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INDEX

UNIT-I .................................................................... 3

Lesson 1: Kantha of Bengal .................................... 4

Lesson 2: Kasuti of Karnataka .............................. 21

Lesson 3: Phulkari of Punjab ................................ 37

Lesson 4: Embroideries of Gujarat ....................... 56

Practical Exercises ............................................... 73

UNIT-II ................................................................ 81

Lesson 5: Applique Craft of Orissa ........................ 82

Lesson 6: Chikankari of Uttar Pradesh ............... 104

Lesson 7: Chamba Rumal of Himachal Pradesh .. 128

Lesson 8: Kasida of Kashmir .............................. 151

UNIT-III ............................................................. 174

Lesson 9: Traditional Textiles of India ............... 175

UNIT-IV.............................................................. 196

Lesson 10: Printed and Painted Textiles of India 197

Lesson 11: Sanganer and Bhagru Printing .......... 201

Lesson 12: Kalamkari ......................................... 210

UNIT-V ............................................................... 227

Lesson 13: Ajrakh .............................................. 228

Lesson 14: Mithila Painting ................................ 243

Lesson 15: Patola, Ikat, Pochmpalli and Mashru 258

Lesson 16: Bandhini Work of Rajasthan and Gujarat........................................................................... 272

References books ............................................... 284

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UNIT-I

Lesson 1: Kantha of Bengal

Lesson 2: Kasuti of Karnataka

Lesson 3: Phulkari of Punjab

Lesson 4: Embroideries of Gujarat

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Lesson 1: Kantha of Bengal

Objective:

After going through this unit you should be able to ―understand the traditional embroidery of

West Bengal.‖

Structure:

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Styles of Kantha

1.3 Fabric Used 1.4 Stitches Used

1.5 Threads Used

1.6 Motifs Used 1.7 Types of Kantha

1.1 Introduction

The traditional folk art of Bengal is famous as

kantha, which means ‗patched cloth‘. The special significance of kantha is quilting.

Kantha is embroidered using worn out textiles that

are to be thrown away. It is a treasured art in

Bengal where ladies irrespective of their castes, classes and socio economic groups are expert at

the embroidery not only depicts the stitches

employed but also express the outflow of their creative, resourceful, imaginary and patient

craftsman ship.

Kanthas are produced at Hugli, Patna, Satagaon,

Jessore, Faridpur , Khulan and other parts of East and West Bengal. Kanthas were domestic and

feminine are never prepared for sale. A kantha

made by each individual is unique in itself. Each

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woman make new fresh form of art on the fabrics.

The ideas themes, scenes and symbols are almost

common as they come from similar economical

background. Some basic traditional designs are seen in each piece of work.

1.2 Styles of Kantha

Two kinds of style are adopted to produce kantha

a) Old discarded cotton saris or dhotis were piled on

top of each other, quilted and embroidered.

b) Discarded cotton bed covers were piled up or

folded, quilted and embroidered with pictorial embroidery.

1.3 Fabric Used

Base fabric used in the traditional kantha was always white cotton, as the saris of the Bengali

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woman are mostly white and of cotton. Silk was also

used at times. Now tussar silk in black, beige, dull

orange are used. The colour of the base fabric of a

kantha is always neutral – black, white, beige, grey, dull brown.

1.4 Stitches Used

Kantha embroidery is widely done by using the running stitch; but stem and satin stitches are also

used.

1.5 Threads Used

White cotton threads and sometimes-silk threads

are also used. Sometimes the borders of the old

saris are stitched around the piece of embroidered kantha. Colours of the threads used are red, black,

blue, green, and yellow/ mustard.

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1.6 Motifs Used

Portuguese and European traditions have a great

influence on the motifs of kantha. The first time the

kanthas were commercially manufactured was in 1875 in Patna. The motifs used are rotons, mandala,

trees, creepers, foliage, paisleys, animal, human

figures, spiral, birds, fish, shell, nutcrackers, mirror comb, umbrella, chariot, palanquin, boats,

sceneries, mermaids etc.

There were also scenes from day to day life scenes

from the epics, peacock, temple, hukka, jewelery. Come kanthas even had steeds of gods like bull,

swan, lion, elephant, Cat and swan. Lotus is the

most widely used kantha motif. Some other motifs like thunderbolt and swastik are also used. The

spiral represent the eternal life cycle.

Do - rukha kantha is the one which appears

identical on both sides face and back of the fabric.

1.7 Types of Kantha

There are different kinds of kanthas named according to its utility. According to Jasleen

Dhamija, there are seven types of kantha used as

wrapper in winter, for books, valuables, mirrors,

combs, wallets, pillow and bed spreads.

Arshilata is used as cover or wrap for mirror, comb

and other such toilet articles. It is a narrow

rectangular piece of eight inch wide and twelve inch length. It has a wide border and the central motif is

taken from the scenes of Krishna leela or Radha –

Krishna raas. The lotus trees, creepers, spirals inverted triangles, zigzag lines, scrolls are also some

of the commonly used motifs.

Bayton, a three feet square piece serves as a wrap

for books and other similar valuables. It has a

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central motif, usually the lotus with hundred petals

called ‗satadala padma‘. This motif with hundred

petals is simply a figure, which does not signify

anything precisely. The traditional and folk design of oldest style in Bayton is the Mandala whick

symbolizes the unity of all manifestations of life. The

core has Satadala Padma with two or three borders on the sides. The other motifs commonly seen are

p\water pots, conch shell, kalkas, trees, foliages,

flowers, birds, elephants, chariot, human figures

etc, sometimes the figure of lord Ganesha and Goddess Saraswati with their steed are also

observed. Special motifs on Bayton are worked with

w\wan as a book wrapper. In other words, the designs often collaborate and this colourful

embroidery is made with yellow, green blue and red

coloured threads. This kantha is often carried while travelling and also presented as gift to their kith and

kins.

Durjani (Durfani) is also known as Thalia. It is a

square piece kantha, covers the wallet, and has a central lotus motif with a elaborated border. The

three corners of this piece are drawn together

inward to make the tips to touch at the centre and sewn together like an envelop. It will have another

open flap to which a string, tussle or decorated

thread is either stitched or mechanically fixed which can be wound and tied up when rolled. The other

motifs used are various types of foliages, snakes

and other objects taken from the natural

surroundings.

Lep kantha is relatively a thick quilted wrap padder

by more number of sari layers placed on top of each

other, to provide warmth during winter season. Lep is also popular as ‗desired covering. Simple

geometrical designs are worked with running stitch

using coloured threads. The entire Lep piece is given

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a wavy rippled appearance by working simple

embroideries.

Oar (ooar), the kantha serves as a pillow cover. It

is rectangular piece whose size is about two feet by one and half feet. Usually simple designs like trees,

foliages, creepers, birds or a liner design with

longitudinal border constitutes the ground base and decorative border is stitched around its four sides.

The most popular and striking kantha is the Sunjani

(Sujni), generally large rectangular piece of three

feet by six feet, used as a spread during ceremonial occasion. Its size has provided full scope for the

workers to express and exhibit her imaginary, self

created design. The rectangular piece is divided into nine equal parts and the motifs are distributed in

these equal sized rectangular block. The lotus motif

with a whirl in the centre is the commonly used motif in Sujani. The other motifs observed are the

scenes from Ramayana, Mahabharat, folk tales,

dancing girl, men riding, birds pecking the fruits,

prancing movement of the animals, bees sucking the nectar, procession in motion etc. A moderately

thick, light weighed Sujani has either two or more

borders at the edge to strengthen the layers and to prevent further tearing. The border stitched at the

edge to strengthen the layers and to prevent further

tearing. The border stitched at the edge of the rectangular piece has geometrical patterns in single

colour, while the other is more ornamental and

colourful. The cover sometimes has large kalka laid

horizontally and separated by Vajra, the thunder bolt or a broad band of circles, lotus in each circle

and heart shaped foliage between the circles.

Sarfani is also quilt used during ceremonies or functions as a cover or wrap.

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Rumal is nothing but a handkerchief and is the

smallest among all the kanthas. A square piece

having a size about one square foot. Lotus is the

core and other motifs embroidered around it. Sometimes plant and animal motifs are also

embroidered but invariably has a well decorated

border.

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Stepwise execution of a leaf in Kantha Embroidery using simple running stitch

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Lesson 2: Kasuti of

Karnataka

Objective:

―To understand the traditional embroidery of

Karnataka.‖

Structure:

2.1 Introduction 2.2 Fabric Used

2.3 Threads Used

2.4 Stitches Used 2.5 Motifs Used

2.6 Articles Made

2.1 Introduction

Kasuti is world famous embroidery of Karnataka

State, earlier known as Mysore State. The motifs

and the art speak about the traditions, customs and professions of the people of Karnataka. The age of

learning and executing Kasuti was common to both

royals, aristocrats and peasant women.

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It is said that the Kasuti resembles the embroidery

of Austria, Hungary and Spain. The origin of Kasuti

is not known. The word Kasuti can be analysed as

'Kai' meaning hand and 'suti' meaning cotton thread, i.e. a handwork of cotton thread in Kannad,

the language of Karnataka.

The lingayats, the follower of cult Shiva, also known as Verrasaivas are expert in this art. Traditionally it

is a custom for the bride to possess a black silk

saree called the 'Chandrakali Sari' with Kasuti work

on it.

The embroidery of Kasuti was taught to children,

neighbours, daughters by the older ladies in the

family and was done on saris and blouses. The motifs and stitches were sometimes tried out on a

piece of white cotton cloth which was preserved as a

model.

Other centres of production are Bilaspur, Dharwar

Belgam and Jamakhandi districts.

2.2 Fabric Used

Fine silk fabric of the sarees was used earlier in

addition to this, canvas or fine matty is used now.

The base colour is dark, usually black or dark blue.

2.3 Threads Used

Traditionally the thread was drawn from the tassels

of the pallav of the saris, to make the design appear

flat, rich and gorgeous, DCM, Anchor, Kohinoor. Cotton threads are used. The colours most

frequently used are red, orange, purple, green-

yellow and blue. The commonly used combinations are red-blue, red-yellow, red-white, blue-orange

and green-yellow. Bright contrasts are used to make

a bold and clear design.

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2.4 Stitches Used

Stitches in Kasuti are always vertical, horizontal and

diagonal. The main speciality of this embroidery is

that never the design is traced in the material to be embroidered and the embroidery starts without

knotting thread but with a tiny back stitch. The

stitches are simple, minute, intricate and pretty.

Kasuti is done always by counting the threads. The four types of stitches are, Gavanti, Murgi, Negi and

Menthi. Different patterns and motifs are worked in

different stitches but some have mixed stitches. The number of threads on the material forms a unit, two

to six threads for fine and coarse work respectively.

However, the unit should remain constant till the

design is completed.

'Gavanti' is the most simple and common stitch, derived from the Kannada word 'Gantu' means

'knot'. It is a double running stitch, in which the first

running stitchs is filled in by the second running

stitch on the same line. The second running stitch works exactly opposite to the first one. Gavanthi

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may be worked in horizontal, vertical or diagonal

directions.

'Murgi' is a zigzag running stitch which appears like steps of a ladder or staircase. It is same as gavanthi

stitch but works in a stepwise manner. The work in

both gavanthi and murgi stitches is neat and tidy, where the design appears same on right and wrong

side of the material. However, the stitches should

be of uniform size. The distance between two

stitches is nothing but the length of each stitch. Smallest motifs like square, triangle, hexagonal,

ladders, flower are to be practiced so that the

elaborate designs can be worked. A large geometric design is produced by grouping the tiny designs on

regular intervals and sequences. 'Negi' is another

stitch in Kasuti. 'Negi' in Kannada means 'to weave' i.e. the design with Negi design has an overall effect

of a woven design. Negi is nothing but ordinary

running or darning stitch. It is worked in long and

short straight lines or floats and therefore, the design does not appear identical on either sides of

the cloth. Menthi' is the fourth type of stitch which

means the ordinary cross stitch. In Karnataka 'Menthi' means fenugreek seed but however, people

of Karnataka identify the cross stitch as 'menthi'

only. This cross stitch is usually appears heavy as is used for filling purpose. This stitch requires more

length of thread than the other three stitches.

Similar to Negi, even this stitch does not give same

appearance on either sides of the Cloth.

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2.5 Motifs Used

The motifs used in Kasuti embroidery ranged from

mythological and architectural to the beautiful flora

and fauna, i.e., gopuras, palanquine, chariot, shiva-linga, bull (Nandi), tiger, lamp stand, crown of Shiva

(Shivana Basinga), swastika, sun, surya mukhi,

conchshell, asanas, Rama's cradle, snake (Naga devta), elephant, horse, tulsi vrundavan, Hanuman

etc. Apart from steeds of Shiva and Laxmi, squirrel,

parrot, sparrow, peacock, cock, duck pigeon, swan,

deer, are also seen. Various types of foliages creepers, flowers are however, used in this

embroidery. The main ones are lotus,

chrysanthemum, jasmine, rui-phool (cotton flower), cashew nut (Kalka), grapes, kevada, kalawar,

diamond, badam, berseed, black bead, maggihua,

marigold, coconut flower, sparrows eye, rudraksha,

tulsi leaf, brinjal seed, cardamum, chess square, flower pot, etc.

2.6 Articles Made

In olden days Kasuti was done on Ilkal silk sari or

Ilkal type village sari having broad pallav, called 'tope-teni' and simple border with plain body. In

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order to add colour and beauty to the sari, small

Kasuti motifs were worked in the pallav region and

many times the borders in negi and murgi stitches

were also worked in. However, this simple handloom sari was made appear gorgeous by Kasuti

embroidery. The choli worn along with the sari is

known as 'khan', on which Kasuti was done with the matching colour, motifs and borders of the sari. The

women folk used to decorate the Kunchagi kulai

(bonnets), used for children other women's regional

costume was embroidered. But now Kasuti is also done on the household linen like, kerchiefs, bed

covers, sofa covers, cushion covers curtains,

shopping bags, carpets (Jute), plain saris of silk, cotton or synthetics, salwar suits, yolkes, cuffs,

collars, belts, pockets, dupattas, caps, and used as

trimming for children's garments.

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Areas of Production - Kasuti Embroidery

1. Mysore 2. Bijapur 3. Dharwad

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Lesson 3: Phulkari of Punjab

Objective:

―To understand the traditional embroidery of

Punjab.‖

Structure:

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Classification of Phulkaris 3.3 Fabric Used

3.4 Threads Used

3.5 Stitches Used 3.6 Technique Used

3.1 Introduction

Phulkari is the traditional embroidery of the land of

Punjab. It is the land of energetic

and vibrant people, colours and dances.

The exact history and origin of phulkari in not

known. It is in Wari Shah ‗Heer‘ and excellent social document that the word phlukari appears for the

first time.

Banabhatta in his book Harshachartra (7C BC)

describes the wedding of Rajyashree and talks of some people engaged in decorating the hems of the

garments from the wring side of the fabric (phulkari

is executed from the wrong side of the fabrics).

It is also said that the word phulkari came from

Iran, where gulkari resembling phulkari was

prevalent. It is thought that the art was brought to India by the gujjar nomads of central Asia.

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Phulkari is composed of 2 words ‗phul‘ means floral

and ‗kari‘ means work. When the whole fabric is so

embroidered that no part of the base fabric is

visible, it is called ‗Bagh‘ meaning a garden on the fabric, making base fabric visible at certain areas.

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Phulkari

Bagh

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West Punjab, India, late 19th century floss silk on

hand spun, hand woven cotton 135 x 275 cms.

Areas of production of phulkaris were Peshawar,

Jehlum, Rawalpindi, hazara all now in Pakistan; as well as Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ambala, Ludhiana,

Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Faridkot and Kapurthala.

There was a considerable difference between Hindu/

Muslim

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Uses

- Phulkaris were never prepared for sale

- Each piece became an heirloom and was passed

from generation to generation.

- It remained a domestic and feminine art made out of love. This was specially true for the

wedding phulkaris which retained their original

designs.

- All festive occasions, weddings and child birth

were commemorated with a phulkari.

- Holy scriptures were kept wrapped in phulkaris.

- It was used as offering to temples and mazars.

3.2 Classification of Phulkaris

Phulkaris are classified on the basis of their design

and application.

1. Base fabric

2. Colours of

threads used.

3. Patterns

Red or White

White,

orange,

gold, brown, red, purple,

crimson

Horal designs,

human

arrival figures

Black

Green,

magenta,

lemon yellow and

some time

white.

Strictly

horal

patterns.

