is brought to reality by his years of experience and skills, when he uses arms and feet to mark dimensions on the wood, which are amazingly given shape by the army of craftsmen.

Without detailed architectural drawings or calibrated automatic machines, the skill of hands can make something so enormous, yet so perfect, that it is used to house the sacred idol, dearest to millions of worshippers. Trying to touch just the coarse jute rope that pulls the chariot, the devout crowds may not be able to see what is behind the heavily adorned canopies and flowers, but the grand splendour of the carriage assures them that their exalted lord is close to them, cleansing them of their sins.

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Appliqué, Balabhadra, Chariots, Gundicha Yatra, Indigenous tools, Indra, Krishna, Lord Jagannath, Nandighosa, Puri, Rath Yatra, Subhadra, Vishwakarma, Wood

Drawn symbols are probably the oldest way of preservation of information and wisdom, starting with depiction of life scenes in Stone Age caves, to trading seals with undecipherable scripts and to volumes of written text in the form of books. Somewhere in the evolution of writing from stone to paper, came inscriptions on palm leaves. Even though palm leaf writing preceded paper, many collections of a few hundred years old palm leaf manuscripts survive to the present date, because they are much stronger and tensile than paper.

Palm-leaf  manuscripts at Asiatic Library, Calcutta
Source~www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia

Over 2000 years ago, Lipikaars, or scribes made hand written copies of sacred verses and ancient literature, under the patronage of kings and temple authorities. These precious palm leaf manuscripts would last a few centuries before new copies had to be made. Palm leaf painting may have begun with decoration of manuscripts with illustrative depictions of the stories or events, and took over to become an art form of its own. With engraving and use of colour, this art form evolved to bring a multitude of ideas, fables and tales to life.

Orissa’s villages are the centres of the famous Pattachitra paintings, and in one such village, Raghurajpur, in Puri district of Orissa, creativity flows on any available surface, from cloth and paper to walls, terracotta and dried palm leaves.

In the zigzag folds of crisp yellow-green leaves, delicately strung together with thread, are needle-sharp fine drawings carefully etched and cut out, telling stories from great mythological epics. Known as Talapatrachitras, (tala – palm, patra – leaf, chitra – illustration) these palm leaf paintings hold a world of tales and secrets, beautifully depicted by the artists of Orissa.

The great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are favourite subjects of illustration in many art forms, as they are with palm leaf paintings. Stories of gods and goddesses are also depicted with minute details of ornaments, hairstyles, animals, flowers, trees and elements of nature.

Palm leaves are first cut into the required sizes and treated with a solution of turmeric, as the antibacterial properties of turmeric ensure longevity of the painting. Once dried for a few days, the leaves are ready for painting. Since the painting can only be done between the veins of the palm leaves, they are all more or less a standard size. Two layers are stuck together and a few of such strips are together with a thread, to create a scroll that compresses into a very compact block of zigzag folds. Sometimes the artists paint first and then stitch the strips together, such as when they want to insert colourful paper between the layers, to show through the fine cuts made in the illustrations.

The painting on palm leaves is a unique process, as ink or pens are not directly used to apply colour. Instead, an iron stylus has to be used with extreme care, to etch the drawing on to the brittle surface, making sure that it doesn’t go wrong or the leaf doesn’t break. Once the drawing is inscribed, lamp black is rubbed all over the leaf and then it is cleaned, giving fine black colour to the carved lines, while rest of the surface stays clean.

The artists also sometimes make very small cut outs in the painting, to give it a stencil like appearance. This requires a great deal of precision and skill, as the palm leaf is brittle and has directional grains, which interferes with a smooth usage of the cutting blade. Such beautifully placed cut outs make the painting even more intricate and lace like.

Sometimes the artists use colour to beautify the painting, by inserting coloured paper between the layers or by painting with natural colours. Such developments have been quite recent compared to the ancientness of the art and have taken it to a new level.

What makes this craft even more unique is that unlike many other handicrafts, which are struggling to maintain their age old standards of fineness, palm leaf paintings are evolving a higher quality of craftsmanship and aesthetic. From an ancient method of documentation, the Talapatrachitra has become a treasured art, thriving under the growing skills of the master craftsmen of Orissa.

