16Aug
Sacred cloth of the Goddess
Mata ni pachedi literally means “behind the mother goddess”, and is a cloth that constitutes a temple of the goddess. When people of the nomadic Vaghari community of Gujarat
07Aug
Parandi Rangbirangi..!
The land of five rivers, that bravely withstood the attacks of different invaders over centuries, is also
28Jul
Woven Pixels
Patola is one of the most prized and valued textiles. (As described in the earlier post on “Patola” ) It is revered not just for its religious significance across many faiths, but also for the amazing level of skill and perseverance required to make it.
22Jul
The Sole of Punjab- Jutti making
One of the earliest materials, durable and versatile, used for every purpose from storage of
12Jul
A grand monsoon walk
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.
10Jul
Etched in Time – Palm leaf Pattachitra
Even though Talapatrachitra / 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.
30Jun
Mirrors, mirrors on the Wall….Mud Relief
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.
22Jun
Silken Threads…Mashru weaving
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.
14Jun
Leaving Impressions – block carving
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.
04Jun
Spinning scrap to strings
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.
31May
Sankheda Furniture
A craft tradition so deeply inherent in the collective identity of the practitioners, that their
17May
A picture is worth a thousand words…
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 16th Century, the incredibly detailed enchanting visual narratives of royal festivities