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1. Wedding Phulkaris:

These phulkaris form and irrespirable part of the

brides trousseau. Each ceremony was associated

with meaning of particular bagh.

a. Chope: Chope is embroidered by the maternal

grandmother for the girl. Stitch used in the

chope is double running stitch; the colour of the thread used is yellow and the fabric used is red

khaddar large triangles are embroidered on the

edges along the length. Chope is identical on the

both sides of the fabric and is held on the head during the ‗chura‘ ceremony.

b. Suber: This is worn during the ‗phera‘ ceremony

during the wedding, The base of the super is red khaddar and is embroidered using green and

yellow thread. There are fine flowers on the

suber; one on each corner and one in the outer.

Each flower is 6 petalled.

c. Vari- Da- Bagh: This is given to the bride by

the groom‘s mother after wedding. The base

fabric is red, is embroidered with golden yellow and green threads. The motifs on vari- da- bagh

one unconnected concentric square or lozenges

with a plant in the innermost square. This is a bagh and the ground fabric is not visible.

2. Religious Phulkaris

This phulkari is called the ‗Darshan Dwar‘ meaning

‗Devine Door‘. It has religious motifs like the walls

of the temple and the people doing ‗parikarma‘. This was used to make offering to the temples. The base

of the phulkari was red with yellow thread used for

embroidery.

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3.2.1 Classification of Phukaris According

to Motifs

Phulkari being a domestic feminine got its

inspiration from the day to day scene and objects around the women.

1. Inspiration drawn from the kitchen gave

‗mirchi‘(chilli), ‗belan‘ (rolling pin), ‗kaniki‘ (wheat) and dhania bagh.

2. Floral motifs used to embroider baghs were of

surajmukhi, gulkerian.

3. Bird and animal motifs were ‗mor‘, ‗tota‘ and

serpents, peacock motifs gave rise to ‗moran di

phulkari‘.

4. Daily life objects were – patang, jewellery, woman drawing water, woman churning

buttermilk.

5. Sun, moon and lightening were used to embroider suraj bagh, chand bagh and bijli bagh.

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3.2.2 Other Phulkaris

1. Sarpallo was used to draw a veil. It had a

triangular motif in the centre in such a way that

the base of the triangle. Such a may that the base of the triangle tell on the forehead and the

apex point at the nape.

2. Nilok had a blue background. Embroidery was alone with yellow and red silk thread. It was

used for the young girls to learn embroidery.

3. Tilpatra was dotted all over to give to the

servents on auspicious occasions.

4. Shishadar phulkari and geometrical designs with

mirrors embroidered alongwith the designs.

5. Sainchi phulkaris: Sainchi comes from the word 'Sangha' meaning together. This phulkari had

motifs of routine daily life, prized possessions

like jewellery, animals, pets, games (chess)

embroidered together. This phulkari had motifs of routine dailylife, prized possessions like motifs

of routine daily life, prized possessions like

jewellery, animals, pets, games (chess) embroidered together.

6. Bhawan Bagh' had fifty two squares embroidered

on it. Each squared a different motif inside it. The motifs were always geometrical.

7. Phulkari with a black background was worn

during mourning. Simple motifs in yellow and red

were embroidered on it.

8. Thirma - Phulkari done on white khadder given

to a hindu bride by her parents.

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3.3 Fabric Used

Khaddar (a coarse, loose weave cotton fabric) was

used as the base fabric for almost all phulkaris and

baghs. In Rawalpindi and Hazara (now in Pakistan) phulkari embroidery was done on very lightweight

fabric resembling cambric. These phulkaris were

called Halwan.

3.4 Threads Used

Dyed untwisted silk threads called 'Pat' were used.

Sometimes black and white cotton threads called 'bandi' were used.

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3.5 Stitches Used

Darning stitch, chope, running, herringbone run and

back, buttonhole, stem and chain stitches were

used.

3.6 Technique Used

- The base fabric i.e. the khaddar was woven by

the village weaver. This fabric was of narrow

widths. To make large widths phulakaris the

women used to join 2 or 3 widths together. The joints were neatly and expertly done in herring

bone stitch.

- Darning stitch was executed from the wrong side of the fabric. The length of the stitch ranged

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from ¼ of an inch to one inch. The motifs were

always symmetrical.

- The untwisted silk thread shown at different

angles giving it an exotic appearance. A small buti in black was embroidered at times or the

motif was slightly distorted to wand off the evil.

This was called the nazar buti.

Areas of Production - Phulkari

1. Peshawar 4. Rawalpindi 7. Jalandhar

2. Sialkot 5. Amritsar 8. Rohtak

3. Jehhum 6. Faridkot

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Lesson 4: Embroideries of

Gujarat

Objective:

―To understand the traditional embroidery of Gujarat.”

Structure:

4.1 Importance of embroidery in Gujarat

4.2 Classification of Embroidery 4.3 Styles of Domestic Embroidery:

4.4 Moti - Bharat

4.5 Kutch Style

The western state of Gujarat is an arid region with

patches of small fields, bushes and acasia (kikkar)

trees. Because of the drill tones of nature, the people of this region have a deep seated need for

colour in their daily lives, which reflects in their

clothes, houses and animal trappings.

This area has always been blessed with busy ports of Surat, Broach, Cambay, Mandir and Kandla.

Because of this reason it has strong links for

centuries with the middle east, Arabian guld, Red sea, Egypt, Africa and thus remained an important

centre for embroidery.

Today, Kutch, Saurashtra, North Gujarat, Thar Parkar district of Sind (in Pakistan) are the world‘s

richest source of folk embroidery.

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4.1 Importance of embroidery in Gujarat

Gujarat is a state where many groups and sub–

groups stay together in each village. The

embroidery style, stitches, colours used identify the group or sub–group and the relationship between

them. Embroidery is a leisure activity to be enjoyed

in groups and helps them to socialize and unite.

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4.2 Classification of Embroidery

I. Professional Embroideries

a) Mochi Embroidery: The Gujarati Embroidery

tradition was maintained for many years by the

mochi embroiderers of Kutch and Saurashtra,

who worked for the court and for the merchant and land owning castes.

- The embroiderers were traditionally cobblers and leather workers

- Embroidery is done in fine chain stitch using silk

thread.

–

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- The device used to embroider is an ―ari‖. This is

a fine awl which has a notch incised to form a

hook.

- The fabric used is satin, usually in dark colours, with black being the favourite.

- The motifs embroidered are buttis (flowers,

drived from Persian and Mughal influence). Often with parrots perched on them, figures of women

call putli, elephants and saddled horses.

- Centers for embroidery are Bhuj, the capital of

Kutch and parts of Saurashtra.

- Articles embroidered are ghagra, cholis

(bodices), sari borders, children‘s chablas and

torans. They also embroidered the traditional pichhavai hangings for temples, illustrating Lord

Krishna.

b) Chinai Embroidery: In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, there was a community

of Chinies embroiderers living in Surat, who

produced work that was chinies in design and

technique. Their embroidery was known as ―Chinai‖.

- The embroidery was done with either fine silk floss or tightly spun 2 ply silk thread.

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- Multicolours were used on a white or sometimes

coloured silk background.

- Very fine chain and stem stitch is done with a

needle.

- Motifs embroidered are birds and flowers in

interconnected forms.

- Articles made are shawls, saris, cholis and long narrow border strips.

- These were the favourite of the rich Parsee

community and are also known as parsee

designs.

II. Domestic Embroideries

Domestic embroideries are prevalent in Kutch,

Saurashtra and Western Rajasthan, and the adjoining province of Sind in Pakistan. The

inhabitants of these places, reflect a cultural

diversity that has resulted from the influx of people over the centuries through Iran and Central Asia.

- The display of embroidery takes place at weddings and religious celebrations.

- Distinctive embroidered clothese are worn as a

proud batch of caste and cultural identity. Caste and social status is indicated by the colours and

materials used.

- The merchant communities often work on silk

where as the farming and pastoral castes usually use cotton and wool.

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4.3 Styles of Domestic Embroidery:

– The styles follow rules recognized and strictly

observed throughout a given group. For the

embroiderer, the style that she uses is understood as a community.

– Embroidery style of a particular community

evolves over generations and reflects the cultural and historical influences.

(a) Sindi Style

- This style is prevalent in the Thar Parpar and

adjoining districts of Sind and in western

Rajasthan districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer.

- Their work is of two types :

i. Profusely embroidered floral and disguised bird

designs mostly on a red background

supplemented by mirrors and beaded popoms.

ii. Couched metal and thread work on a black

background.

- The main feature is the lavish application of mirrors. The main types done are chain stitch,

Abhla bharat, Heer Bharat and the interlacing

stitch of Sindi taropa.

- Chain stitch is similar to that of Kutch but is done with a white thread and is accompanied

with lots of mirrors.

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- Heer bharat is the embroidery done using the

untwisted silk thread called the heer in red,

white, greed and yellow.

- Base fabric used is cotton of white or indigo

colour. The stitches used are elongated darning

stitch, which are worked according to the warp or weft of the fabric, chain stitch and herring

bone stitch. The motifs used are geometric,

borders, eight pointed star patterns and regular

treatment of triangles and lozenges, mirrors are used where the designs intersect.

- Abhla Bharat is the use of mirrors on a dark background to produce a glittering effect. The

rest of the embroidery is completed with stem or

herring bone stitch using silken floss.

- Sindi Taropa

Sindi Taropa commonly known as interlacing stitch

practiced at Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar. In Sindhi

Taropa, the movement of the needle and thread is very important, does not bring any newness in the

texture but can simply be said that an impression of

the ingenuity of the women folk. Interlacing stitch involves two steps of embroidering, where in the

first step, the long threads are stitched into the base

of the cloth to form base structure or skeleton and in the second step, the thread is interloped through

the basic structure or skeleton in reverse direction.

The design is composed of small squares, lozenges,

chevrons, discs, sometimes interspersed with flowers, birds, animals, etc. According to Jasleen

Dhamija, ‗Sindi Taropa‘ was prevalent in Germany

but it is really not known whether the Germans have introduced it into India or vice versa.

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4.4 Moti-Bharat

Gujarat in famous for the bead work or moti Bharat.

The beads are not stitched to a background but they

are stitched together with a needle and thread. The background is of white beads with various patterns

created using coloured beads. She articles made are

stiff and non–priable and thus used for torans, wall hangings, bags, purses, toys.

4.5 Kutch Style

This is practiced by Rabari shepherds, kaubi farming castes, and Ahir herding castes.

(a) Ahir Bharat:

The word Ahir may be derived from the Sanskrit word ‗Abhira‘ meaning milk man.

- The base material used was hand spun, hand

woven coarse khaddar. At present the

embroidery is done on silk or satin.

- Threads used are untwisted silk floss or twisted silken thread. Colourful threads are used on dark

base.

- Stitch used is the chain stitch.

- Motifs used are birds, flowers, creepers, foliages,

parrots, peacock, bulbul, dancing doll,

karanphool (the flower shaped earring).

- Articles made are choli, pyjamas, jackets,

bonnets, caps and other children‘s garments.

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(b) Kanbi Bharat:

Kanbis are basically the cultivators; the Kanbi

women engage themselves in this beautiful craft.

- The thread used is of cotton of yellow, orange, green, white and purple colours.

- Basic stitches employed are darning for outlining

and herring bone for filling.

- The designs in kanbi bharat have a distinct

Persian influence and specific ones are

sunflower, kevda and the cactus flower, parrots,

peacocks, foliages and creepers are also present.

- Articles made are covers for animals, conical

covers for their horns, embroidered veils and

muzzles. Other household articles like covers for wooden boxes, pataras, blankets, quits are

commonly made.

(c) Rabari Work:

Rabaris belong to the tribe of the giri region of

Gujarat. Their embroidery is impressive and

attractive.

- Fabric used is hand woven hand spun khaddar or

khadi material which is usually maroon in colour.

The rabaris use patches of fabric of different shapes and sizes to produce a bold effect against

a plain background. Sometimes patches of

patola, satins, bandhini and printed cottons are also taken.

- Embroidery is done with double cross–stitch with

bird and floral motifs on the borders of the

articles.

- The threads used are white, yellow, green and

red made of cotton.

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- The motifs used are action motifs such as

galloping horse, roaring lion, hopping deer;

sometimes composite animals like Gajasimha

(half elephant and half lion), kinnara (half human and half horse), a swan with 2 heads.

- Articles made are chaklas, torans, bhitiya (wall

hangings, cushion covers for divans and bolsters covers).

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Classification of Gujarat Embroidery

Areas of Production of Gujarat

Areas of Production of Gujarat Embroideries

1. Thar Parpar,

2. Barmer, 3. Jaisalmer,

4. Kutch

Embroidery of Gujarat

Professional

Embroidery Domestic Embroidery

Mochi Bharat Sindi

Style

Kutch

Style

Chanai Work Heer

Bharat

Ahir

Bharat

Abla

Bharat

Kaubi

Bharat

Sindi

Taropa

Rabari

Work

Moti

Bharat

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Motif of the Sindi Style of Embroidery

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Motif of the Ahir, Kanbi, Rakari of

Embroidery

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Practical Exercises

Each student is required to maintain a research file. This file will have fifty (50) motifs of each

embroidery. The motifs will be neatly drawn in

pencil. Each motif will be drawn in a square of 3‖ x 3‖.

The students will then pick out motifs and make

design compositions. There will be five (5) design compositions for each embroidery, made on 8‖ by 8‖

of ivory sheet. For each composition the student has

to use three or more motifs of the traditional

embroi-dery. The placement of the motifs can be done in the following ways to make different

compositions.

– One design composition will be selected by the

teacher, painted and then embroidered using

traditional colors.

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– The students are required to maintain the

compositions and samples in a file/folder.

– Each student is required to make 2 end products.

– The student can select this from the list of end products or think of his/her creative product.

One end product has to be a combination of

any 2 embroideries.

Second end product has to be purely based

on one embroidery.

The traditional motifs can be stylised, trendy colours

can be used; beads, rope, dori, sequence, can be used to enhance the work.

The layout or the placement of motifs on the end

product, techniques, colours and embellishments have to be approved by the teacher before the final

execution on the end product.

The motifs on the end product need not be

necessarily embroidered. They can be painted,

machined embroidered or printed.

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List of end Products that can be made by

the students

1. Study Table Accessories – Paper Weight, Table Lamp, Card Holder, Pencil Stand, Photo Frame, Soft

Board Frame, Book Rest.

2. Kitchen Articles – Aprons, Mittens, Pot Holders,

Mats, Napkins, Napkins Holder, Coasters.

3. Decorative Articles – Lamps, Furniture Articles,

Cushion Covers, Bags, Shoes, Belts, Jewellery

Articles, Tiles, Blinds.

4. Bathroom Accessories – Soap Case, Brush

Holder, Towel Ring, Set of Hand Towels, Mirrors.

5. The student can think of any other innovative

product and make it.

6. Wall Panels, rugs, partitions.

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Summary:

The special significance of kantha is quilting.

Running stitch is the main stitch of kantha

embroidery and cotton and silk threads are used for it. Portuguese and European tradition have a great

influence on the motifs of kantha. Lotus is the most

widely used kantha embroidery. There are different kinds of kanthas named according to its utility

like:Arshilata,Bayton,Durjani,Lep,Sujani,Oor,Rumal

etc.

Kasuti is the traditional embroidery of Karnataka.

Main stitches of kasuti are Gavanti, Murgi, Negi, and Menthi. The motifs used in kasuti embroidery

ranged from mythological and architectural to the

beautiful flora and fauna.

Traditional embroidery of Punjab is known as

phulkari.when the whole fabric is so embroidered that no part of the base fabric is visible,is called

Bagh. Darning stitch, chope, Buttonhole, Stem,

Herringbone, Running and Chain stitch is used for

phulkari

Kutch is the traditional embroidery of gujrat.this

embroidery is classified in 2 categories:

Proffesional and Domestic embroidery. The motifs

used are buttis (flowers derived from Persian and

mughal influence) parrots, figures of women called

putli, elephant, birds, creepers, pecock, bulbul etc. The stitches used are chain stitch, mirror work,

herringbone, double cross stitch etc.

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Review points:

Kantha is the traditional embroidery of West-Bengal. Which means patched cloth.

Base fabric used in kantha was always

cotton.silk was also used at times.

Main stitch of kantha is running stitch but satin and stem stitches are also used.

White cotton threads and sometimes silk

threads are also used for kantha embroidery.

According to utility there is different types of

kanthas like: Bayton, Durjani, Lep, Oor,

Arshilata, Sujani, Rumal etc.

Fine silk,canvas or matty is used for kasuti.

Stitches in kasuti are always

vertical,horizontal and diagonal.