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carving, Manuscripts, Orissa, Paintings, Palm leaf, Pattachitra, Raghurajpur, storytelling, Talapatrachitra

Among the remains of one of the most ancient civilizations, at the Indus Valley site at Dholavira, Gujarat, were pieces of earthen ware, surviving in their original form for five thousand years.

As per Hindu belief the human body is composed of five natural elements, one of them being earth, and we humans always like to be close to it. Children have loved playing with wet clay, whether in the present day or a few thousand years ago. Terracotta toys found in Harappan excavations show that the civilization was expert in mud related crafts, as the raw material was easily available all around.

Mud relief work is one forte of village dwellers, which they use to decorate their houses. In the great Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, many hamlets have Mud relief walls with the motifs that usually represent their feelings and beliefs.

The mud is prepared with clay easily found in the Great Rann of Kutch. It is pounded and sifted through a sieve to get a smooth powder and other ingredients are added for anti cracking properties. These are thin fibers obtained from sieving donkey dung, which are then mixed with the mud and kneaded with water as per the requirement of the desired patterns. It is rolled on a plain surface by the palms, to get a string like form and then this string is fixed with pressure on water-wetted wall or wooden plaques to get the desired forms.The beauty of these artistic hands lies in the fact that they can make any motifs without any visual markings or drawings to facilitate mud relief work.

Mud relief work is done by different communities in Kachchh, and they have their own distinct styles.

Kachchhi Rabari Mud Relief Work: Kachchhi Rabari is the biggest sub tribe of Rabari community and their work is most excellent in its art form. Today it is on the verge of extinction as the younger generation is not interested in doing this art work. Rabari work is characterized by thick lines and less care is taken to prepare the cow dung and clay mixture. Hence it turns out to be very rough and rustic in look. Walls of house and items like storage chest, quilt-stand and grain-box are embellished with this art. Elephant, camel, peacock, parrot, scorpion, woman with water pots on her head, women churning butter milk, trees, flowering vines, hills, and temples are common motifs to be used with lots of mirrors in round, square, triangle shapes. The Rabaris believe that mirrors repel the negative effects of the evil eye and so they use them in mud relief work and embroidery.

Harijan Mud Relief Work: Marvada Harijan of Banni area in the Great Rann of Kutch had played a vital role to popularize this art and had made efforts to establish this art in metro cities, as part of interior decoration on walls of drawing rooms and five stars Hotels. This art has been used to decorate stages for musical programmes and also to garnish song-settings in Hindi films. Hamlets of Banni area are full of this art, in every house one can see walls that are embellished with mud-relief work. Most of the designs and motifs are derived from their own embroidery and stitching designs, geometrical forms, pheasants; a woman with water pots is most auspicious sign for this community.

Mutwa Mud-Relief-Work: Being Islamic by religion Mutwa community’s mud-work has the essence of their recurring motifs. Women of this community are well known for their tiny embroidery stitches. But mud-relief-work is done by men only. Mr. Mehmood Mutwa is the master craftsman of this art and his own house is a museum of this art. Mutwa mud-relief-work is done with thin lines and geometrical Islamic forms, replica of their own ornaments and non-living forms. The motifs are carefully chosen in their work as Islam does not permit them drawing of living beings as motifs.

With the earthquake that hit Gujarat in January 2001, most of this area was destroyed; many mud houses shattered to ground losing most of the adorning art of ancient heritage.

While the application of mud relief work is decreasing in the villages, metropolitan cities are slowly recognizing the rustic charm of this sculptural craft.

Text by~
Shri Kantilal Doobal
Tourist Guide, Bhuj, Gujarat, India

Photographs by~
Shri Kantilal Doobal  &  Gaatha team

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Add new tag, Banni area, Dholavira, gujarat, Harijan Mud Relief Work, Mud and Mirrors Work, Mud relief work, Mutwa Mud-Relief-Work

It is not just kaleidoscopic embroideries that Gujarat is so famous for; it is also the home of wonderful weaves that combine impressive skill and generations of expertise, with the result of pure aesthetic joy. Reaffirming that appearances are deceptive, the spectacular Mashru has the appearance of glistening silk that conceals the soothing feel of cotton.

Mashru has characteristic bright contrasting stripes in vibrant colours, instantly uplifting the spirits of a desert traveler. It seems that to make up for the lack of colour in the dry barren deserts, the makers of this fabric put every possible colour together in wonderful, lustrous compositions.

