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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
On the banks of river Narmada, surrounded by forests, there is a small locality of craftsmen, who make lacquered wooden articles. This is Budni Ghat, where soft wood spins on the lathe from morning to twilight, metamorphosing into beautiful objects and shapes. The Budni craftsmen, who have been practicing the craft for generations, belong to [...]
Where the river Rukmavati meets the Arabian Sea, at the ship building yard of Mandvi, it seems that time has stood still here. Half finished ribs of big wooden boats lie among harmonious clanging of bolts and hammers and who knows, maybe somewhere, some adventurers are getting all set to sail across the oceans to [...]
Colour permeates every single activity in an Indian’s life, more so in our villages. In Kutch, Gujarat, colour pervades not just the gorgeous clothes of the Kutchi people but even the small, nondescript items of everyday use. Spoons and ladles, chakla – belan (board and rolling pin), toys, stools, dandiya sticks, everything is covered with [...]