Phulkari is the traditional embroidery of Punjab .

Phulkari

a.Wedding phulkari b.Religious phulkari.

a.Chope b.suber c.vari-da-bagh

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3.Untwisted silk threads called pat is used for phulkari.

Kutch embroidery is the famous embroidery of gujrat and gujrat is the world‘s richest source of Folk embroidery.

Terminal questions:

1. What is meant by kantha and is the traditional folk art of which place?

2. Art of which place?

3. What are the motifs used for kantha?

4. Name the different types of kantha?

5. What are the base fabrics used for kantha

and what are their colours?

6. What are the areas of production of kantha?

7. Name the articles made using the kasuti

embroidery?

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8. Name the mythological and the architectural

motifs used in kasuti?

9. What is the most popular colour

combinations made in the kasuti embroidery?

10.What is the difference between bagh and

phulkari?

11.What are the stitches used in Phulkari?

12.What are Darshan Dwar and Bawan Bagh?

13.Classify the Gujarat embroideries using a

flow chart.

14.What is the importance of embroidery in Gujarat?

15.What is chinai embroidery and why is it

called so?

16.What is the characteristic of Sindi Style of

embroidery and what are its types?

17.What are the different types of embroidery done in the Kutch style?

Intext Questions:

1. Explain the different types of Kantha in

detail?

2. Explain in detail the stitches used for Kasuti

embroidery.

3. What are the different types of phulkaris?

Explain in detail.

4. What is Gujrat embroidery? Write the classification of gujrat embroidery in detail.

5. Explain Kutch-style in detail?

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Key words:

1. Manifest: Easily noticed, obvious.

2. Whirl:

3. Notch – V shaped or circular cut in an edge or surface.

4. Incised – to cut into a design.

5. Influx - a lot of people arriving somewhere.

6. Profusely – in large amount.

7. Lozenges – a four sided figure like a diamond

shape and has 2 opposite angles more than

90 degree and other 2 less than 90 degree.

8. Ingenuity - the ability to invent things.

Assignments:

Students have to make 50 motifs of Kantha

embroidery in the Researh file.

Students have to make the painted and embroidered sample of kantha embroidery.

Students have to make 50 motifs of each

embroidery in the Researh file.

Students have to make the painted and

embroidered sample of phulkari and kasuti

embroidery.

Students have to make 50 motifs of gujrat embroidery in the research file.

Make painted and emroiderd sample of Kutch

embroidey and make a sample of Moti Bharat also. Size should be 8‖x8‖.

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UNIT-II

Lesson 5: Applique Craft of Orissa

Lesson 6: Chikankari of Uttar Pradesh

Lesson 7: Chamba Rumal of Himachal Pradesh

Lesson 8: Kasida of Kashmir

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Lesson 5: Applique Craft of

Orissa

Objective:

―To understand the traditional embroidery of

Orissa.‖

Structure:

5.1 Introduction 5.2 Fabric Used

5.3 Threads and Stitches Used

5.4 Motifs Used 5.5 Production

5.1 Introduction

Orissa is situated in the eastern part of the country. The world famous traditional craft of this state is the

appliqué craft, a French term exploring about the

technology of applying patches of colourful fabric pieces on a base fabric .The row edges are finished

with a definite mode of stitchery.

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This is carried out in and around the Puri district,

with Pipli as its main centre. It is also called Pipli

work.Gangam and Baudh districts also carry out this

craft.

Pipli is the capital of applique craft in Orissa. Most of

the work sold on the street stalls of Pipli is produced

for a growing tourist market; however supurb craftwork is still produced and available if you have

the time to look around.

The people of Orissa are religious and God fearing.

The applique craft of Puri is connected with religious festivals and processions. It is done by the Darji

Community. The articles produced traditionally were

for the Lord Jagannath Yatra. These were canopies, umbrellas, banners, coverings of dummy horses and

cows. Today other articles such as bedspreads

cushion covers, bags, garden and sea shore

umbrellas and lampshades are made. Many times the applique is combined with embroidery.

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5.2 Fabric Used

The base material has to be strong enough to take

the weight of the applique pieces. The fabric used is

always cotton usually in dark colours like royal blue, turquoise blue and black. The materials used for the

applique is also cotton in bright colours. White is

also used for appliques.

Today white and cream base colours are also used.

5.3 Thread and Stitches Used

The appliques are attached to the base fabric by using chain stitch (usually done in white or

yellow) and invisible hemming. The threads used

are twisted cotton threads. If motifs are

embroidered along with the applique, chain stitches are used.

Blanket or buttonhole stitch is used to finish the

fabric from all around and attach mirrors.

Ruching stitch is used to gather up a strip of

cloth to make an applique motif

Rumming stitch is sometimes used on the borders.

The stitches are known by some local names

such as

Chicken for chain stitch.

Ganthi for blanket stitch.

Taropa for invisible hemming.

Bakhia for running stitch.

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5.4 Motifs Used

The craft of Orissa is mainly connected with

religious festivals and processions, the motifs picked

up are from actual life, modified stylized forms, nature, animals and plant kingdom, and of course

geometrical as per the shapes of the article. The

commodity used motifs are ,lotus, duck, peacock, elephant, swan, parrot, fish, lion, betel leaf, bela

leaf, creeper, tree, (gachha), sun (Surya), moon

(Chandra), and rahu (the demon that swallows sun

and the moon during eclipses).

A colourful display of Applique

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5.5 Production

1. Selection of the design is the first step involved,

followed by cutting the motifs from the selected

appliques material. However, specially prepared motifs are made separately.

2. These motifs are then placed on the base cloth in

predetermined layout and sequence.

3. The raw edges of the cut motifs are neatly and

evenly turned in and sewn on to the base or

sometimes embroidered without turning the raw

edges.

4. The layout of the motifs varies according to the

size and articles to be prepared since the shape

varies for each article, Canopy is a square piece, umbrella is circular, trasa is somewhat circular,

having a small pointed part of the circumference

as neck. The motifs are encircled with number of

borders, inside and outside, many times it even reaches the edges of the ground fabric For

example the square or circular motif, which later

is bound by several borders of different widths.

5. The size of applique piece varies from one metre

to a very small size of 1.5 cms. The small pieces

are for fine decorations and borders whereas the large pieces of geometrical pieces are used as

central motifs for canopies and so on. The

natural and stylized motifs in the design through

medium size either reduced or enlarged according to the size of the piece. Sometimes the

figured motifs are padded to bring about

embossed effect and make them more naturalistic. The local market for these products

is limited. The Government is trying to make an

effort to enter the international market by improving the products and establishing

cooperative societies.

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Applique end-products

Applique wall-hanging

PAppliqué jhallar

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Applique Jhallar

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Areas of Production for Orissa Applique

1. Pipli 2. Gangam 3. Bandh

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Lesson 6: Chikankari of Uttar Pradesh

Objective:

Understand the traditional embroideries of Uttar pradesh

Learn the stitches of Chikankari

Structure:

6.1 History of Chikankari

6.2 Fabric Used

6.3 Thread Used 6.4 Motifs

6.5 Stitches Used

6.6 Production 6.7 Metal Work of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is a land of overwhelming contrasts,

where extremes are normality. The Ganges

dominates the state, emerging from the foothills of the Himalayas to the last expanse of plains, passing though he holy city of the Varanasi.

Uttar Pradesh is famous for its finely woven

Brocades metal work and the delicate chikan work

also called white work.

Lucknow the capital of Uttar Pradesh is famous for this work. Lucknow is an old city with its earlier

name as Avadh. In 1775 it began to attract

craftsmen, artists and musicians, who were patronised by the court. One of the crafts that

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developing during this time was the Chikankari a

kind of white work.

6.1 History of Chikankari

Chikankari work is thought to have organized in

Bengal and practiced in Dhaka and Calcutta. The Jamdani weaving and European white work must

have been influential in giving rise to this work.

From 1850 onwards a very fine, white on white on

Jamdani was produced in Tanda, near Faizabad, to

the East of the Lucknow. It is said that this marked

the beginning of Chikankari work in Lucknow.

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‗Chikan‘ means ―to raise‖ and ‗kari‘ means ―work

The name ‗chikan‘ seems to have been derived from

the Persian word, either ‗Chikan‘, ‗Chikin‘ or

‗Chikeen‘. It means a kind of cloth wrought with needle–work. Although it originated as a court craft,

today it is a practiced tradition and an important

commercial activity.

Chikan work has a very light, gossamer – like

quality. This makes it very suitable for the

seemingly hot climate of the northern plain region. It can be assumed that Chikankari, using sheer

fabrics evolved as a logical answer to the problem of

keeping cool and also providing adornment and beauty to one‘s person or in the surroundings. it is

thought that Noor Jehan got inspired by the Turkish

Architecture (seen in Taj Mahal) and produced this raised effect on white fabric with white threads to

show the carvings and trellis on the marbel.

Chikankari is thought to be her personal creation.

6.2 Fabric Used

Traditionally very fine cotton, or muslin was used,

generally white in color. Now all kinds sheer fabrics like organdy, chiffons, georgettes, silk, jute are also

used. The colours used are all pastel colors of pink,

blue, peach, pista–green. Black is also used as the ground color.

6.3 Thread Used

White untwisted cotton or sometimes twisted silk

threads were used.

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6.4 Motifs

Strictly floral motifs and paisleys are used. This

embroidery is done by the Muslim workers; thus no

animal and human figures.

6.5 Stitches Used

Six basic stitches are used. Some work from the

right and others from the wrong side of the fabric.

1. Taipchi: Running stitch worked on the right side

of the fabric. It is occasionally done within parallel rows to fill petals and leaves in a motif,

called ghaspatti. Sometimes taipchi is used to

make the bel buti all over the fabric. This is the simplest chikan stitch and often serves as a basis

for further ssssembellishment. It resembles

jamdani and is considered the cheapest and the

quickest stitch.

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a) Pechni: Taipchi is sometime used as a base for

working other variations and pechni is one of

them. Here the taipchi is covered by entwining

the thread over it in a regular manner to provide the effect of something like a lever spring and is

always done on the right side on the cloth.

b) Pashni: Taipchi is worked to outline a motif and then covered with minute vertical satin stitches

over about two threads and is used for fine finish

on the inside of badla.

2. Bakhia: It is the most common stitch and is often referred to as shadow work. It is of two

types:

(a) Ulta Bakhia: The floats lie on the reverse of

the fabric underneath the motif. The transparent

muslin becomes opaque and provides a beautiful

effect of light and shade.

(b) Sidhi Bakhia: Satin stitch with criss-crossing

of individual threads. The floats of thread lie on the surface of the fabric. This is used to fill

the forms and there is no light or shade effect.

3. Katao: Khatao, khatava or katava is cutwork or

appliqué - more a technique than a stitch.

Rampur and Aligarh have special work when the

applique is done using invisible hemming. All the patches are cut and folded to form lozenges.

A single lozenge works out as leaf and 4 to 6 are

put together to form a flower. Stem stitch is used to embroider stems.

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4. Gitti: A combination of buttonhole and long satin

stitch, usually used to make a wheel-like motif.

Button hole used for small circular flowers.

5. Jangira: Chain stitch usually used as outlines in combination with a line of pechni or thick taipchi.

The bolder or knottier stitches include the following:

6. Murri: A very minute satin stitch in which a knot

is formed over already outlined taipchi stitches.

7. Phanda: It is a smaller shortened form of murri. The knots are spherical and very small, not pear

shaped as in murri. This is a difficult stitch and

requires very good craftsmanship.

8. Jaalis: The jaalis or trellises that are created in

chikankari are a unique speciality of this craft.

The holes are made by manipulation of the needle without cutting or drawing of thread. The

threads of the fabric are teased apart to make

neat regular holes or jaalis. In other centres

where jaalis are done, the threads have to be

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drawn out. In chikankari, this is not the case.

Names of jaali techniques suggest the place

where they originated from --- Madrasi jaali or

Bengali jaali ---- or possibly the place of demand for that particular jaali. The basic manner in

which jaalis are created is by pushing aside wrap

and weft threads in a fashion that minute openings are made in the cloth. Shape of

openings and the stitches used distinguish one

jaali from another.

6.6 Production

The commercial chikankari work is organized and

carried out by men. Men and women both carry out the embroidery work. The designs are block printed

on the fabric. Temporary colors like geru in water or

ultramarine blue (neel) in kerosene are used for

block printing the designs. After the embroidery is done, the products are washed, starched and

ironed.

The articles produced are sarees, salwar kurtas, dupattas, shirts, bed and table linen. Lots of

variations are produced today. Chikankari work in

done along with sequins, and beads on brightly coloured fabrics, to suit the modern taste.

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6.7 Metal Work of Uttar Pradesh

Banaras and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh are famous

for metal weaving and embroidery. The metal wire –

kalabattun or zari as it is popularly called was a finally drawn silver wire with of plating gold. To cut

down the cost, a copper wire was plated with gold.

Cheap immitations of zari are now–a–days available; a synthetic golden or silver thread is

wrapped over a core of cotton thread.

Lucknow‘s zardoshi and kamdani are the most

popular. Different types of materials used are:

Zardosi

(a) Salma – Very thin twisted metal wire.

(b) Zari – Threads with gold or silver coating.

(c) Gajai – a cicular thin stift wire used for outline.

(d) Tilli/Sitara – Sequins.

(e) Mukaish/Badla – Thin small metal sheet which is

pressed into the fabric and folded.

(f) Moti – Beads (golden, silver or white) are used

along with the work to fill up designs or empty

spaces.

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Salma and Gajai Moti

Moti

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Sitara

Zari

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Mukaish/Badla

Moti

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Area of Production - Chikankari

1. Lucknow

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Kalka (Kair Motif)

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Summary:

The world famous traditional craft of Orissa is

known as appliqué craft. In this art row edges are

finished with a definite mode of stitchery. The threads used are twisted cotton threads. Stitches

used for appliqué are: Chain stitch, invisible

hemming, Blanket stitch, Running stitch, Ruching stitch etc.

Chikankari is the traditional embroidery of Uttar

Pradesh. It is also known as White work. IT is done

on very fine cotton and main stitches used are: Bukhia, Katao, Murri, Taipchi, Buttonhole and Jali

work.

Revision points:

Traditional craft of orissa is called ‗Applique

craft‘.

Pipli, in puri dist. Is its main center so it is also

called pipli work?

Fabric used is always cotton in dark colours.

The appliqués are attached to the base fabric by

using chain stitch and invisible hemming.

Motifs are picked up from actual life, modified

stylized forms, nature, animals and plant

kingdome.

Uttar Pradesh is famous for its finely Woven

Brocades, metal work and delicate chikan work .

Traditionally very fine cotton or muslin was used,

generally white in colour and white cotton (untwisted) or sometimes twisted silk threads

were used.

Strictly Floral motifs and paisleys are used for chikankari.

Metal work of U.P. is also very famous.

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In text Questions:

1. What are the different steps involved in the production of Appliques of Orissa?

2. What is Applique? What are the threads and

stitches used for Orissa Applique?

3. What kind of fabric is used for the base material of Orissa Applique?

4. What are the threads and stitches used for

Orissa Applique?

5. What are the different steps involved in the

production of Appliques of Orissa?

6. What are the motifs and colours used for Orissa Appliqués?

7. What are the different thoughts of origin for

Chikankari Embroidery?

8. What are the different fabrics used for chikankari?

9. Why are there no human or animal figures in

chikankari?

10.What are the different stitches used for

Chikankari?

11.What are the articles produced in Chikankari?

12.What are the different types of materials used for the metal work of Uttar Pradesh?

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Terminal Questions:

1. What are kind of fabric is used for the basic

material of Orissa Applique?

2. The motifs and colours used for Orissa Appliques?

3. What are the different stitches used for

Chikankari ? Explain.

4. What are the different thoughts of origin for

Chikankari embroidery?

5. What are the different fabrics used for Chikankari

?

6. Why are there no human or animal figures in

Chikankari ?

7. What are the articles produced in Chikankari ?

8. What are the different types of materials used

for the metal work of Uttar Pradesh?

Assignments:

Students have to make 50 motifs of each

embroidery in research file.

Students have to make the painted and embroidered sample of Applique

Students have to make painted and embroidered

sample of Chikankari.

Key Words:

1. Trellis – A light frame made of long narrow

pieces of wood that cross each other,used to support.

2. Immitation – Easy to copy with same effect.

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Lesson 7: Chamba Rumal of Himachal Pradesh

Objective:

To understand the traditional embroidery of

Himachal Pradesh - Chamba Rumal.