Blending the opulence of silk and the comfort of cotton, this magic fabric in its multicoloured stripes and ikat patterns has been a favourite among those with a taste for luxury. Mashru is not just a luxurious fabric; it also has a very practical utility. While the silk on the outer surface has a beautiful, glossy appearance, the cotton yarns in the back soak up sweat and keep the wearer cool in the hot climate of the deserts.

Mashru weaving is an old tradition in India and this textile was traded to Arabian countries. Mashru means “permitted” in Arabic and it is believed that this textile got this name when Muslim men, who were not allowed to wear silk, started wearing this fabric. Since the body is in contact with cotton and silk is only the exterior, they got approval to wear this luxurious fabric. Slowly, it became liked by Hindus also and these days, this fabric can be seen in the clothes of Kutchi nomads.

While the small dotted pattern is preferred in Anjar, Kutch, the striped ones are liked all over the country. Traditionally used in garments, Mashru is also used for making quilts, cushions and bags. The craftsmen have also developed new designs, by tie-dyeing the fabric using ‘Bandhani’ technique.

Mashru fabric is made using satin weave by interlacing silk and cotton yarns. Cotton makes the weft, or the horizontal yarns while silk is used for the warp, or the vertical yarns. In this weave, each silk yarn goes under one cotton yarn and above five or eight or more cotton yarns, giving an appearance of a shiny surface that looks like it is made up of only silk, while the underside of the fabric is cotton. Since the structure of the fabric allows for more yarns in a given area, it also makes the fabric stronger.

With time, the designs of Mashru have become simpler. Multi hued ikats and patterned stripes are uncommon now, and replacing them are brighter, bold stripes or small dots, along with solid coloured fabrics.

The weaving of this fabric was practiced across the country in different forms; from Deccan to Bengal, now it is only done in Patan and Mandavi in Gujarat.

In a small locality in Patan, Gujarat, a few craftsmen weave Mashru yardages, replacing vegetable dyed silk with chemical dyed rayon, not because they don’t want to use silk, but because rayon, being cheaper, has a better demand. Rayon is smoother and shinier than silk, although the synthetic dyes make it weak, unlike natural ones that grow richer with age.

These expert weavers, who learnt and carried on this exquisite craft from their ancestors, are probably the last generation who will be practicing this craft. Now in their 60’s, they work in their homes for eight hours a day, while their children venture out into bigger cities for lucrative and stable jobs.

This precious fabric finds customers all across the country and is also exported; and like Mashru’s colours cheer up a tired soul, the popularity of this multi hued textile among colour loving youth keeps the hope of revival of this beautiful craft.

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Cotton, gujarat, Ikats, Mashru, Patan, Satin, Satin weave, Silk, Weaving

Like the patter of raindrops on the window, like the beat of gentle drums, a rhythmic, repetitive pattern spreading across fabric like a web of motifs… Such is the marvel of a fabric, hand printed by a block that creates identical patterns, seamlessly merging into each other so gently, one cannot follow where the pattern begins and where it ends.

Block printers all over India make gorgeous textiles in many colours and designs, using a variety of techniques and materials. Some prints are so intricate, that they seem like they are hand drawn with a fine brush, but are actually colour impressions of pieces of wood, deftly carved by expert craftsmen.

Pethapur village in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is a hub of wood block makers, who supply customized blocks to the centres of block printing. Wooden block making has been a popular profession among the inhabitants of Pethapur for about 300 years.

The craftsmen use only teak wood (locally known as Sagwan) sourced from Valsad (near Gujarat-Maharashtra border). Teak is the perfect base for carving as it is strong and doesn’t absorb water or distort in shape or size. The craftsmen cut pieces according to the required block size, careful to cut away from any knots in the wood. The wood is painted white and then the design traced on to it, to increase contrast and visibility. The craftsmen use a hand drill arrangement that involves a bow (Kamthi) and a driller (Saarardi) to drill out larger portions from the block; and for the finer shapes, they use a variety of chisels in different shapes and sizes. They make their tools themselves according to their requirement.

These expert craftsmen can carve blocks with lines almost a millimeter thin and so close together, that it is a wonder how even one chisel stroke, that could leave the design spoiled and useless, does not go wrong. They make blocks for printing designs in one to four colours, sometimes more, but the craftsmanship is so precise that the fields and outlines of the motifs match flawlessly.

