11Jan
Kansa Alchemy: Ayurvedic Marvels Explored
“What is so special about your Kansa-ware that you make us take such extra care
‘Gaatha’ meaning ‘a great story’, has been functioning in the craft sector for over five years now. With its many amazing stories of Indian Handicrafts that have been shared with the audience, Gaatha has been actively supporting the Indian artisan community by providing them a unique platform for their products and unique voices. It’s the transfer of this value-system more than the handicraft itself, which is the objective of the ‘Gaatha’ project.
Above all, we want to identify Handicrafts of India & recognize the faceless artisan all over the world.
A TALE OF CRAFTS
(Indian Handicrafts)
08May
Winds of Change ~ Indian hand Fan (Pankha)
With the disappearance of the relevancy of this hand fan (Pankha) craft in India, the tradition deeply rooted and tied to India’s craft culture is starting to wither away
19Mar
Moonj
Moonj is harvested in the months of October and November. Women weave and compose baskets for their household utility and also to form a part of a bride’s trousseau. This is largely carried out as a secondary occupation to agriculture in Uttar Pradesh.
11Feb
सरौता ~ Nutcracker
a few artisans in sarangpur, Madhya Pradesh, who are making nutcrackers they were so fascinated by. The students watch wide-eyed as a pair of metal-smiths forge a piece of metal and file the head into an L-shape, one of them controlling the forge while holding the article..
21Jan
Beautified by Beetles
Things like precious pearls and gems, pure gold and silver wires, ivory and rare animal fur, feathers and shiny beetle wings were used. In the making of the Jama ( A dress ) especially, the gota patti work incorporated a unique kind of sequin made from Elytron or the fore-wing of the Jewel-Beetle that belongs to Buprestidae family.
03Jul
Dhalapathara ( saree weaving)
Dhalapathara saree used to be the first choice of everyone. Dhalapathara, literally meaning white stone, was at its peak from late 1800s to mid 1900s. It was a regular at weekly markets of Bhubhuneshwar, Calcutta, Sonepat, even in Madhya Pradesh during the 1950s. Oh! the traders from Kolkata used to drool over these Dhalapathara sarees!
24Jun
CARTing ( bullock cart Craft)
The cultural representation of bullock cart has led us to visualise it with a bullock carrying a cart on its shoulders with two wheels attached. But owing to diverse topography, different breeds of bullock and the purpose they serve, the design of the carts have to be customised uniquely.
05Apr
Patta ( Bengal Painting )
In recent times, Pattachitra is used to depict and spread awareness about recent historical events like The French Revolution, World Wars, Bengal Plagues, Freedom Struggle among others. But the most interesting point to observe here is that all the characters of these images have Bengali physical features…
02Feb
The Ink Diaries
The desire to communicate messages, ideas and stories through the means of visual depiction is a phenomenon, filled with the aroma of antiqueness. One can perhaps suggest that the role of ink became pivotal the very moment there were ‘writings’ on the walls.
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MUST EXPLORE
Gaatha brings you Know Your Native, where we help you join hands with various different tribal communities in India and distinguish one tribe from another by understanding their culture, ornamentation, clothing, hairstyles and other various practices.
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Short films on handicrafts of India, learn about the beautiful history, folk tales, customs, significance, Traditional Designs & making process.
Know more…