Structure:

7.1 Fabric Used

7.2 Threads Used 7.3 Stitches Used

7.4 Motifs used

7.5 Transfer of Design of Fabric 7.6 Main Themes in the Embroidery

Himachal, the term is derived from Sanskrit where ‗Him‘ means snow and ‗Achal‘ means lap, which

depicts that the state has abundant snowfall during

the winter. Himachal was ruled by brave and chivalrous Ranas and Thakurs.

The existence of this embroidery goes back to the

15th Century. Buddhist literature mentions that

embroidery was practiced in Pathankot, Chamba and other neighbouring remote villages like Basoni,

Nurpur, Kangra, Kullu and Mandi. The embroidery

depicted a fine, delicate, perfect manual work called needle miniatures of Himachal or ‗Pahari Rumal‘.

A legend says that a ‗rumal‘ (handkerchief), was

embroidered by Bebe Nanki, sister of Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1539), and presented to him during his

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wedding in late 15th Century. This rumal had a

cream colour base with beautiful human figures,

evergreen trees and colourful blossoms. It is still

preserved in the Gurudwara of Gurdaspur.

In Jatoka tales, a mention was made about these

beautiful embroidery done in Pathankot, Chamba

and other surrounding places. During 1009 A.D. the Kangra fort was captured by Gazani Mohammed

who looted all the splendid textiles of Himachal

Pradesh. The Romans describe the embroidery of

Chamba as ‗needle painting‘. The facial expressions of the figures are vivid and lively and the bodies are

full of movement as it developed a style of its own.

In Chamba it is said that during 1750s Umed Singh was a great lover of art, and his patronity continued

with Raja Jit Singh, during 1800. It was probably

during this era, the Pahari craft flourished in this state. Since then Himachal embroidery is famous as

‗Chamba‘.

7.1 Fabric Used

Traditionally the ground fabric used was two types

of unbleached cotton cloth, first being the light

weight, fine, delicate, cambric like, semitransparent, manufactured at Sialkot (presently in Pakistan),

Amritsar and Ludhiana. Second type being hand–

spun, hand–woven coarser, relatively heavier khaddar. In later period the unbleached cotton

material was replaced by mill made cotton cloth.

However, cream or white coloured Tassar Silk material was also commonly used for making

rumals. Today, according to the taste, demand

fashion trend and availability the ground fabric

employed being terycot, organdie, linen, poplin and muslin of either white or light colour.

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7.2 Threads Used

The threads used for embroidery were untwisted

pat, which gave rich effect against dull rustic cotton

ground. It produced an impression of smooth, glossy, gorgeous surface enrichment. However, the

infinite shades and tints of bright, brilliant and

contrasting colours were used. Most commonly used colours are red, yellow, green, blue, crimson and

purple. Blue colour is always used for Krishna,

whenever he is bear chested and crimson for feet.

Red, Blue and white colours are used for Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara respectively. Gopis in vivid

colours or yellow and green or dark pink or crimson

combination. The outline of the motif is always worked with black. At present, the embroidery is

done with twisted silk or chiffon threads. Pat has

been replaced because of its low strength and

difficulty in handling.

7.3 Stitches Used

Embroidery is done with double satin stitch done in

both right and wrong side, where the effect is

reversible. It is done so finely that not only the background is hardly visible but very difficult to

identify the right side, since the work is never

started with a knot but with a back stitch and the threads never been joined by knots. It was also

observed that in some of the old wall hangings,

chain stitch was used for both filling and outlining,

in which case right and wrong side of the work was clearly identified. However, chain stitch was not

practiced on rumals. Gujjar women used darning,

sometimes even herringbome and satin stitches.

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7.4 Motifs used

Motifs, in Himachal embroidery consists of symbolic

animals like leaping tigers, running goats, cantering

horses, fleeting rams, jumping deer, along with cows, calves, horses, elephants, snakes; bird motifs

comprised of peacock, parrot, used may be as

symbolic or purely as decorative. Sometimes these motifs are used in single to fill up the empty places.

Single bird signified a sad, solitary one waiting for

the male, a couple symbolized union of two souls.

Rumals comprised of elliptical frame work, having

two to three inches of floral bodies on all the four

sides. Center of the rumal has creeper motif guldasta in the corners, pointing either towards the

centre or towards the corner. Sometimes the

complete rumal has the motifs of animals, birds,

trees, creeper and foliages giving an impression of Bagh, moreover, the cyprus tree is also widely used.

It is also observed that many musical instruments

such as flute, Tambura, Drums (Dholaks), Veena, Sitar, Tabala are used in the art. Muslim Gujjar

women used geometrical motifs, included triangle,

squares, diamonds, rectangle, hexagonals and circles. However, most of the figures and motifs

were simplified, i.e., the body of human figure is

cone shape with a face and the elephant appeared

like a rectangular, box moving steadily with a lotus on the trunk.

7.5 Transfer of Design of Fabric

Hand drawing or free style mode was used for

outlining the motif, carried out exclusively by

women. These women drew figures of their own creations. Earlier charcoal was used to trace the

outlines, but oil method is used. Oil method consists

of rubbing cotton wool dipped in blue dye (neel) and

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kerosene oil on design sheets which are perforated.

The kerosene seeps on to the fabric and thus

transfers the design.

7.6 Main Themes in the Embroidery

There is a great influence of Mythology on the

themes of paintings and embroidery. Along with the

themes of Bhagawat Purana, Krishna Leela and Mahabharat, it is observed that Raga Ragini and

Baramasa are also used abundantly, which is an

influence of Vaishanva cult. The dancing figures appeared so vivid that they are rarely in motion. It

is to say that Krishna in all his various forms and

characters occupied the central figure of much of Himachal embroidery.

The scene of Rasa Lila is another common theme

where the blue bodied Krishna leads the gopies in circular dance posture. The Rumals display other

folk styles like marriage of Krishna and Rukmini,

Vishnu in a lotus, Ganesh, Vishnu-Laxmi, Pahari women playing musician instruments, men smoking

hukka, the pipe and so on.

1. Rasmandala

Here the centre of the theme depicts Lord Vishnu

sitting in the Padma, the lotus has four arms, each

holding a padma, a Gada (lotus bud), a Shankh (conch shell) and his weapon, the Sudarshan

Chakra. However, the figures were disproportionate

and many times the human figures have bird like

faces. The other empty part of the rumal is covered with floral and guldasta motifs, except the corners

which had human figures (Gopies) playing Dholak.

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2. Kaliya Damana

Krishna killing the horrified kaliya kalinga sarpa

(serpent), who lived in Jamuna river.

3. Samundra Manthana

The ocean was churned by Devas (Gods) and Asuras

(Demons) using a serpent, Vasuki as rope and

mountain Meru as the churning rod. Both nectar and poison were the products of Samundra Manthana.

However, many more things emerged out of the

ocean due to the vigorous elaborate churning. And this scene of Samundra Manthana has been taken

as a motif of embroidery of rumal and wall hanging.

Since, this being an elaborate scene, the motifs is

divided into several panels embroidered individually and later joined all of them together. This miniature

style has some what proportionate human figures,

exhibiting delineated forms. A largest motif of Samudra Manthana was eight feet wide and two feet

long.

4. Rukmini Harana

The elopement of Rukmini and her marriage is the

gist of the theme. It is an elaborate theme,

embroidered on rumal depicting the various ceremonial activities performed on one part and

preparation of Rukmini‘s wedding on the other. The

scene exhibits, Rukmini grooming and decking up for her wedding, women engaged in various

activities, musicians playing music, Sahelies

(friends) of Rukmini busy in carrying out various

chores, Rukmini praying, Lord Krishna taking Rukmini in his chariot, couple sitting in front of the

vedi, the place where marriage rites performed,

priest enchanting the mantras and performing marriage rites. Barat, the procession of marriage,

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involving royal animals like, saddled horse,

elephants, drum beaters, musicians playing

Ransingha and so on. However these scenes were

more emphasised and beautified by use of various flowers, foliages, birds and fruits, may be in

between to fill the empty gaps or as borders.

5. Battle of Kurukshetra

Mahabharat is one of the great epics of India and

many themes of this epic is chosen for the

embroidery. However, the most commonly found ones are the battle of Kurukshetra and exile of the

Pandavas. This battle is elaborately depicted on a

five feet wide and one and a half feet long panel of base material. Pandavas occupy the left hand side of

the panel along with Lord Krishna on his chariot,

Kauravas on the right hand side and Abhimanyu is

placed in centre of the panel, showing the picture of being caught in the Chakravihu.

6. Raga Ragini

Raga, the tune of song and Ragini, the mode of song expressing the base for songs sung in a

minimum of six versions. The Pahari painters were

greatly influenced by the Vaishnavas, the Kshina cult, during eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and

adopted Ragmala (Sangeeta Mala) theme. The

popular Raga Ragini themes are Raga megha, Raga hindola, Raga vasanta, Raga todi, Raga bhairavi and

so on. The themes expressed the mode, mood,

time, day, season, month during which the

particular Raga is being sung.

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7. Minjar Mela Jalus

‗Minjar‘ the tassels, ‗Mela‘ the fair, and ‗Jalus‘ the

procession, depicts the procession during the Mela.

Minjar Mela is very famous festival of the ‗Chamba‘ where the people of sacrifice Minja in the river Ravi;

to dive away the evil spirits and pray for their

prosperity.

8. The Gujjar Theme

The Muslim gujjar women usually carried out embroidery locally, taking all the motifs from nature

expect, human and bird figures. However, it has the

resemblance of Phulkari of Punjab. An elaborate

gujjar work is divided into number of penels of either square or rectangular for convenience,

treated as an important segment having geometrical

motifs. However, the most important and common elliptical floral framework does not exist.

A large number of household textile articles are prepared of Chamba embroidery. And the most

common is the rumal, almost synonymous with the

work, whose size ranged from twenty to thirty five

inches. Wall hanging with various themes from Mahabharat, Purana ranged from two to feet

rectangular shapes. Sometimes even cholis are

embroidered.

Chamba rumal are versatile in their utility, used as a

cover while offering gifts in the Mandir, the temple,

either to deity or priest called ―Eathaparu‖; an immensely decorated oval or circular rumal hung

behind the statue of deity is ―Chhabru‖; a

rectangular or oblong wall hanging draped behind

the idol in the temples is ―Chandoa‖ are now becoming rare. Though rumals are no longer used

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as covers, it is customary for the girl to possess at

least a rumal in the trousseau. Rumals were also

used to cover the gifts that were the exchanged

during weddings.

Unlike Punjabi girls being expertised in Phulkari in

their early adolescencehood, girls of Himachal do

start learning this art at an early teens and of course their skill in handicraft was one of the

measuring sticks in selecting the bride and judging

her ability as a house wife during matrimonial

negotiations. Even now, it is a custom of Chamba girls to prepare a rumal, exhibiting her art and skill

and a way of maintaining the traditional custom of

Chamba families.

Ras-lila

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Rasmandala

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Das Avtar, Chamba Rumal, c 19th century A.D.

Indian Ludo

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"Gaddi-Gaddan"

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Area of Production of Chamba Rumal

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Lesson 8: Kasida of Kashmir

Objective:

―To understand the traditional embroidery of Jammu and Kashmir.‖

Structure:

8.1 History of the Kashmir Shawl

8.2 Technique Used 8.3 Types of Woven Shawls

8.4 Evolution of Embroidered Shawls

8.5 Floor Coverings of Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the Northern most state in

India. The locality is embedded with enchanting and

beautiful flora and fauna, lakes, hills and streams all

around. This has inspired many writers, poets, artists and craftsmen.

A legend reveals that a semitic tribe ―kash‖

including Herbews, Arabic Jews, inhabited Kashmir much before 541 AD. This might be one of the

reason for the title Kashmir.

8.1 History of the Kashmir Shawl

The shawl industry in Kashmir was introduced by

Zair–Ul–Abidin, the ruler from 1420–1470 A.D. It appears that he was taken into captivity at

Samarkand (Persia). He got interested in the

various crafts going on there. When he returned to

India, he sent people in search of talented craftsmen. Thus the shawl weavers from Persia

were brought to India.

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Reference to the kashmir shawl is made in Ain–I–

Akbari by Abdul Fazal where he says that the

Emperor Akbar was a keen admirer of the shawl. It

is Akbar who is responsible for introducing a new type of shawl called the ‗Doushala‘ meaning twin

shawl.

The demand for shawls increased during the mughal

times. By the 18th century they were being exported

to Europe, where it became a fashionable wrap by the elite.

By the end of 19th century the shawl industry declined due to many reasons. Cheap versions of

exquisite woven shawls of kashmir were being now

made on the Jacquard loom in Europe.

8.2 Technique Used

Traditional woven shawls of Kashmir are called ―Kanihama‖ or ―kanihar‖ or ―Kani‖ or ―jamavar‖

shawls.

These were made by a labourers and a slow process

of weaving 2/2 twill tapestry weave. The raw

material used was the fleece of a wild goat called capra hircus. This fleece locally called ―pashm‖;

another raw material called ‗toosh‘ was used, which

is the hair of dead chiru antelopoe. This gave rise to Pashmina and Shatoosh shawls respectively, the

latter being very rare and more expensive shawl.

[Note : The chiru antelope is on the list of

endangered species and is thus illegal to process toosh.]

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8.3 Types of Woven Shawls

1. Pashmina Shawls : Majority of the Kashmir

shawls are made from the fleece of capra hircus.

2. Do–shala : Two identical shawls stitched together with their wrong sides facing each

other, so that when dropped over the shoulder,

the wrong side was not visible.

3. Do–rookha : Double sided work in which there is

no wrong or right side.

4. Kasba Shawl: Square in shape and produced on

amount of European demand.

5. Jamavar Shawls : Woven wholly of wool or some

cotton mixed, but the floral designs and

brocaded parts are generally in the silk or pashm wool.

8.4 Evolution of Embroidered Shawls:

An Armenian named Khawafa Yusuf came to

Kashmir from Constantinople in 1803 to purchase

shawls. He found that the price of the shawl was exhorbitant and that there was heavy taxation on

the looms. He got the idea of producing a shawl

with the help of a ‗Rafoogar‘. The Rafoogars used to actually stitch up 2 shawls of smaller width with tiny

stitches. These tiny stitches were so fine that it was

difficult to make out the joint. Thus with the help of a rafoogar, the jamavar pattern was copied in

embroidery on a plain woven shawl. The cost of the

shawl was much less as they were exempted from

the taxes imposed upon the loom shawls. These shawls came to be known as Amli Shawls.

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To begin with, the purpose of embroidery was to

imitate the designs of woven shawls; but later the

embroiderers created their own style.

Process: The plain shawl is placed on a smooth flat

surface and rubbed with a piece of polished agate

[Type of stone] till it becomes perfectly even. The design is drawn on a paper and outlines are pierced

with a needle. Charcoal powder is rubbed on the

paper. It perforates through the holes to transfer

the design on to the fabric.

The design is them outlines with ‗kalam‘ the pen.

Fabric Used:

The base fabric used for embroidery is pashmina

either in its natural colours of beige to off–white or

dyed in dark colours of maroon, navy blue, dark green, peach and orange. Silk–pashmina or

pashmina–wool blends are also used.

Threads Used:

Fine, single strands of silk and cotton threads are

used for fine embroidery. Wool is also used for

embroidering. Threads of white, green, purple, blue, yellow, black, crimson, searlet colours are used.

Inexpensive artificial silk (rayon) thread is also

used.

Stitches Used:

Stitches commonly used in the Kashmir embroidery

are chain stitch, darning stitch, stem stitch and

sometimes a knot stitch called doori.

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Kasida has 3 main styles of needle work.

a) Sozni and Rezkari: Done on shawls and long

dresses. Very intricate work with its main

stitches as stem, Rumanian and satin stitches.

b) Ari Work: This is also called Zalakdozi which is

done with the help of an ‗ari‘ or rook. Floral designs are worked in concentric rings in chain

stitch.

c) Kashmiri Couching: This is done in both metallic and non–metallic threads.

Motifs used:

The designs in the embroideries are evenly

balanced. Animal and human figures are not seen in

the Kashmiri embroidery, because of the muslim influence. Motifs used are parrot, wood–pecker,

canary, king–fisher, iris, lotus, lily, saffron, gopis,

plums, cherries, almonds and apple. The chinar or

the maple leaf is considered to be an important design. Another important motif is the tear drop or

the cone motif. This motif has been found as early

as the Babylonian civilization and is believed to have represented the growing shoot of the all nourishing

date palm. It is he symbol of the tree of life, one of

the oldest and most powerful of all motifs; and is symbolic of growth. It was a popular element of the

Persian design designs and is thus seen in the

Kashmiri shawls. It is also called the almond mango

or the paisley motif.