Wooden blocks range from as small as 1” to 16” in size and while a basic block, 3 to 4 inches across takes a day or two to make, an intricate one can take almost a week’s work.

Printers of different areas use different motifs or techniques and these block makers are experts in making all kinds of blocks. While Ajrakh prints have geometrical and star patterned motifs, the Sanganeri prints of Rajasthan have simple abstract or floral ones. The Bagh prints of Madhya Pradesh also have abstract florals, although more intricate than the ones in Rajasthan.

Even more intricate were the Saudagari prints, from which the block making art is believed to have started in Pethapur. It is difficult for a person to even hand draw those, let alone carve, but these experienced craftsmen are able to make perfect blocks for the prints, although the Saudagari prints are not done anymore.

A craft as old as printed textile, which can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization, has few patrons left now. Although hand block printing still flourishes, ironically, block carvers have decreased in number and continue to do so, with younger generations moving on to more profitable careers. From almost 500 craftsmen who used to work in Pethapur some decades back, today only a handful are left, trying to preserve this craft, as well as their livelihoods.

A sight one sees while leaving… Wood dust crumbling away, leaving an intricate design behind, symbolizing how the fading eyes and wrinkled hands are trying to hold on to a craft degenerating under sharp laser cuts and digital images, leaving behind the marvel that gives richness to other crafts.

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Ajrakh prints, Bagh prints, Block print, gujarat, Pethapur, Sanganeri prints, Saudagari prints, Textile, Wood, Wooden Block

Sitting under a banyan tree on a clear summer afternoon, daydreaming lazily, a vine found its way into a pair of idle hands and was twisted and turned into a twine… No one knows how the rope was first made by man, but it has been used since prehistoric ages. From building of the colossal pyramids of Egypt, to the obelisk of Rome, and the ancient temples of magnificent scale, ropes played a very important role in the development of civilization. Without ropes, bridges across rivers wouldn’t have been made and neither would have mankind voyaged across continents in enormous ships.

Women in the villages use a rope and dasher to churn out butter from cream and this usage of the rope also appears in ancient mythology. It is mentioned in the Puranas that during Samudra Manthan, (ocean churning), the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) decided to churn the ocean in the quest for the nectar of immortality. For this cosmic task, the mountain “Mandaar” was used as the churning rod and the serpent king “Vasuki” became the rope for churning the oceans.

In ancient times, ropes were made from grass, reeds, roots, leather and animal hair. A finer form of rope; the yarn, was woven and made into fabric which is an invention that had a huge influence on the course of human history. It is fascinating how a tiny delicate fibre, when put together in amazing numbers and twisted, can carry massive weights and can sustain tension of violent forces of nature.

The fundamental of rope making is twisting of fibres together. The twisted ropes are made in a ropewalk, which is any long space where lengths of rope can be laid out side by side. Once, two or three strands are twisted, they are brought together and twisted in the opposite direction; the counter twist holding them together into a stable, strong rope.

On some roads of Ahmedabad, one can see rope makers busy rotating what looks like a giant “Charkha” (spinning wheel), spinning out shiny strands glittering in the sunlight. There are ropes being made out of scrap industrial plastic, and sometimes fabric, which would otherwise be sent to garbage dumps, polluting the soil and rivers. They purchase the plastic from nearby industries of the city and turn that waste into something useful. These ropes are sold in high demand at the city market as they are supposed to be stronger than nylon ropes, since they don’t wear much in the weather.

These craftsmen have been making ropes for 40 years now, recycling plastic since much before the buzz of sustainability and climate change even started. Making plastic plied ropes by hand with a large charkha, walking up and down the roadside twisting the strands, in the city of in the city of Gandhi’s Ashram, they are carrying on his philosophies of hand work and self sustenance.

In weekly village haats, where common things of daily needs are sold, the rope is a ubiquitous object that finds many buyers. Rope is a necessity in the villages, where it is used to draw water from the wells and leash farm animals.

Even though ropes have been made for thousands of years, the technique of making ropes and even their usage remains unchanged. From the remnants of a past utility, spun together into cords bearing strength and resilience, discarded plastic and fabric are given a new lease of life by these ropemakers of Ahmedabad.

