Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

HANDICRAFTS

POTTERY Unlike in most other countries where working in clay has mainly an utilitarian ba- sis, in India pottery has both a sociological and religious connotation. Pottery articles are put to a variety of domestic uses — Images of deities are made of clay. Uttar Pradesh is one of the most impor- tant centres for ceramic manufacture in the cottage sector. Khurza is known for its blue pottery. Glazes in brown, chocolate, black, yellow, lemon, pink and scarlet have also been developed.

around Puri especially the village of Raghurajpur. The famous wall paintings of Madhu- bani (Bihar) are the joyous expression of the women of Madhubani and surrounding areas. The murals illustrate themes from Indian mythology. Reproduced on paper the paintings are today well known in India and abroad. In Himachal Pradesh, the murals have a unique touch. The bird, animal and human motifs are abstracted and placed in a circle, square or rectangle. The subject matter generally is scenes from the Krishna legend. Folk painting on wood and playing cards (knowing as 'Ganjeefa') are also found in parts of the country. Tanjore in Tamil Nadu has an age old tradition of paintings on wood and wood-veneer playing cards. The playing cards are decorated circular discs. Orissa, Karnataka are also noted for this work. MARBLE AND STONE Uttar Pradesh is one of the leading pro- ducers of stone work. Agra accounts for the bulk of this industry, providing employment to about 1000 artisans. The Taj Mahal mini- atures, tables and hanging lamps are carved out of soft marble and white Italian alabas- ter. Table tops, dishes and containers are carved out of durable fine grained white Makrana marble and inlaid with semi-pre- cious stones. Tobacco pipes, cups, bowls, plates, candle sticks, paper weights and ashtrays are made of soft Gorahari stone and are inlaid with motifs. Fine utility articles on stone in black, pink, brown and other colours are made in Gaya, Chandil, Sasaram (Bihar). Rajasthan has been called the home of stone carvers and masons. Stone carving is concentrated in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Dungarpur. This area is known for deli- cate Jali work. A good deal of functional domestic stoneware, beautifully shaped and ornamented, is turned out in yellow lime- stone and coloured and white marble. Sculp- tures of Hindu deities in white marble are popular. Stone carving is one of the best known crafts of Orissa. In Pathuriasahi in Puri, stone carvers as skilled as the master builders of old fashion stone into traditional figures as beautiful as the temple sculp- tures. There are other settlements of craftsmen at Mangalpur near Balasore who make bowls, plates and glasses and other utility items from semi-hard grey stone.

universally used. In southernmost parts of India, this leaf has been transformed into many utility items endowed with extraordinary beauty, using high imagination, fine skill and painstaking labour. Basketry is done only by women. The craftsmanship of the Bengal bas- ket maker is seen in the pataras (oval boxes), jhampie (oblong baskets), and phulsaji's (flower baskets). Lakshmi cas- kets are produced with double walls, cane inside and bamboo twill work outside, cov- ered with red cloth on which shells are sewn to form floral designs. Trivandrum in Kerala offers baskets made of screw-pine leaves and kora grass. The important centres in Tamil Nadu are Tirunelveli, Nagore and Melkulam. Basketry is an important household craft in Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura where bas- kets are made of split bamboo. The cane baskets of Uttar Pradesh are known for their good craftsmanship and utility. They are used in picnic and shopping baskets. Mat weaving is also an ancient craft and mats of different sizes and patterns are made throughout the country. Assam and Midnapore and Cooch Behar in Bengal, are famous for a special variety called Sitalpati. Which means "cool spread." Its weaving is a household craft with the man preparing the green cane slips and the woman doing the weaving. Another well-known Bengal mat made from the madher grass is the maslond of Midnapore district. It has intricate pat- terns including the mango and temple tow- ers. Pattamadai in Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) is famous for fine Pattamadai mats of kora grass. Other centres in Tamil Nadu are Tan- jore, South Arcot, North Arcot and Salem. Kerala makes prayer mats, sleeping mats, table mats, sitting mats of kora grass and screw-pine leaves. This state also makes fine coir mats. FOLK PAINTINGS The art of painting by women on the ground with rice paste coloured with vege- table dye is a folk art practised in many parts of India. The designs drawn by the women come from their ritual observance of household ceremonies. The folk paintings of Orissa popularly known as Patachitras have a history of great antiquity. The best work is found

The richly coloured pottery of Kashmir, known as the Dal Gate pottery, is marketed in Srinagar. Colours range from light and dark brown, pale and rich jade green, deep yellow and ultramarine, light and dark grey. Items made are crockery, salt cellars, vases, jar, trays, etc. Pottery is one of the oldest crafts in West Bengal and is practised in Bankura, Burdwan, Midnapore, Hooghly, 24 Parga- nas, Halda, Murshidabad and Birbhum. Household articles, dolls and toys, images of deities and flower pots are some of the products made with common clay. The real- istic clay dolls and figures of Krishnanagar are well known. Terracotta figures of horses are a speciality of Bankura. Pottery is the occupation of about 5000 artisans in Assam, the products mostly confined to household articles. West As- sam is proficient in terracotta. In Kamrup many families earn their livelihood by mak- ing terracotta objects including clay tiles. Asharkandi in Goalpora district is famous for its clay dolls. Pottery is one of the most important rural industries in Karnataka. Ramanaga- ram*near Bangalore and Khanapur near Belgaum are known for their pottery and terracotta figures.