The embroidered shawls are known by different

names, depending on the area where the shawl is

embroidered.

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a) Kashida – Border design which runs all along the

length of the shawl on both sides.

b) Phala – Embroidery is done both ends of the

article, popularly known as pallu.

c) Tangir or Zanjir – is the border done with chain

stitch.

d) Kunj buta – is the cluster of flowers in a corner.

e) Buta is the generic name for a floral design.

When buttas are in two rows its called dokad; in five rows its called sehkad; in more than five rows its

called Tukadar. Matan Bagh consists of floral sprays.

8.5 Floor Coverings of Kashmir:

Numbdha : It is a piece of pressed felt made either

out of woollen or a wool–cotton blend. Wool fibers, usually of a poor quality are washed and pressed for

felting. These are then dried, cut to desired shape

and embroidered. Shape of the Numbdha can be square, oval, round, or rectangular. Chain stitch is

done in bright colours with the woolen yarn. The

base of the numbdha makes a warm, colourful and

inexpensive floor covering.

Gabba: It is an inexpensive floor covering prepared

from torn woolen shawls and blankets. This is a

household craft and done the members of the family. Old pieces of blankets are stitched up, and

backing is done with waste cotton cloth; these are

then washed and dyed. Gabbas are of two types (a)

Embroidered, where bold and vivid embroidery is done mostly in woolen yarn using chain stitch (b)

Appliquéd, where pieces of dyed blankets, cut out in

designs are appliqued using the button hole stitch. This is sometimes interspersed with embroidery.

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The ready gabba has bright flashes of design on a

dark and somber background.

Tapestry Work: is another kind of Kashmiri

embroidery where Dasuta the canvas cloth is

embroidered using a blunt tapestry needle.

The material is stretched on a wooden frame with

the tracing kept along its side. The woolen thread is

used to embroider the design with a whip stitch by counting the threads. It is a labourious work and

takes nearly a month and a half to complete a

carpet of 3‖ x 5‖. Tapestry work is popularly done in Srinagar and Anantnag.

Other articles produced are bed covers, teacosy

covers, cushions covers, sarees, fabric lengths and stoles.

Kasida is a cottage industry. This commercial art is done by the men folk (reason why no domestic

articles are seen as motifs, as in phulkari) and is

passed on from father to the son. Boys in the family about seven to eight years learn simple stitches and

master the art by providing the cloth and design.

The craftsmen have a choice over threads and

colour combinations. Kashmir embroidery not only provides employment and livelihood to thousands of

people but it depicts the rich century old tradition

and heritage of India.

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Areas of Production

Areas of Production – Kasida of Kashmir

1. Srinagar

2. Anantnag

3. Jammu

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Motifs for Kashmiri Sozni & Rezkari

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Motifs for Kashmiri Sozni & Rezkari

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Kashmiri

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Kashmiri

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Summary:

The world famous traditional craft of Orissa is

known as appliqué craft. In this art row edges are

finished with a definite mode of stitchery. The threads used are twisted cotton threads. Stitches

used for appliqué are: Chain stitch, invisible

hemming, Blanket stitch, Running stitch, Ruching stitch etc.

Chikankari is the traditional embroidery of Uttar

Pradesh. It is also known as White work. IT is done

on very fine cotton and main stitches used are: Bukhia, Katao, Murri, Taipchi, Buttonhole and Jali

work.

Chamba embroidery depicted a fine, delicate, perfect manual work called needle miniatures of

himachal or ‗pahari rumal‘. It is also known as

‗needle painting‘. Traditionally unbleached cotton

and hand woven khaddar is used for chamba rumal. Untwisted silk threads used for embroidery, which

gave rich effect against dull rustic cotton

background. Main stitches used are : Double chain stitch, Darning stitch and sometimes herringbone

and satin stitches are also used. Motifs of chamba

embroidery are influenced by Indian Mythology.

Traditional embroidey of Kashmir is known as

kasida.Origanally kasida embroidey done on

kashmiri shawls, these shawls are known as

kanihama/jamavar shawls.these shawls were made by 2/2 twill tapestry weave. Main types of woven

shawls are : Pashmina shawls, Do-shala, Do-rookha,

kosba shawls, Jamavar shawls.

The base fabric used for embroidery is pashmina

and fine, sigle strands of silk and cotton threads are

used for kashida embroidery main stitches used in kashmiri embroidery are chain stitch, darning stitch,

stem stitch and sometimes a knot stitch called

doori. The designs in the embroideries are evenly

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balanced. Animal and human figures are not seen in

the Kashmiri embroidery, because of the muslim

influence. Motifs used are parrot, wood–pecker,

canary, king–fisher, iris, lotus, lily, saffron, gopis, plums, cherries, almonds and apple. The chinar or

the maple leaf is considered to be an important

design.

Revision points:

Traditional craft of orissa is called ‗Applique

craft‘.

Pipli, in puri dist. Is its main center so it is

also called pipli work?

Fabric used is always cotton in dark colours.

The appliqués are attached to the base fabric

by using chain stitch and invisible hemming.

Motifs are picked up from actual life,

modified stylized forms, nature, animals and plant kingdome.

Uttar Pradesh is famous for its finely Woven

Brocades, metal work and delicate chikan work .

Traditionally very fine cotton or muslin was

used, generally white in colour and white cotton (untwisted) or sometimes twisted silk

threads were used.

Strictly Floral motifs and paisleys are used

for chikankari.

Metal work of U.P. is also very famous.

Chamba Rumal is the famous embroidery of

Himachal Pradesh.

Traditionally unbleached cotton and hand

woven Khadder is used for chamba emb.

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The threads used for chamba embroidery is

untwisted silk thread.

There is a great influence of Mythology on

the themes of chamba Rumal.

Double satin stitch is mainly used for chamba

embroidery

Traditional woven shawls of Kashmir are

called ―kanihama‖ or ―jamavar‖ shawls.

These were made by 2/2 twill taestry weave.

Types of woven shawls are : Pashmina

shawls, Do-shala, Do-Rukaha, Kosaba shawl, Jamavar shawls.

Base fabric used for embroidery is Pashmina

in natural colours or dyed in dark colours.

Kasida has 3 main styles of needle work

o Sozni and Rezkari

o Ari Work

o Kashmiri Couching

Animal and Human figures are not used in

kashmiri embroidery because of muslim influence.

Tapestry work is also a kind of kashmiri

embroidery where Dasuta the canvas cloth is embroidered using a blunt tapestry needle.

Numbhda and Gabba are the floor coverings

of Kashmir.

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Terminal Questions:

1. What are kind of fabric is used for the basic

material of Orissa Applique?

2. The motifs and colours used for Orissa Appliques?

3. What are the different stitches used for

Chikankari ? Explain.

4. What are the different thoughts of origin for

Chikankari embroidery?

5. What are the different fabrics used for

Chikankari ?

6. Why are there no human or animal figures in

Chikankari ?

7. What are the articles produced in Chikankari ?

8. What are the different types of materials used

for the metal work of Uttar Pradesh ?

9. What are the threads and their colors for

embroidering Chamba rumals ?

10.What are the base fabric and the stitches

used ?

11.What are the motifs used ?

12.How is the design transferred on the fabric ?

13.What are the motifs of Kasida embroidery ?

14.What are the different types of Kashmir shawls ?

15.Explain the evolution of embroidered shawls.

16.What are Numbdha and Gabba ?

17.Why is the cone motif important to the embroiderers ? What else is it referred to

(different names) ?

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18.What are the different styles of needlework in

Kashmir?

Intext questions:

1. What kind of fabric is used for the base

material of Orissa Applique?

2. What are the threads and stitches used for Orissa Applique?

3. What are the different steps involved in the production of Appliques of Orissa?

4. What are the motifs and colors used for Orissa Appliques?

5. What are the different thoughts of origin for

Chikankari Embroidery?

6. What are the different fabrics used for

chikankari?

7. Why are there no human or animal figures in

chikankari?

8. What are the different stitches used for

Chikankari?

9. What are the articles produced in Chikankari?

10.What are the different types of materials used for the metal work of Uttar Pradesh?

11.What are the threads and their colors used for

embroidering Chamba rumals?

12.What are the base fabric and the stitches

used?

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13.What are the motifs used?

14.How is the design transferred on the fabric?

15.Name the main themes of embroidery in

Chamba rumals.

16.What are the motifs of Kasida embroidery?

17.What are the different types of Kashmir

shawls?

18.Explain the evolution of embroidered shawls.

Assignments:

Students have to make 50 motifs of each

embroidery in research file.

Students have to make the painted and

embroidered sample of Applique

Students have to make painted and embroidered sample of Chikankari .

Students have to make 50 motifs of both the embroideries in the research file.

Make painted and emroiderd sample of

chamba rumal and chikankari. Size should be

8‖x8‖.

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Key Words:

Trellis – A light frame made of long narrow pieces of wood that cross each other,used to

support.

Immitation – Easy to copy with same effect.

Influential – To have an effect.

Dominate – To control or have a lot of

influence.

Chivalrous – Polite, kind, honoered, respectable.

Vivid – Clear, very bright.

Solitary – Alone

Foliage – Leaves

Delineated – To describe, draw or explain in

detail.

Elopement – To run away with someone in order to marry.

Gist - summary

Semitic – Connected with a family of languages.

Captivity – The state of being kept as a

prisoner.

Exquisite – extremely beautiful or carefully made.

Exorbitant – Too much ,too high.

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UNIT-III

Lesson 9: Traditional Textiles of India

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Lesson 9: Traditional

Textiles of India

Objectives: To learn about the different famous traditional

sarees of India.

To learn about their different kinds, their manufacture, their motifs & colours.

The areas of their production.

Structure:

9.1 Brocades of Benaras

9.2 Baluchar Brocade Saris

9.3 Jamdani Sais

9.4 Center of Production

Introduction:

India has a rich cultural heritage of tradition, art, music, literature, sculpture and textiles. This exhibit

unity in diversity through variegated charms of

festivals, rituals, music costume and languages.

India is famous world wide for its magnificent

workmanship, exhibited in the beautiful hand spun, and hand woven, dyed, printed and embroidered

textiles.

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9.1 Brocades of Benaras

Benaras is also known as Kashi or Varanasi and is

one of the oldest inhabited places of the world.

Alaipura is traditionally the district of Vara nasi where the famous brocades are woven. Today they

are woven in another parts of Vara nasi also.

Brocades are textiles woven with the warp and weft threads of different colours and often different

materials-The Benaras brocades are woven in silk

and metal threads.

– The saris and fabric up to 6-10 meters are usually woven.

– The weavers are Muslims and are known as ‗Kari gars‘. Their workshops are called

‗karkhanas‘.

– The zari thread is known as ‗kalabattun‘

which is made of finely drown gold or silver

metals in yarns wound round a silk/cotton

thread core.

– Traditionally, the design of the brocade was

first worked out on paper. An expert

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called‘naksha bandha‘ rendered the design

into cotton threads or a ‗naksh‘-a thread

device that performs the same function as a

jacquard. Today the jacquard loom has replaced the use of the naksha.

– The brocades of Benaras are divided into 3 types.

1. Opaque Zari brocades:

a) Kinkhab: heavy brocades with more Zari visible

than the silk. It is woven with a coarse but durable

silk known as ― mukta‖ which is heavy enough to take brocading with gold or silver. Kinkhab was

often used for furnishing and rearly for clothing. It

was a proper trading article in the local market and

was also exported to Europe.

b) Bafta: A silk and zari work brocade with less then

50% of zari. The zari is used as a supplementary weft in both kinkhab and bafta brocades.

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2. Amru brocades:

It is brocade without any metal thread work. The

supplementary weft woven for the design is silk and

not zari. One distinct type of Amru brocade is ‗ Tanchoi‘. This is a densly patterned heavy fabric.

Many times the ‗pallu‘ and ‗borders‘ of a tanchoi sari

are highlighted with zari. Fabric for other uses is made without zari.

The tanchoi brocades originated in china. It is

believed that in the 19thC three Parsi brothers called the Choi brothers learnt this art from the

Chinese settled in Surat (Gujrat). Hence the name

'Tan' meaning 'three' choi.

3. Abrawans:

ransparent silk or organza is woven with or without

zari.All over patterns are woven with a supplementary weft. The weft floats on the backside

of the fabric are cut off after the weaving is

complete. For this reason the a brawns are also called ‗cut brocades‘.

Another kind is the Tissue brocade. The warp is silk

and the weft is zari. This fabric gives a metallic

sheen.

The motifs used for brocaded fabrics are paisleys,

peacocks and horal patterns. The borders of the

sarees have a narrow fringe like pattern on the outer edges. This is called the 'Jhalar' meaning frill.

The delicate designs of the past were replaced at

the end of the 19C by patterns taken from the Victorian era.

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The Benarasi Saris are deep coloured, laden with

gold thread and form popular attire for the wealthy

Indian brides.

Centres of production

Apart from Benaras, brocades are woven at

Ahmedabad, Surat, Paithan, Hyderabad and

Murshidabad.

Silk Industry of Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram in Tamilnadu is a famous temple

around 50 Km south of Chennai. Kanchipuram as

the city is called, produces silks of superb texture, colour and lustre.

Zari threads are also used for brocading.

The main items of production are silk sarees with

brocade borders called the kanchipuram or

kangivaram or the kornad sarees. Silk yordage is also produced.

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Sarees-kornad or kanchipuram borders are 4‖-16‖

wide. These are woven separately in silk. Two

narrow bands of supplementary warp patterning are

woven within 3 cm of each border edge.

The field or body of the sari is woven in checks,

stripes or is kept plain. The edges are woven in saw

tooth design, pointing towards the centre of the

field. This saw tooth design signifies the temple top or the kalash. The end piece or the pallu is made by

tying or twisting a new set of warps usually the

same colour as the borders. The extra warp of the field is then cut off from the wrong side. This

technique of joining the end piece is called "petni"

The end piece is decorated with supplementary warp or weft. The borders are then attached to the

finished field and end piece by the inter lock weft

technique.

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The motifs used are floral (tiny patterns or creeping

vines for border design), elephants, peacocks,

double headed eagles and the kalash or the Khumba

motif.

The colours are loud and bright combinations like

Darkblue and magenta, parrot green and black,

turquoise blue and orange., green and mustard are some of the favourite colour combination of the local

population.

Paithani Sarees

Paithan is a village near Aurangabad in

Maharashtra.

The borders are prepared separately and are of 2

types:

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1. Totally zari border with a different coloured silk

pattern.

2. A zari design on a silk border.

The field or the body: Earlier the field was made of

fine muslin having all over zari patterns but now silk

is used to prepare the field.

The end piece: silk warps usually the same colour as the borders are tied or twisted to the warps of the

field (same as kanchipuram). The warps of the field

are then cut off from the wrong side. The end piece

has a weft zari to form the designs.

The borders are attached using the interlock weft

technique.

The motifs used are intertwining leaves and flowers, parrots, peacocks and even horses. Paisleys are

rarely used.

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The colours used are bright combinations like

yellow-red and orange-green. The maharastrian

bride traditionally wears a green paithini saree.

The sarees, which are 9 meters long, are called the Navwari sarees and the ones, which are 5 meters

long, are called pachwari

9.2 Baluchar Brocade Saris

Old undivided Bengal had ancient textile traditions,

of skilled weaving. This includes the jamdanis of

Dhaka and the Baluchar brocade saris of

Murshidabad.

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– The brocades never contain zari.

– The borders are woven with supplementary

warp or weft.

– The motifs used in the borders are floral and paisleys.

– The field is scattered with ‗buti‘motifs.

– The end piece is decorated using a supplementary weft.

The motifs used for the end piece are large paisleys, human figures, hunting scenes and scenes from the

epics. The motifs are placed in separate boxes.

Which represent architecture.

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The colour combinations used are-

a) Base colour of the sari is dark and the colour

of weft which forms designs is light e.g. black

sari with beige or dull orange designs.

b) The base is of light colour beige with dark

designs of any one of the colours-green, red, black.

c) These saris always have only two colours.

9.3 Jamdani Saris

Dhaka, now is Bangladesh is famous for producing

one of the finest muslins. These were referred to as

‗air‘ or ‗mist‘ ‗by the English. Dhaka is famous for producing the finest and most expensive muslin

saris called Jamdani Saris.

The borders are very narrow-1-1 ½ inches and are

made by placing different coloured yarns in the

warp.

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– The borders are also sometimes 3-4‖ wide with

some decoration on them.

– The field is scattered with small buti designs.