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Charkha, Plastic, Rassi, Recycling plastic, Rope, Samudra Manthan, Scrap industrial plastic

A craft tradition so deeply inherent in the collective identity of the practitioners, that their town is named after it. Sankheda, a small town in the eastern region of Gujarat derives its name from ‘sanghedu’, the word for a lathe in the Gujarati language.

Lacquered turned wood furniture with hand painted motifs and traditional method of ornamentation, popularly known as Sankheda furniture, is thought to have been produced here from about 1855. In this town, about 80-100 families belonging to the “Kharadi-Suthar” community are involved in this craft, giving them a strong sense of community identity and continuity.

Every year, on the ‘Maha sud Teras’ day in February, the entire ‘Kahardi-Suthar‘ community, along with the ‘Sonis’ (jewellers), ‘Luhars’ (metal workers) and ‘Kumbhars’ (potters) comes together to worship lord ‘Vishwakarma’ , the presiding Hindu deity of all craftsmen and architects, and celebrate and pray for the well-being of the community and the progress of their craft.

The craft is greatly respected in the region as the processes involved are close to nature and it uses Lac, a material known to man from very early times. Lac or shellac, a material available abundantly in nature, is a natural resin, produced as a result of the secretion of crimson-red tiny insects which thrive on certain trees. The ‘Palas’, or in Sanskrit, ‘Lakshataru’, or the Lac tree has been mentioned in the ‘Vedas’ (sacred texts of Hinduism). In the ‘Atharva Veda’, there is a small chapter devoted to the description of Lac insect, its habits and usefulness.

‘Ghodiyun‘ (child’s cradle) is believed to be one of the first furniture items produced using this form of expression. It is a prized possession in Gujarati families, and is passed down through the generations as an heirloom.

Sankheda furniture is considered auspicious and is used in many religious and festive occasions. From being used as sacred pedestals for God’s idols in temples and as chairs for the bride and groom in weddings, to cradles and walkers for infants and garden swings that give a fresh touch of breeze in the hot and humid climate, the Sankheda furniture is adopted and loved in its various usages. Erstwhile Gujarati royalty have in the past gifted it to royalty and state-heads of other countries.

Each process in making the Sankheda furniture involves patience and sustained effort. The individual members and components are made by turning the teak wood on a lathe, which is powered manually, with the help of a hand held bow. The craftsman deftly uses chisels and gouges to shape the wood and achieves symmetric and even contours without using any measuring device or markings.

Sheets of tinfoil are pounded along with hot saras or glue till the two become a homogenous mass which dissolves easily in water. This is harkalai, which is used to paint intricate floral and geometric patterns while turning the member. The craftsman, with great mastery of skill and geometric precision, maps the ornamental patterns free-hand, matching them perfectly, without any measurements. To enhance the lustre of the painted motifs, akik (agate) stone is rubbed over the wooden member.

Clear lac, which is procured from the trees of the nearby forest, is applied to with the help of friction and heat produced by the lathe, and this lac gives the member a glowing orange colour. Finally, kevda leaf is used for final finish and gloss, kevada leaf.

All the components are then assembled together with wood joinery into a single furniture piece.
Today, the craftsmen set up motorised machines indigenously as per their requirements, to turn the lathe. The use of synthetic colours and melamine coating instead of natural colours and lacquer has also become common. But the furniture pieces painted with natural lac are incomparable in aesthetic value, with the ones painted with synthetic colours, as lac gives a certain depth and natural glow to the piece, while synthetic paint appears flat.

There are 10-15 master craftsmen in Sankheda, who know all the processes. Others are proficient in only one process and depend on other craftsmen involved in different processes. For example; while some master wood-turning skills, others attain expertise in painting the patterns. This creates a relationship of inter-dependency and collective identity. The door of every workshop, which is also a part of their house, is open for anyone to enter even when they are at work, demonstrating the level of trust amongst the community.

The skill of the master craftsmen ensures uniformity in creating identical pieces that fit together to form pieces of furniture. It is a testimony to the dexterity of the craftsman’s expert hands, considering that no two handicraft objects are alike.

The craftsmen ensure that the children go to school get formal education, and the location of the workshop inside the house and active involvement by all the family members facilitates learning of the craft at an early age and leads to a gradual and smooth transmission of skills. Educated children play an important role at work, especially in transactions with clients from abroad. The craftsmen also train people of different communities and nearby villages who later become helpers at their workshops.

