Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

HANDICRAFTS

WOOD WORK India has a tradition of having door frames of carved wood as a sign of welcome to guests. Carved wooden frames and bal- conies, supported by brackets in the form of animals, birds and humans can be seen in the design of houses throughout the coun- try. The designs in wood work cover a wide range — floral, animal and human figures as well as panels and friezes on religious themes. The wood used for ornamental work dif- fers from region to region depending on the availability. Kashmiri craftsmen use walnut which with its close grain and even texture facilitates fine work. Cabinets, tables, trays and boxes have grapes, roses, lotuses and chinar leaves as motifs. Khatam-band is a famous Kashmiri woodwork. Made from thin panels of pine wood, cut into geometrical designs, Khatam-band is used for decorating the ceilings. The shrine of Khwaja Nagshband, near Jama Masjid of Srinagar presents the best example of this craft. Similar works are there in Samarkhand, Iran, Istanbul, Algiers and Morocco. Carpenters of Ka- shmir are renowned for house boats. Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) is the most flourishing commercial centre for wood carving. Sheesham and teak are used for the manufacture of screens, cigarette boxes, tables, etc. Inlaying with fine brass wires is done.

Sankheda village in Gujarat has a unique and closely-guarded secret tradition of applying silver, gold and bronze colours on wood. The craftsmen produce chairs and tables besides traditional swings, cradles and baby walkers. Gujarat craftsmen can produce as many as 40 to 50 variations on a single motif like the lotus, parrot, peacock, swan etc., Surat has a tradition of marquetry work called sadeli. Different materials such as ivory, ebony and sandalwood are bonded to- gether and then cut into cross sections. These small sections are closely pasted on the lids of wooden boxes to form kaleido- scopic patterns. The master craftsmen of Natungram (Bengal) produce vigorous mythological carvings and stylised figures of owls which were originally used in worship. Orissa makes carved figures of Lord Jaganath, the main deity of the temple at Puri. Andhra Pradesh is famous for its Kon- dapalli toys and Nirmalware in the village of Nirmal whose craftsmen produce a wide variety of functional articles like screens, panels, wall plaques, lamp stands, etc. Karnataka is the home of wood carvers working on sandalwood which is abundantly available in its forests. Articles produced include paper knives, paper weights, cas- kets, trays, photoframes, figures of deities etc. Rosewood carving is practised mainly at Mysore. Elephants carved from rosewood are one of the most widely sold articles. Karnataka is also known for its ivory inlay work on rosewood. A wide range of articles are made by inlay workers at Mysore which include panels, trays, boxes, etc. The craftsmen of Channapatna in Kar- nataka produce lacquerware toys and dolls, sports-goods, etc. The raw materials used are country wood, lac, lithophane and a vari- ety of colours that give the lacquerware a distinctive brilliance. Kerala has a rich tradition of wood carv- ing. Houses here generally have carved pil- lars and beams. Craftsmen also craft ele- phants from wood. EMBROIDERY Indian embroidery is unmatched in the wide variety of styles. Each region has its own special stitch and style. The motifs in Indian embroidery work reflect the great variety of its fauna and

flora. Religious motifs such as temple gopu- rams are equally popular. Apart from tradi- tional material like wool, cotton, silk, beads, gold and silver thread, the Indian em- broiderer has made use of such unusual material as beetles' wings and various seeds. Kashmiri embroidery: The favourite motifs are the chinar leaf, grape, cherry, plum, almond and apple blossom, parrot, kingfisher, woodpecker, etc. In a type of embroidery known as ratugari, the work is done with the same type of material as the base fabric, thus creating a beautiful effect. This craft is seen at its best in dorukha, when the stitch is the same on both sides of the cloth. Sometimes dorukha is done in two colours, one on each side. Phulkari: The base of phulkari ('flow- ered work') embroidery done in Punjab and Haryana is coarse cotton cloth in orange, red or blue. The embroidery is done in yellow, white, green and red flossed silk. One vari- ety of phulkari work is the bagh or garden which is used for embroidering the edge of the cloth to produce a border-like effect. It is known by different names such as Kakri Bagh (cucumber garden), Mirch Bagh (Pep- per garden) depending on the motifs used. Kutch and Saurashtra: The basic stitch of Kutch is the chain stitch. The articles produced are torans, which are long embroi- dered panels with scallops also embroi- dered and are hung over doorways as sym- bols of welcome. Chaklas are square pieces of cloth used by a Kutchi bride to wrap her trousseau with. The Saurashtra embroiderer produces articles similar to those in Kutch. Use is made here of strips of material of different colours joined together to form a decorative base for the embroidery which also features pieces of mica. Karnataka: Kasuti embroidery here has some special stitches, the gavanti, a double running stitch, and the murgi, the zigzag done within the darning stitch. In both, the two sides of the embroidery, are identical. The negi, is used mainly in large designs to get the overall effect of a woven design with extra weft threads. Menthi is a cross stitch worked with the stitches close together by the containing of warp and two weft threads largely used in structural designs. The col- ours used are red, purple, green and orange. Motifs are the chariot, gopuram, Nandi (sacred bull) and elephant. Chikan: Centres of Chikan work are Lucknow in UP and Gaya in Bihar.