The end piece has 2 or 3 rows of motifs woven on it. The Jamdani saris are woven using a

distinctive.Discontinuous supplementary weft

technique

Two weavers sit side by side on a simple handloom.

Each motif is woven separately by hand using

individual spools of threads called Tilis. The

supplementary weft is cut off when the motif is complete. This produces an opaque pattern against

a transparent back ground.

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Before partition these were woven in Tangail, now in

East Bengal. The West Bengal Jamdanis are also

called Tangail Jamdanis because they use the typical

motifs of Tangail;

The motifs are strictly floral and geometrical. In

terms of colour and design the Jamdanis fall into 6 categories;

1. Natural unbleached base with bleached white

cotton thread motifs.

2. Pastel coloured grounds with white motifs.

3. Dark coloured grounds (black/blue/maroon) with white motifs.

4. Any of the above base with coloured motifs.

5. Any of the above bases with zari motifs.

The Jamdanis are believed to have given rise to the

chikankani embroidery.

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9.4 Center of Production

– Benaras Brocades.

– Kanjivaram/Kanchipuram saree

– Paithini saree

– Baluchar Saree

– Jamdani Saree

1. Aurangabad (Paithaini Saree)

2. Kanchipuram

3. Dhaka (Jamdani Saree)

4. Murshidabad-(Baluchar Saree)

5. Benaras

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Jamdani Motifs

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Kanchipuram Saree Border

Balachaur

Saree Motifs

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Balachaur Saree Motifs

Amru Brocades

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Summary:

The prestige of Indian textiles lies in the intricately

woven and rich sarees of silk and muslins.

Of all the Indian handicrafts, textiles form a class by themselves over which the rest of the world went

into ecstasies from time memorial.

The hand-spun and hand-woven traditional fabrics of India have justly been famous and much desired

throughout the world.

India‘s ‗fabric of dreams‘ is, of course, Banarsi

Brocade, known as khinkhab. With its interweaving of coloured silk and golden thread, to form the most

attractive floral designs, the brocades are wihtout

doubt India‘s most gorgeous and most fascinating silken fabrics.

The brocades of India have an ancient lineage. The

Indian khinkhab is literally a ‗cloth of gold‘.

Revision points:

1. Banaras Brocades are the famous Banarasi

silk sarees.

2. Brocades work is embroidery work or

weaving done with metal threads like gold

and silver.

3. Kinkhab sarees are where more of gold or

silver is visible than silk.

4. Tanchois are brocade sarees with extra silk

thread. There is no metal work.

5. Kanchipuram are South silk sarees from

Tamil Nadu.

6. They are in loud colour contrasts like blue/orange, dark blue/magenta,

green/mustard, etc.

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7. Paithani sarees are from Aurangabad in

Maharashtra.

8. Baluchani sarees are from Murshidabad.

9. There is no zari work in these sarees.

10.These sarees are in two colours and have

epic scenes and mythological characters

depicted on them.

11.Jamdani sarees are from Dhaka from Bengal.

12.They have opaque patterns on transparent

background.

Intext questions:

Fill In The Blanks:

1. Paithani sarees sre produced in

_____________.

2. The real gold brocade is called

_____________.

3. ____________ is the technique of joining the field and pallu of sarees with an extra set of

warp yarns.

4. Scenes from epics are shown in ____________ sarees.

5. Paithani sarres that are 9m long are called

____________ sarees.

6. Jamdani sarees were referred to as ____________ or ____________ by the

English.

7. The jamdanis are believed to have given rise to ____________ embroidery.

8. Dhaka sarees are commonly known as

____________ sarees.

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Key words:

Kalabattun- finely drawn gold or silver thread

wound around silk or cotton thread.

Kinkhab- sarees totally covered with gold or silver thread and less of silk is visible.

Bafta- sarees where 50% silk and 50% zari

is visible.

Tanchoi- brocade sarees with no metal work.

Supplementary weft thread is used.

Abrawans- these are cut brocades.

Tissue brocade- the warp is silk and weft is zari. Therefore, it has a metallic sheen.

Petni- the field and pallu of Kanchipuram

sarees are joined by tying or twisting new set of warps as borders. They are then cut from

wrong side.

Pachwari sarees- it is a 5m long paithani

saree.

Navwari sarees- it is a 9m long paithani

saree.

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UNIT-IV

Lesson 10: Printed and Painted Textiles of

India

Lesson 11: Sanganer & Bhagru Printing

Lesson 12: Kalamkari

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Lesson 10: Printed and Painted Textiles of India

Objectives:

To be able to discuss the questions based on-

Sources of natural dyes.

What are mordants and what are their

uses.

What are the different styles of printing?

Structure:

10.1 Sources of natural dyes

10.2 Styles of printing

10.3 Method of application of indigo dye

Introduction:

Traditionally dyeing and printing in India was done

using vegetable dyes only. These are dyes obtained from different parts of plants.

10.1 Sources of natural dyes

1. Red: The substance which gives a red dye is called alizarin. The common source of alizarin

lies in the

a) Roots of the madder plant, Rubia tinctoria and its relative Rubia munjista.

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b) Roots of the plants of mordina species-

known as ‗al‘,‘ach‘ and surangi.

c) Roots of oldenlandia umbellate (commonly

known as ―chay‖.

2. Yellow: a) Rhizomes of a well known

condiment-turmeric (uremic longa), yields a substance called curcumas which gives a sharp

yellow colour.(b) Flowers of the myrobalan tree

known as Harar.c) flowers of the

safflower(carthanus tinctorious) yield a bright yellow dye most suitable for silk.

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3. Blue: leaves of the indigo plant‖Indigofera

tinctoria.

4. Green: Achieved by coating blue own yellow

dyed fabric.

5. Black: alizarin (red dye) is mixed with iron

fillings and molasses-this ferment and gives a

dark shade of Blackish maroon.

Mordants: For a fabric to accept natural dyes.

Mordanting has to be done, or else the fabric is unable to absorb dyes. Mordants are intermediary

substances which help the fabric to accept the dye

and ensure fast dyeing. It is derived from the Latin word‖mordere‖ which means ‗to bite‘. The mordant

bites the fibre in combination with the dyestuff to fix

the colour.

Mordants are metallic salts like aluminium, tin,

copper, alum, chrome, salt, vinegar, and caustic soda. By using different salts with the same dye,

one can achieve different colours e.g. iron gives

black with alizarin and alum gives red.

Natural dyes are classified into:

a) Substantive dyes: These do not need a mordant to fix the colour to the fabric e.g. indigo.

b) Adjective dyes: Those that need a mordant for fixation e.g. alizarin.

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10.2 Styles of printing:

1. Direct Style: The prepared dye pigment is directly applied on the prepared fabric e.g.

Sanganer printing.

2. Resist Style: In order to resist the dye, the design areas on the prepared cloth are printed

with improvable substances like wax, gum, rice

paste, mud, resin or starch. The fabric is then dyed. The printed areas, & resist the dye to form

designs e.g. Bhagru printing.

3. Mordant Resist Styles: The fabric is prepared

and mordanted. The dye is painted or printed on

this fabric. The areas, which come in contact

with the dye, will show colour and thus form the design.

Another way is to point or print the mordant and

then immerse the fabric in the dye bath. The printed

areas will show colour and thus form the design.

E.g. Ajrakh and kalam kari.

10.3 Method of application of indigo dye:

The leaves of the indigo plant are immersed in

water for 4-5 days. To this water, salt is added. This gives a solution called indigo white. The fabric is

dipped in indigo white, which turns blue on

oxidation with the atmosphere. Repeated dipping

into indigo white, darkens the blue colour. This dyeing is fast but tends to rules of on use.

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Lesson 11: Sanganer and Bhagru Printing

Objectives:

To learn about Sanganer and Bhagru printing-

their process, printing pastes, motifs & names of

blocks.

Structure:

11.1 Sanganeri printing

11.2 Bhagru Printing

Introduction

Sanganer and bhagru are on the out spirit of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. Both cities now

produce much block printed cloth for the export

fashion trade. Bagru is a small village, located at a distance of 30 kms from Jaipur, on Jaipur-Ajmer

road. They originally produced textiles for the local

market. Sanganer fabrics were more sophisticated;

Bhagru products were aimed mostly at the local rural women. The designs in both places reflect the

Persian influences.

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In both the Sanganer and Bagru prints, the colors

are picked carefully. Each has a separate

significance. For instance, red is the color of love, yellow of spring, indigo of Lord Krishna, and saffron

of the yogi (seer). The wooden blocks that are used

are made of teak wood. And traditionally, vegetable

dyes made of madder, pomegranate rind, indigo, and turmeric are used. These have now been largely

replaced by chemical dyes. Often, the fabric is dyed

before it is printed.

11.1 Sanganeri Printing:

The block printed textiles of Sanganer became famous in the 16 th and 17 th centuries in Europe,

when the East India Company began to export them

in bulk. Today, there are over 154 block printing units in Sanganer, and these employ around 20,000

people. There are around 3000 families engaged in

this Rajasthani craft.

The block prints of Sanganer are mostly executed

on a white or off-white background, using screen printers or wooden blocks. They are colorful

patterns of sunflowers, roses, geometric designs.

Sanganer prints are known for their fine and

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intricate detailing. The artists of this region in

Rajasthan use both vegetable and chemical dyes for

their creations. Often, they employ the technique of

calico printing. In this, the outlines are first printed; only after that, are the colors filled in. These

designs are then repeated in diagonal rows. The

doo-rookhi style of printing is also popular in Sanganer. This is printing done on both sides of the

fabric.

This is a direct style of printing

1. Preparation the fabric:

a) The fabric is soaked in water to desize it i.e.

to remove the starch and dust.

b) This then dipped into Telkhar emulsion for 4-5hrs, which is made up of castor oil and river

deposits. (Tel +khar). This envisions helps

the fabric to soften.

c) Peela karna: The fabric is put in myrobalan

solution giving it a creamish yellow tone.

d) It is dyed to a desired colour, which is light.

e) It is finally dried and ready to be printed.

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2. The fabric is fixed on a table, which has a felt

lined top. The fabric is tightly fixed on both sides

lengthwise i.e. on the selvedge. So that the warp

and weft are perpendicular to each other; or else the fabric is printed off grain.

3. A printing paste containing dyestuff, mordant,

gum and urea is prepared.

4. A flat earthen plate called the tariplate is used.

Into this a bamboo grid called the ―Katli‖ is laid.

On the top of the Katli, is a felt fabric

called‖kambal or gaddi‖ is placed. The printing paste is poured on the felt piece. The katli helps

the right amount of paste to seep through so

that the extra paste does not smudge the edges of the block.

5. The design areas are printed after which the

fabric is left to dry in the sun, so that the colours get baked.

11.2 Bhagru Printing

The Sanganer and Bagru prints are very similar, but

the latter employ a narrower range of colors.

Moreover, unlike the Sanganer prints which are

always on a white or off-white background, the prints of Bagru are mostly red and black and blue.

The Syahi-Begar prints are a combination of black

and yellow ochre or cream. The Dabu prints are created by hiding them from dye, by applying a

resist. Bagru prints are characterized by circular

designs, as well as linear and floral patterns.

Bhagru printing is a combination of resists style of

printing and mordant resist style of printing.

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The resist style of printing is also called ―Dabu ―or

mud resist printing. It is done by the chippa

community of Bhagru village near Jaipur.

1. Preparation of the fabric Steps a, b,c, are the same as Sanganeri printing. After step c the

fabric is ready for printing.

2. Two kinds of printing:

a) Dabu or the resist style of printing gives white designs on a coloured back ground.

b) Mordant resist styles- give coloured designs

Red/black with a dark blue/green background.

1. Dabu White designs on a coloured back ground. A resist material called Dabu paste is used to

print the fabric after Peela karna. Dabu paste is

of 3 types: -

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2. Kaligar Dabu: made out of lime, kali mitti and

gum; it is least adhesive.

3. Dolidar Dabu: Wheat flour (infested and unfit for consumption) lime and gum are used.

4. Gwarphali Dabu: The seeds of the gwarphali are roasted and crushed to powder. This is mixed

with castor oil, lime and kalimitti to make the

paste. It makes a very good adhesive.

The above 3 pastes are good resist materials and

give defined outlines. In case a hazy effect is

required then cow dung or multani is added to the paste.

The method of printing is the same as Sanganeri printing. The printed fabric is then put into the dye

bath. After dyeing the fabric is washed to remove

the Dabu paste and then sent for Tapai. This is to make the white designs whiter. Spreading the fabric

on grass in sunlight, and sprinkling it with water do

this. The grass and sunlight ensure natural bleaching of the white areas and the water reduces

the damage that can be caused to the fabric

because of summer heat.

b) Coloured design on a dark back ground.

i. The fabric is pinned onto the printing table after Peela karna.

ii. The mordants are printed onto the designed

areas using blocks (Rekh blocks and Gad blocks). For black colour: Jaggery, ghoda

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khurtal (horseshoe iron) are fermented for 15

days. For red colour- Begar paste, alum and

water are used.

iii. The fabric is then dipped in alizrine dye bath.

The mordanted areas will get Red or Black

colour depending on what paste is printed. The fabric is then washed thoroughly to

remove excess alizarins dye. This gives a

pinkish tinge to the fabric.

iv. The fabric is dried. The designs are then resisted with dabu paste using the data

blocks. Then the dabu paste dries, the fabric

is dipped into indigo for blue and indigo and turmeric for green. The dabu paste is

removed by thorough washing.

v. Rekh blocks- used for outline.

Gad block- used for filling

Data blocks- cover the whole design.

Motifs used:

For Sanganeri and Bhagru are derived from Persian

prints and are as follows:

1. Flora and Fauna - flowers like sunflower,

Jasmine, small motifs like dhania, suraj kai

phool, tittli, gamla, angoothi and ambi.

2. Trellis - Jali designs - Mughal (geometrical)

designs like Lehriya, chaupad, lines, dots and

chatai.

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3. Figurative animals, humans, elephant, deer, lion,

peacock, pigeon.

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Lesson 12: Kalamkari

Objective:

―To study the traditional method of kalamkari

printing‖.

Structure:

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Prepration of fabric 12.3 Prepration of mordants

12.4 kalamkari in Masulipatnam

12.1 Introduction

The coromandel coast of India stretching from

masulipatnam in the north and Nagapatnam in the south was historically the source of some most

beautifully coloured and delicately worked cotton

fabrics exported by India in the 16th c. These cotton

fabrics were called pintado meaning ‗painted by the Portugese and Chintz by the English‘.

The king of Golconda (near Hyderabad) had links with the Persian king and these fabrics were

exported to Iran. Thus lot of Persian influence is

seen in the art of Kalamkari Kalam referes to pen and ‗ kari‘ to art. This means the art of pen.

The elegant tracings and delicate designs require

that kalamkars attain a high level of skill before

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they can make an entire piece of kalamkari fabric by

themselves; families typically work together, with

the experienced elders training the younger

members. The pen that is used for this process is made from a bamboo or date palm branch, pointed

at one end with a bundle of fine hairs or cotton to

brush on the color. Most kalamkari cloth is made with a combination of block printing, using hand-

carved wooden pattern blocks and freehand

brushwork.

Kalamkari Printed Fabric

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Today Kalamkari is done at 2 main centres- Sri

Kalahasti and masulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Both these places have distinctive styles of their

own.

i. Sri Kalahasti: - Sri kalahasti has been ruled by

the Hindu rulers. Kalamkari here was done on

wall hangings for temples and shrines, scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana were

depicted. Gods mainly Lord Krishna was done in

blue, women in yellow. And the demons in deep

red/black. Telegu script was written in between the lines to describe the painting.

ii. Masulipatnam: the Muslim rulers ruled this place. Hence they were forbidden to use any

human or animal designs. They used exotic

flowers from the Kashmiri shawls and carpets. Mythical flowers and geometrical motifs were

also used. Tree of life, a very popular motif,

which originates from 1 point or a pot, is

proportionate and symmetrical and has exotic birds and flowers was commonly used. Paislay is

another very common motif used.

12.2 Prepration of the fabric:

a) Cotton fabric is dipped in goat or buffalo dung

and repeatedly washed in the river or canal

water.

b) It is dipped in myrobalan solution to which

buffalo milk is added. This makes the fabric soft

and prevents the ink from spearing and makes the fabric soft.

c) The fabric is dried and is ready for drying.

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12.3 Preparation of mordants:

Mordant for black colour is made by fermenting iron

scraps and Jiggery in an earthern pot for 15 days.

This yields a substance called iron acetate. For red colour alum and water are used.