The ornate nature of this craft lends itself to becoming a visible symbol of expression that has been identified as Gujarati within its local precinct and elsewhere. Even though the original lac coating is being replaced by melamine and paint, the motifs and designs are unchanged over the years. Sankheda furniture continues to be omnipresent in every mundane or significant event in people’s lives.

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Documented by:
Vivek Sheth, Pratyusha Reddy, Shamit Das, Abhijita Pandey

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gujarat, hand painted, kevda leaf, Kharadi-Suthar, Lacquered turned wood, sanghedu, Sankheda Furniture, Shellac, wood furniture India

A grand procession is on its way from the palace. There are soldiers on horses, ministers riding on camels and the king and queen are sitting high atop a beautifully decorated elephant. There are dancers and musicians also going along, a group of women carrying flowers; all surrounded by reverberating drum beats. A scene rare and full of grandeur…. But who will remember this and tell its stories? Sitting alongside the road, carefully observing the procession, are some artists, busy making quick sketches… history for the future generations will be based on these.

Later, these artists draw and paint the entire scene in its full grandeur in amazing detail and fineness on a small canvas, for the king to keep as a memory of the event. These were the exquisite Miniature paintings of Rajasthan in the 16^th Century, the incredibly detailed enchanting visual narratives of royal festivities.

Drawn on paper or sometimes ivory, the miniatures were painted with extremely fine brushes made by inserting just a few strands of squirrels’ tail hair into bird feathers. It is not just the final act of painting, which required excellence, but preparation of the colours was another effort requiring patience and perseverance. The colours were all derived from nature and many days of toil would result in extraction of a miniscule amount of rich, exquisite colour.

The colour red was extracted from the dried fruit of Peepal tree, orange from Palash flower, green from leaves and black from stones. The colour yellow had a fascinating process of extraction. It was derived from the dried up urine of a sick cow. Gold or silver colours were obtained by boiling the metal with “Saras” (Camel musk) and water. It would be rubbed on a plate and ground by hand for 2-3 days to get a miniscule amount of very fine, precious concoction.

The colour would be mixed with water and natural gum to prepare it for application. It had to be made sure that the colour is extremely fine and uniform because the painting was so small, that even a tiny lump out of place would spoil it. Therefore, sometimes months were spent only in grinding the colour into a smooth paste, making sure the consistency is absolutely even.

Along with depicting events in a two dimensional perspective style, the artists found another outlet for their creativity in the multiple borders, which were at times, more lavish than the main painting. The Miniature paintings of Rajasthan were originally commissioned by the Rajput kings, but Mughal influence came to be seen in them, in terms of clothing, facial features and architecture.

In Udaipur, Rajasthan, there are many craftsmen who have learnt this art from their forefathers, who were artists for the kings. Udaipur based craftsman Devendra Kumar Guad’s great grandfather was the chief artist for the King of  Udaipur and his descendants have kept this art alive.

Now made for decorative purposes, the paintings depict beautiful palace or forest scenes from the artists’ imagination, on small pieces of silk or paper, but taking a closer look; it is easy to get lost in a world of detail. Irrespective of size, the painting is valued for its fineness and intricacy and the amount of time and effort that goes into it.

Today, even though synthetic paints and readymade brushes are used frequently, the painting style remains the same. The craftsmen sometimes still use natural colours for painting, although their extraction process is much faster and more efficient. Marble is used as a substitute for ivory, and only the highly experienced master craftsmen use marble as a base. The rest use paper or silk, which they sometimes dip in tea water to give a sepia tinge.

The paintings are small in size, but they are extremely detailed and elaborate and this requires a high degree of skill and experience. In the intricate design, there is no way to hide even a small brushstroke gone wrong.

Recording history through artistic expressions has been a part of human nature, from the cave paintings of the Stone Age, depicting hunting and dancing scenes to digitally created prints in thousands of colours. Today, technology is making us immune to the marvelous skill of hands that create delicate beauty. Sometimes, we fail to appreciate the amount of hard work and focus that the artists have to put in and how much practice and concentration is required for continuance of this medieval art.

The craftsmen and their Miniature paintings prove just that sometimes a palm sized masterpiece can be many times more valuable than a grand scale work of art.

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decorative purposes, Miniature paintings, Natural Color, Painting process, Rajasthan, Rajput kings, Udaipur