Handicrafts of India

अभिनन्दन from Gaatha

Gaatha project was originally conjured only for researching and documenting the rapid erosion of Indian craft clusters and heritage. However, we soon learnt from the artisans themselves that need was not to do research alone, but to restore ‘pride and serious commercial opportunity’ in their ecosystem. Today Gaatha thus aims to bring the lost respect and wealth back to these beautiful and aesthetically rich Indian handicraft clusters. These researches are important because just like Industrial goods sell on ‘features’, crafts sell on the processes / stories / heritage that go into making them.

We should give crafts a fair chance, someone is right now merrily making something for us, singing a folk song, in a humble house, deep inside India.

Buy: Indian Handicrafts Online
Research & Archive: Indian Crafts

30Jun
Process, Tale

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.
4 mins read
13981 Views
22Jun
Process, Tale

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.
4 mins read
16124 Views
14Jun
Process, Tale

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.
4 mins read
14504 Views
04Jun
Process, Tale

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.
4 mins read
13058 Views
17May
Process, Tale

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
5 mins read
18215 Views
13May
Process, Tale

Budni Lacquer Craft

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 the Vishwakarma community.
3 mins read
13978 Views
06May
Process, Tale

Voyage Across Time

The enterprising spirit of the Kutchhi navigators and traders had resulted in the development of five ports, Mandvi, Mundra, Jakhau, Lakhpat and Koteshwar in the Kutchh region. The port was also used as a summer retreat by the rulers of Kutchh.
4 mins read
14448 Views
30Apr
Craftsmen, Process, Tale

Art for Enlightenment / Thangka

the Thangka paintings help Tibetan Buddhist practitioners develop a close relationship with a meditational deity, assisting them in clearly visualizing particular images.
6 mins read
12719 Views
28Apr
Articles, Tale

Silver in the days of yore…

the silver ornaments were made by traditional craftsmen by the technique of wax moulding. The Mishmi silver smith craft was much more intricate and artistic than the present day.
4 mins read
12749 Views
16Apr
Articles, Tale

Life in Colour

Among the precious jewels, silks, ivory and spices exported across the seas; there was something that was so unique and rare, that it got its name from the land it came from. It was Indigo, the colour deep blue as the sky, which was used to dye the muslins of the Indus Valley Civilization.
5 mins read
12589 Views