1. The kalam is made out of a bamboo reed, which

is hollow. This is pointed at one end. And is 6-8‖ long. At the serpened end a felt pad is placed

which holds the dyestuff. Pressure applied by the

finger releases the dyestuff, which travels down to the point of the Kalam. More the pressure

applied, more dyestuff is released.

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2. Outlines are first drawn free hand with charcoal.

The black outline is painted by putting iron

acetate into the hollow area of the Kalam. If

certain lines in the design are red, Alum and water are filled in the Kalam to draw them.

Filling of the designs is done by applying the

mordant with a brush. The brush is prepared by flattening and softening a bamboo stick at one

end.

3. After the application of mordants, the fabric is dipped in Alizarin. The red and black colours

develop. The fabric is thoroughly washed and

dried. At this stage, red designs with black outlines are seen on white fabric.

4. Myrobalan solution (myrobalan flowers boiled in water) with alum gives a yellow dye. This is then

applied with a brush where ever yellow is desired

in the design.

5. The blue areas are painted with indigo white and

left to oxidise.

In the above procedure, no blocks are used. This

style is followed in Kalahsti.

12.4 In Masulipatnam:

1. Blocks are used to print the mordants for black

and red colours. The fabric is dipped in the

alizarin for the red and black designs to develop.

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2. The yellow designs are printed with myrobalan and alum solution.

3. These red, black and yellow designs are resisted

by wax applied using a brush. When the wax dries; it is dipped in indigo white and kept for

oxidation for 12-18 days.

4. The fabric is then washed to remove the wax.

This produces black yellow and red designs on a

blue background.

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Kalamkari is identified by its distinctive black

outlines in the design.

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Sanganer, Bhagru Printing & Kalamkari Centres of

production

Masulipatnam

1. Srikala hasti

2. Sanganer

3. Bhagru

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Three kalamkari paintings from Kalahasti in the

eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Top: Befoe the battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna

recites the Bhagvad Gita to teach his hesitant cousin, Arjuna, his duty.

Below: The avatars, or incarnations, of Vishnu, top

row, from left to right, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana; bottom row, Parashurama,

Rama Balrama, Krishna and Kalki, who is yet to

come.

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A Kalamkari vegetable dye print throws

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Summary:

The technique of dyeing & printing is common since

prehistoric times. Earlier only natural / vegetable

dyes were used but now chemical pigments are available. There are different styles of printing ,

resist & mordant resist styles of printing.

Kalamkari is done on the coromandel coast of India at Srikalahasti & Masulipatnam and is the paint work

done with a pen.

Revision points:

Traditionally vegetable or natural colours

were used for dyeing and printing 2. 2.

Sources were the plant parts, like- red colour from roots of madder plant.

o Yellow from turmeric plant

o Blue from leaves of indigo plant

o Green- blue dyed after yellow

o Black from iron fillings

Mordants help to fix the dye onto the fabric. Mordants are metallic salts like aluminium,

tin, copper, alum, salt, etc

Sanganer & Bhagru are on the outskirts of

Jaipur.

Sanganer printing is done by direct style of

printing.

Bhagru printing is done by resist & mordant styles of printing.

Kalamkari is the art of pen..

It is done in Sirikalahasti & Masulipatnam on the Coromandel coast of India.

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Intext questions:

1. Write a note on the history of Indian Textiles.

2. What do you know about Shamanism? Explain.

3. Fill up the blanks:

a) Sanganer printing is a __________ style of

printing.

b) Bhagru printing is ____________ &

_______________ styles of printing.

c) Rhizomes of a well known condiment

_________ yields a substance called curcumus which gives a sharp yellow colour.

d) Blue colour is obtained from leaves of

________ plant.

e) __________ dyes do not need a mordant to

fix a colour to the fabric.

f) Dabu printing is a ________ style of printing.

g) The art of pen is called ______________.

4. Distinguish between Kalamkari & Bhagru printing.

5. Discuss in short about Sanganer & Bhagru

printing.

6. What is the difference between Srikalahasti & Masulipatnam Kalamkaris?

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Terminal exercises:

1. What is the difference between kalahasti and

masulipatnam kalamkaris?

2. What are the types of pastes used in Bhagru printing?

3. Classify the natural dyes? What are mordants

and what is their function? 4. How is the kalam of kalamkari prepared and

used.

5. What motifs are used in Bhagru and Sanganer

printing? 6. What is Tapai?

Key words:

1. Indigoferra tinctorial - Indigo plant , the leaves of which give blue colour.

2. Mordants - Metallic salts that help to fix the

colour on to the fabric.

3. Substantive dyes - They do not need a mordant

to fix the colour to the fabric.

4. Adjective dyes - Those that need a mordant for

fixation of colour.

5. Direct styles of printing - The prepared dye

pigment is directly applied on the prepared

fabric.

6. Tariplate - The flat earthern plate in which the

dye pigment is prepared.

7. Bamboo grid to spread the colour on the earthern plate.

8. Gaddi / Kambal - Felt fabric on the bamboo grid.

9. Tapai - Spreading of moist fabric om the grass

under sunlight to make white designs whiter

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Production Process of Kalamkari Textiles

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Stage 1: Gada (grey) cloth

Stage 2: Gada washed cloth

Stage 3: Washed gada cloth treated with milk and myrobalan

Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Stage 4: Outline sketch with tamarind charcoal

Stage 5: Kasima karam applied on the outline

Stage 6: Painted with patika (alum)

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Stage 7 Stage 8 Stage 9

Stage 7: Washed in running water after stage 6 Stage 8: Red developed over alum

Stage 9: Treated again with milk and myrobalan

Stage 10 Stage 11 Stage 12

Stage 10: Painted with patika for the second time

Stage 11: Washed in running water after stage 10

Stage 12: Red developed over patika painted for the second time

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Stage 13 Stage 14 Stage 15

Stage 13: Treated with sheep dung after stage 12 Stage 14: Washed finally after repeated dunging

and washing for four days

Stage 15: Treated with milk after stage 14

Stage 16 Stage 17 Stage 18

Stage 16: Painted in yellow with myrobalan flower

extract Stage 17: Washed after yellow painting in stage 16

Stage 18: Painted in blue and washed

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Hand-painting being done on the fabric using Pen

(kalam)

Block-printing being done Wooden Block

on the fabric

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UNIT-V

Lesson 13: Ajrakh

Lesson 14: Mithila Printing

Lesson 15: Patola, Ikat, Pochmpalli and

Mashru

Lesson 16: Badhini of Rajasthan and Gujarat

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Lesson 13: Ajrakh

Objectives:

Discuss ideas and discussions such as- What is Ajrakh?

Places where done in India & Pakistan.

Structure:

13.1 Introduction 13.2 Origin of ajrakh

13.3 Cultural Significance of Ajrakh

13.4 Process of ajrakh 13.5 maintaining ajrakh printed textile

13.6 future of ajrakh

13.1 Introduction

Ajrakh is one of the oldest types of block printing on

textiles still practised in parts of Gujarat ( Kutch)

and Rajasthan (Pipad and pali) in India, and in Sindh in Pakistan. Textiles printed in this style are

hand-printed using natural dyes on both sides by a

laborious and long process of resist printing (a

method of printing in which designated areas in the pattern are pre-treated to resist penetration by the

dye).

Ajrakh prints are dominated by geometrical shapes

and use intense jewel-like colours of rich crimson

and a deep indigo, with black and white highlights.

Ajrakh printed cloth has some magical properties

-- with every wash, its colours became more

brilliant and luminous. In fact, old timers in

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Barmer say that the fabric might finally wear

away, but its colours will still remain fresh.

The Original process of Ajrakh printing involved

as many as 23 laborious steps!

14.2 Origins of Ajrakh

The history of the Ajrakh can be traced from the times of the ancient civilizations of the Indus Valley,

around 2500BC to 1500BC. A bust of the King Priest

excavated at Mohenjodaro shows a shawl —

believed to be an Ajrakh—draped around his shoulders, which is decorated with a trefoil pattern

(like a three-leafed clover) interspersed with small

circles, the interiors of which are filled with a red pigment. The same trefoil pattern has been

discovered in Mesopotamia, as well as on the royal

couch of Tutankhamen. This pattern, which symbolises the unity of the gods of the Sun, water

and earth, survives as the cloud pattern in the

modern Ajrakh.

14.3 Cultural Significance of Ajrakh

The people of Sindh have a deep reverence for

Ajrakh. From birth to marriage, until death, Ajrakh

celebrates all significant events of the life cycle. Ajrakh is worn as a turban, a shawl, spread as a

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bed-sheet or tablecloth and when worn out, it is

recycled as a hammock for babies, cover for a

bullock cart and most commonly used as a backing

to patchwork quilts. It is used and reused till threadbare. It is worn by the wealthy as well as the

poor — the colours, patterns and design-format

remain the same, only the quality of the fabric is different.

In Sind, fine Muslin is used and in Kutch thick fabric

is used as the base fabric. It is done by the Hindu

and Muslim Khatri caste.

14.4 Process of Ajrakh

Ajrakh is derived from an Arabic word‖azrak‖ meaning blue.

The process by which the fabric is made is

considered intuitive to Ajrakh makers. Ajrakh

literally meant aaj ke din rakh, or 'keep it for today' because that is what the process is. At every stage

of the tedious dying process, the fabric should dry

for three to four days. Nature plays an important role in the making of Ajrakh. Craftsmen work in

total harmony with their environment, where the

sun, river, animals, trees and mud are all part of its making.

Resist and mordant resist printing styles are used to

print Ajrakh.

1. Preparation of fabric

a) Desizing cloth is torn into sheets and taken to

the river to be washed. These are steamed in

copper vats for one night and a day to open the pores of the cloth and soften it. This process is

called khumbh in Sindh.

b) The fabric is soaked in a mixture of camel dung

or cow dung, seed oil/castor oil and water. The

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dung enables the cloth to become softer and acts

as a bleaching agent. This stage is very crucial in

determining the quality of an Ajrakh. The fabric

is then soaked in cow dung and castor oil to soften it.

c) The wet cloth is then tied into an airtight bundle

and kept for five to 10 days, depending upon the weather. A distinct smell of mango pickle

emanating from the bundle confirms that the

fibres have been well soaked with oil. This is

called the saaj.

d) The cloth is then sun-dried and soaked in oil that

has been curdled with carbonate of soda.

e) After a day, the cloth is washed and re-soaked in a home-made mixture of dried lemons,

molasses, castor oil and water, amongst other

things. (The fabric is dipped in myrobalan solution and gets a creamish tinge.)

f) It is dried and is ready for printing.

2. The fabric is fixed on Pathiya, which is a low

printing table and is covered with 10-15 layers of jute and then a white cloth. The mordant-resist

paste is put into an earthen plate is called the

‗Chatti‘ and the bamboo grid is called the ‗chapri‘. The function of chapri is the same as

‗katli‘ of sanganeri printing.

3. Printing is done on the prepared white fabric

‗Tilli‘ a fine reed is used for measuring and

plotting the design areas. Areas which are to be

kept white are printed with a resist paste prepared by mixing gum, lime and alizarin (very

little amount, just for a tinge). The resist paste is

printed with blocks called ASUL-JO-PUR.

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4. This is followed by printing done with mordant

resist paste. Here the mordants for Red and

black colour are added to the resist pastes. For

black/deep blue-fermented solution of clay and jaggery is mixed with clay and tamarind seed

powder. The blocks used for printing this are

called KOT-JO-PUR. For red colour, - alum, clay and waste wheat flour are mixed in water to

make a paste which is printed using blocks called

KHOR-JO-PUR.

The purpose of the mordant resist paste is that, the designed areas will absorb the mordants and

will also be resisted.

5. This printed fabric is dried and put in the indigo

vat. All the areas of the fabric gets a blue colour

except the ones printed with Asul, kot and khor blocks.

6. The fabric is dried; the mordant resist paste is

carefully removed. By this time the fabric has already absorbed the mordants for Red and

black. The fabric is soaked and boiled in alizarin

dye bath. The areas printed with kot and khor get the black and red colour respectively. The

fabric is washed to remove excess alizarin.

7. Finally the fabric is washed in cow dung and soap

and beaten. This imparts sheen to the fabric. The

final fabric shows white, red and deep blue/black

designs on indigo background.

8. If the ajrakh is one sided i.e. printing is done

only on one side of the fabric, it is called Ekpuri

and if the printing is done on both sides it is called Bepuri.

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For Bepuri the fabric is not dried after the final

washing. The wet fabric is over turned on the

printing table. And the printing is done on exactly

the same place. The blocks have pins on the edge. The holes are matched and printing with all the

three blocks is done again from the wrong side.

If the fabric is left to dry, it may shrink and the holes will not match.

Motifs used are – Badam (almond), Chakki, Phool,

and many intricate floral patterns.

The borders are called Hashiya, Hashe-jo-ajrakh-Bordered Ajrakh

Be Hashe-jo-Ajrakh-2 Bordered Ajrakh

Thi Hashe-jo-Ajrakh- 3 Bordered Ajrakh Bold geometrical designs are also used.

The Muslims use blue as their predominant colour and the Hindus use red as their main colour. This

fabric with red background is called ―malir‖.

Ajrakh resist prints throws

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Ajrakh Block print

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Ajrakh Motifs

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Ajrakh Motifs

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Ajrakh Motifs

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14.5 Maintaining Ajrakh Printed Textiles

Ajrakh prints require some extra care while

washing, like most Indian block printed fabrics. Here

are some tips --

Wash in cold water. If hand washing is not possible,

wash the textile in the gentlest possible cycle of

your washing machine. Wash with like colours.

In order to maintain the colour of the textile, add a

handful of salt to the first rinse. Do not use fabric

softeners or dryer sheets -- these could coat the

fabric with a whitish residue that would dull the luminosity of the dyes.

Do not dry in the dryer -- line drying works best. In

case this is not an option, turn the textile inside out, or place it in a protective cloth (a pillowcase will do

the trick) and tumble dry on low.

14.6 Future of Ajrakh

This ancient craft tradition is now on the decline as

it involves too much labour and the profit margins are low. The younger generation is seeking more

lucrative work that is less labour-intensive and has

short-term gains. Many take short cuts by reducing

the number of essential stages in the making; others have simply switched to printing cheap silk-

screen versions.

In Gujarat, the main centres of Ajrakh are Dhamadka, Khavda and Bhuj. The Khatri community

has been engaged in this craft for centuries and the

technique has been passed down and perfected through several generations. Now, however, only

two such family units of Ajrakh printers still practice

the craft in India.

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Ajrakh blocks are also no longer easy to come by,

as there are very few block-makers (or indeed,

block-making families) left in Sindh.

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Lesson 14: Mithila Painting

Objectives:

Discuss ideas & questions such as- What are Mithila / Madhubani paintings?

What is the origin & status as of today?

Structure:

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Procedure

15.1 Introduction:

In the Mithila region of North Bihar there is an old

tradition of painting the walls and the floor. These

traditions continued till the early 1960s till paper becomes easily and cheaply available in Mithila.

These wall paintings were put on thick hand made

paper and were recognised as ‗madhubani painting‘

by the All India Handicraft Board. The printing press form where the Mithila village got their paper is

situated in the town Madhubani. Thus the name

Madhubani painting.

The Mithila paintings are divided into

i. Wall Paintings - khobar-ghar-for weddings and

go-sain-ghar-for Durga Ashtami.

ii. Floor Paintings- called aripan

Motifs- for khobar-ghar are lotous; bamboo, snake,

birds, fishes, brides and wedding ceremony- for

gosain ghar are Goddess Durga, Goddess kali, and scenes from the epics. Motifs for the aripan are

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large geometrical and floral motifs. Other motifs are

scenes from daily life, and ‗pan ka patta‘.

15.2 Procedure:

1. After consulting a ‗purohita‘ an auspicious day and time are identified to begin the painting

work.

2. The main wall to be painted faces, the east and is white washed and then covered with the rice

paste which is applied by a cloth dipped in the

paste.

3. The centre of the area to be painted is identified and a dot is placed there. Growing outward from

this dot, the entire motif spreads to the

periphery of the space.

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Women doing mithila painting

Traditionally, the women of Mithila used pigments

derived from natural substances.

- Vermellian powder (sindur) with mustard seeds

gave a bright red colour

- Cowdung and lamp black gave greyish black.

- Turmeric gave yellow ochre-indigo, green, red

clay was mixed with gum to provide blue and

Indian red.

Today chemical pigments are sourced from Calcutta.

These powder colours are mixed with goat milk to produce the liquid paint instead of goat milk, gum or

fevicol are also used.Thin bamboo twig is used to

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make the outline. A thick bamboo with a rag tied at

one end is used for filling up larger areas.

Now Madhubani painting are also done on fabric and Tassar silk is most commonly used as the base

fabric.

Centres of Production Ajrakh and Madhubani

1. Madhu bani

2. Anjar

3. Sind

4. Pali

5. Pipad

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Madubani Designs

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These paintings are made with mineral pigments prepared by the artists. The work is done on freshly

plastered or a mud wall.

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Art works painted on walls

Art works painted on paper

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Lesson 15: Patola, Ikat,

Pochmpalli and Mashru

Objectives:

Discuss ideas & questions;

Origin of the word Ikat. Areas in India where it is done

Procedure & difference in motifs & styles

according to the place.

Structure:

15.1 Procedure 15.2 Telia Rumal

15.3 Mashru

The word Ikat is derived from a Malasian word‘mengi ikat‘ which means, ―to tie‖.

The areas of production in India are Patan, Surat

and Rajkot in Gujarat; Pochampalli, Guntur and Chirala in Andhra Pradesh; Sambalpur, Cuttack and

Balasore in Orissa.

The basic technique followed or used for the

production of ikats is the tie and dye of the yarns.

In Andra Pradesh and Orissa either the warp or the weft yarns are tied and dyed to make the design.

This is called warp ikat and weft ikat respectively. In

Gujarat the designs is formed by tieing and dyeing

both warp and weft yarns. This is called double ikat e.g. Patola.

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15.1 Procedure:

1. In Gujarat, silk is used but in Andhra Pradesh

and Orissa both silk and cotton yarns are used as raw material. All the raw material is in the form

of undyed yarns.

2. The warp or weft threads or both are divided into

bundles, and tied with water proof material like

cotton threads, rubber strips, leaves etc to

correspond with a pre arranged design.

3. The bundles are then dyed; tieing threads resist

the colours of the first dyeing and the yarns are redyed. More the number of colours, more are

the number of successive tieing and dyeing. The

lightest colour is dyed first and then darker and

darkest for successive dying. The ties are opened after drying the yarns.

4. The warps are then arranged on the loom and the pattern is aligned according to the design.

The wefts are wound on the shuttles. Once the

warp threads are put on the frames, the design becomes visible. The warps are then sized, to

maintain their tension.

5. Weaving is done on a very simple horizontal loom. The weave is always a plain weave. Any

other kind of weave will disturb the tie and dye

pattern of the threads. The weaving process is so accurate that the warp design and weft design

overlap to form a motif.

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6. The final arrangement of warp and weft threads

is done with on iron needle, which is the size of a

pencil. The weaving progresses at the rate of 6-

8‖ per day. The whole procedure is labour intensive and requires immense patience.

Motif from an ikat saree

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Motifs used in Gujarat are flowers, Jewellery,

elephant, tiger, parrot, dancing woman, beetle leaf.

Geometrical designs like squares with flowers or

jewels are made for the Muslim community.

Double Ikat is used to give definite outlines of the

design. The famous Patola sarees are made using this technique. Only silk is used.

In Orissa cotton and tassar silk are used. Either warp Ikat or weft ikat is done to make lungis,

dupattas, saris and blouse pieces, Bed covers,

cushion covers, and yardage is also made. The only place where double ikat is done in Orissa is

Sambalpur, which produces the famous Sambal puri

sari. The motifs used are shells, fish, tortoise,

serpents, Chess board (called pasapalli, chaupad) geese (Hansa), khumba (Kalash), flowers, rice

seeds and sun. The Orissa ikats have a white outline

around the design.

15.2 Telia Rumal

In Andhra Pradesh: Chirala, a coastal village is famous for the production of ikat cloth known a

Telia rumals also called Asia rumal. These rumals

are used by the Muslim men to tie on their heads and are exported to Middle East, Africa, Pakistan,

Bangladesh and Burma. The size of the rumal is

55X75 cm. There are eight rumals in one yardage

and is called ―thaan‖.

These rumals are dyed with traditional alizarin dyes. This leaves an oily smell (sesame oil is used in

dyeing) on the fabric and has hence got the name

Telia from ―Tel‖ (Oil).

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Telia rumals are also called chitkirumal (locally)

have a distinct colour scheme based on red,

blue/black and off white.

a. Outer borders are red; with blue or black centre

having off white designs.

b. Outer borders are blue/black with a red field

having off-white designs. Double ikat technique

when used for the central field makes the rumal expensive. For lower classes single ikat

warp/weft is used.

The motifs used are geometrical and floral only.

Sometimes, Islamic, motif of moon and star is also

used. The patterns and colours of the telia rumals

have been adopted on saris, dupattas and lungis called Telia saris, Telia dupattas, and Telia lungi

respectively.

Pochampalli is another place in Andhrapradesh

where cotton ikat. Sarees and lungis are woven the

motifs are again geometrical and floral with either warp or weft ikat.

15.3 Mashru

Mashru is an Arabic word meaning permitted. Here

permitted refers to permitted by Islamic law. It is

also said that the terms mashru is derived from the

Sanskrit word ‗misru‘meaning mixed. Muslims are not allowed to wear silk next to their skin therefore

mashru has a cotton weft and a silk warp. The silk is

tied and dyed for the design. Satin weave is used where the silk remains on top and cotton below.

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Motifs used are stipes or double stripes with arrows

in between.

Centre of Production of Ikat

1. Sambalpur.Chirala

2. Pochampalli

3. Surat 4. Rajkot.

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The Tortoise

Orissa ikat motif - (notice the while outline around

the design).

The Matysa or Fish

The fish is the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is

also one of the 8 symbols of good augury and good luck. The people of coastal Orissa are fish eaters,

hence the fish has come to symbolize prosperity.

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Conches were used as bugles in war and in ancient

India each warrior had his special famous conch.

Orissa Ikats

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Telia Rumals Cotton doubles ikat.

Cotton bedspread, single ikat, collection of weavers service centre, Hydrabad

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Popat, Kunjar Bhat, silk Double ikat sari, Woven by:

Kanubhai Patolawalla Patan

Popat Kunjar Bhat, silk Double ikat sari, Woven by:

Kanubhai Patolawalla, Patan

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Nari Kunjar Bhat Potolu sari, silk Double ikat,

Cotton Sari, Double ikat,

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Telia Rumals Cotton double ikat

Telia Rumals Cotton double ikat

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Mashru yardage, Cotton and silk Chevron design,

single ikat

Mashru Yardage Cotton and silk single ikat,

produced at a Mashru workshop in Patan.

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Detail from mashru Bed spread, Cotton and silk,

single ikat.

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Lesson 16: Bandhini Work of

Rajasthan and Gujarat

Objectives:

Discuss ideas & questions:

What is tie n dye?

Areas where it is done. Transfering the designs on the fabric,

tyeing n dyeing of fabric, and motifs.

Structure:

16.1 Introduction

16.2 Procedure

16.1 Introduction:

Bandhana or Bandha are Sanskrit words which

mean‖ to tie; the reason why Bandha work is called Bandhini. Internationally, the tie and dye work is

known by a Malaysian name of ―plangi‘.‘Bandanna',

an English term is derived from Bandhana. It is a

spotted handkerchief used to tie on the head.

Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbander, Kutch and An jar in

Gujarat and Bikaner, Sikar, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur

and Nathadwara in Rajas than are the main centres of tie and dye work in India. The government has

identified 3000 centres in Gujarat and Rajasthan,

which are known to carry out this art. Both Hindus and Muslims of the Khatri caste do it.

The earliest examples of Tie and dye textiles have

been excavated in Peru (South America) dating from

1-2 Century (BC) and in China of 4c AD. Sculptures

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of the Ajanta cave show the earliest tie and dye in

India (6-7cAD), though it is believed that advanced

techniques of resist dyeing were carried out in

Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

Tie and dye is a form of resist dyeing on fabric here

the designs are resisted by tieing threads on the pre

designed areas, after which the fabric is dyed; thus called tie and dye.

16.2 Procedure

The fabric is desired by washing it in caustic soda

and water and dried.

The fabric used to tie and dye is very fine e.g. mulmul, silk, chiffon. These fabrics are folded into 2

or 4 parts. The design areas are marked only on the

½ or 1/4th part of the fabric with the help of wooden

blocks. There are 2 methods of printing designs-(a) water based solution of soot or geru is prepared and

a thick cotton thread is dipped into this. A rangara

(colourer) marks the design areas with the help of this dyed thread. He then prints designs with geru

coated wooden blocks within the design areas.(b)

This method is faster and more popular. A thin

sheet of stuff clear plastic is pierced with pinholes forming the designed pattern. The sheet is then

placed over the fabric to be tied. a sponge or a rag

dipped in geru is then rubbed over the sheet leaving an imprint of the desired pattern on the cloth.

Tying:

Women and young girls in their houses do tieing.

The fabrics are tied with a cotton yarn. The material

is pushed up from beneath with along pointed nail of the little finger of the left hand, or a spiked metal

ring is used. The protruding fabric is wound 6-8

times. The thread is not cut and is led on to the

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next tie. This goes on till all the design areas to be

left white are tied.

Dyeing:

The fabric is always dyed with the lightest colour first, usually yellow. It is rinsed squeezed and dried.

The pattern, which is to appear yellow is tied and

then dyeing, is done in a darker colour, such as red/green. After drying, the fabric is again tied on

the designs, which are to show red/green. It is then

dyed in even darker colours like maroon, black, dark

brown and dark blue.

The parts of the cloth that are not to be dyed in the

darkest colour are wrapped up tightly in plastic to

resist the dying.

Many times, certain yellow and white dot designs

are opened up and green or blue/black colours are

dabbed with a small colour soaked pad e.g. to make the eyes. This is called lipai.

It is also done by tying thread soaked in dark colour when the fabric is still wet.

In Rajasthan, the tie-dye stuff sold in the markets is not untied, to show that it is genuine bandhini and

not a print. The pimpled effect is appreciated and

left unironed.

In Gujarat the fabric ties is opened and the fabric is

starched and ironed.

Techniques of tieing

Tieing the fabric in different ways can show various

interesting end results.

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1. A little fabric lifted with a fingernail and tied

result in a dot.

2. The fabric is knotted at the ends.

3. The fabric is crumpled with hands and rolled

haphazardly into a ball and tied with threads all around. This is called marbelling.

4. Stitch resist or tritik: Any design is made and

running stitch is done on the outline of the design and the thread is pulled tightly. Two rows

of running stitch gives a better outline. Most

common motif done in this way is the cowrie shell or 'kodi'.

5. Lahariya: The fabric, usually on very fine mulmul is folded and tied at intervals with threads and

dyed. This leaves a striped pattern on the fabric.

These stripes look like waves called ‗lehar‘in

Sanskrit and thus the term lahariya. It is commonly used for turbans and dupattas.

Different effects can be achieved by folding the

fabric in different ways:

a. Straight stripes running diagonally from one

corner to the other called‘salaidar‘; b. The fabric is folded like a fan to give the zig

zag pattern called ‗gandadar‘.

c. Held from the centre and tried to give a

circular effect called ‗chaki‘.

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Motifs need are-bindi (dot), Laddu (circle) dabbi

(rhombus), Ras mandala (women dancing in a circle

around a centre medallion),

The bindi is used to make elephants, peacocks,

flowers and geometrical shapes.

Centres of Production of Bandhini

1. Sikar

2. Bikaner

3. Nathadwada

4. Udaipur

5. Jamnagar

6. Rajkot

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Summary:

Ajrakh is a resist & mordant resist styles of printing

done in Sind in Pakistan & Kutch in Gujrat and Pali &

Pipad in Rajasthan. It can be one-sided ajrakh (ekpuri) or double-sided (bepuri). The blocks used

for printing double-sided ajrakh have pins on their

edges. Muslims use blue as their predominant colour and Hindus use red Malir).

Mithila paintings are famous wall and floor paintings

of North Bihar. These are done for auspicious occasions like weddings & pujas. Now it is also done

on paper, hand-made paper and fabrics like Tussar

silk.

Ikat is the tie n dye of yarns. In AP & Orissa warp /

weft yarns are tied & dyed to produce warp / weft

ikats. In Gujrat both warp & weft yarns are tied n dyed to obtain double ikat like patola. It is done on

silk. In Sambalpur of Orissa, famous Sambalpuri

sarees are prepared. Orissa ikats have a white outline around the design.

In AP‘s Chirala village, telia rumals are produced

that are used by muslims to tie their heads. Mashru means a mixed fabricor fabric permitted by the

Islamic law. It has cotton wefts & silk warps & is

done with satin weave.

Tie n dye of fabrics is called bandhani.The dyeing is done with the lightest colour first and then dyed in

darker colours. The designs formed are based on

the different techniques of tieing the fabric, resisting it to avoid the colour wherever required and dyeing.

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Revision points:

1. Ajrakh is a block printed cloth, made in Sind

in Pakistan, Kutch in Gujrat, & Pali & Pipad in

Rajasthan.

2. Ajrakh means blue in Arabic language.

3. Resist & mordant-resist styles of printing are

used to print Ajrakh.

4. Mithila region of North Bihar is famous for its

paintings on floors & walls.

5. Paintings on walls are done for weddings (

Khobar ghar) & for Durga Ashtmi ( go-sain ghar)

6. Traditionally pigments from natural

substances were used. Now chemical pigments from Calcutta are used.

7. Printing press at Madhubani town provided

paper , therefore they were later called

Madhubani paintings.

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Terminal exercises:

1. Name the centres of production of Ajrakh

2. What are the 3 blocks used in Ajrakh and

what are their functions?

3. What is the style of printing used for Ajrakh?

4. What is ‗malir‘?

5. What are the main characteristics of Madhubani paintings?

6. What are the motifs used for Madhubani

paintings?

7. What is double ikat?

8. What are Telia rumals? Explain the colours

and motifs used.

9. What motifs are used for Orissa ikats?

10.What is Mashru?

11.What are the 3 different kinds of lehariya?

12.How are the designs transferred on a fabric

for a tie and dye article?

13.What are the different typing techniques

used in tie and dye?

Intext questions:

1. Name the centers of production of Ajrakh.

2. Name the centers of production of Mithila

paintings.

3. Explain in detail about the features of

Madhubani paintings.

4. What is ikat? What are the types of ikat?

5. What are the differences between single &

double ikats?

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6. Name the production centers of ikat fabrics.

7. What are the different tyeing techniques

used in tie n dye work of Rajasthan & Gujrat?

Key words:

Pathiya- the low printing table.

Chatti- the earthern plate in which the

mordant-resist paste is put.

Chapri- the bamboo grid

Tilli- affine reed for measuring & plotting

design areas.

Asul-jo-pur- blocks with which resist paste is

printed.

Kot-jo-pur- blocks for printing mordants for black colour.

Khor-jo-pur- blocks fof printing mordants for

red colour

Ekpuri- one-sided ajrakh

Bepuri- double-sided ajrakh

Hashe-jo ajrakh- bordered ajrakh

Be hashe-jo-ajrakh- 2 bordered ajrakh

Thi hashe-jo-ajrakh- 3 bordered ajrakh

Malir- Ajrakh with red background

Khobar ghar- Mithila paintings made on the walls at wedding times.

Go-sain-ghar- Mithila paintings made on

walls at time of Durga Ashtmi

Aripan- floor paintings from Mithila.

Ikat- It is a Malaysian word means ‗to tie‘.

Ikat is the tie n dye of yarns.

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Warp ikat- When only warp yarns are tied n

dyed to form the design.

Weft ikat- when only weft yarns are tied n

dyed to form the design.

Patola- In Gujrat, the designs are formed by

tieing n dyeing both warp & weft yarns. This

is called double ikat eg. Patola.

Telia rumal- Chirala in Andhra Pradesh is a

coastal village is famous for ikat cloth called

telia rumals used by muslims to tie their

heads.

Mashru- It is a mixed fabric which means

‗Permitted by the Islamic law‘. It has cotton

weft and silk warps& is woven in satin weave.

Bandhana / bandha / bandhani- It is the tie n

dye of fabric done in Gujrat & Rajasthan.

Rangara- colourer who marks the design

areas with a dyed thread.

Lipai- Many times yellow & white dot designs

are opened up and green / blue / black colours are dabbed on it . this is called lipai.

Tritik- the stitch resist design is called tritik.

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References books

1. Gillow J Bernard Nicholas, 1991,―Traditional

Textiles of India‖, Thames and Hudson

2. Naik Shalja, 1996, Indian Embroideries, APH Publishing Corporation

3. Desai Chelna, 1996, ―Ikat Textile of India‖,

Chronicle books

4. Frater Judy, 1995, ―Threads of Identity‖, Mapin Publication