Floor
Decorations
Floral floor decorations
|
Women decorate their home according
to their own fantasies and ideas. This is one of the most expressive craft
form. The flowing linear patterns
on the floor of beaten clay are worked with rice paste.
Different states have different names for this: it is Alpana
in Bengal, Aripana
in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Mandana
in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Rangoli
in Gujarat and Maharastra and Kolam
in South India. |
Kolam of South India |
The common motif is the Lotus
associated with Lakshmi, Vishnu and Brahma. Very complex patterns are
involved in the Kolams. The alpanas of Bengal are rounded and the symbols
are universal. They have a flowing linear pattern. The Aripanas of Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh are geometric in pattern. The Kolam patterns of Karnataka,
Andhra and Tamil Nadu are geometric. They are generally prepared by creating
the general structure with dots and then linking them with lines or going
around with them as flowing lines. |
In
Karnataka a special kolam of sun, moon and the nine planets is prepared. The
kolams of Kerala are far more complex in design and symbolism, for besides the
kolams made by the women, there are the ritualistic kolams prepared by the priests.
The Pulluvans of Kerala make elaborate snake kolams, like Karinagam, which are
prepared for propitiating the snake gods. FESTIVAL
CRAFTS
Ganesh Chathurthi
celebrations |
Clay image of Durga
being taken for immersion |
Not even a single day passes
off in India without the observance of a festival in some corner of the
country or the other. In India, festivals are associated with the changing
seasons, like the different phases of the moon, with pilgrimage, with
agriculture, with rituals like birth, marriage, death, ancestral worship,
etc.Crafts are closely related to festivals and fairs in India. Women
create a number of objects closely related to domestic rituals and ceremonies
and master craftsmen prepare crafts for special occasions. |
Puppets of Karnataka used
for Religious story telling.
|
Rajasthani puppets in
traditional costumes. |
Women make clay figures or
idols for special rituals or to signify some ancient or ancestral happenings.
Women all over the northern part of India make clay figures of Govardhan
for the pooja associated with the God Govardhan.
In the South, during Ganesh
Chathurthi, idols of Lord Ganesh are made in all possible shapes and sizes
both by the women folk and also by skilled craftsmen. These idols would
be immersed in holy rivers after the pooja. In Bengal, a number of vratas,
fasts undertaken by women necessitates the making of clay images. |
Top Folk
wall murals
Wall mural found in traditional
Bihari Huts done by womenfolk
|
A number of ritualistic paintings
are prepared on the walls
of homes in India. Some are for festive occasions and others are associated
with rituals.
In Bihar, the murals on the
house walls depict episodes from the Puranas.
In certain parts of Uttar Pradesh
and Rajasthan, murals are prepared on the walls merely for the purpose
of decorating or embellishing them.
Free- hand drawing by the women
with the use of a twig and white chalk against the mud colored walls gives
a gay appearance. |
Wall mural with ancient
Religious motifs
|
Women in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
and Haryana prepare a form of low relief work on walls of the Sanjhi figure.
Women prepare the basic form in cow dung on freshly plastered walls after
which they fix tablets made in different colors, shapes and sizes. In
Kutch district of Gujarat, bold and large mirrors are embedded in the
walls.
Women also make finger- free
hand patterns out of mud and cow dung mixed with straw. These patterns
are prepared when the plaster on the wall is wet and they have a strong
textual pattern. The Punjab and Haryana women prepare Jali of unbaked
clay for their homes. |
Top
GRASS
CRAFTS
BASKET MAKING || MAT WEAVING
Top BASKET
MAKING
Weaving of baskets is an art, as
ancient as pottery in India. The ancient nomadic food gatherers wove reeds together
to prepare baskets to hold their food or their other collectibles. Later with
the advent of different cultures, basketry took shape both for domestic and
ritual purposes. Special patterns evolved according to the local traditions
and techniques. . Various styles
are associated with basketry.
The coiled style is
the most famous one. The wicker
weaving technique comes next in terms of fame. Colours are rarely used in this
art, yet if the item has to look impressive, bright
colours are generally
preferred. Colours that are applied are most of the times, natural
dyes.
Cane products from Assam |
A bundle of grass
could form the material for weaving the basket. Few of the other known
materials used in the weaving process are reeds
and leaves
that are generally dyed
or bleached as
per requirement before the final product is made ready.
Basket weaving has gained fame
in India due to the generations of various tribes,
keeping this rich art alive.
Commonly baskets in India are
made of twigs, bamboo, cane, wild monsoon grass, and are then covered
with golden grass or the dried skin of the paddy plant. |
Cane work in progress |
Punjab
is famous for its sturdy spiral baskets. A swampy wild grass called Sarkanda
is basically used; it is stitched together with the use of date palm leaf.
The dry date palm leaves are worked in intricate patterns.
Kashmir
specializes in willow baskets, the wood of which tree is famous for making
cricket bats. The young twigs of the tree are woven to make different
variety of baskets.
Uttar
Pradesh makes baskets out of monsoon grass called Moonj.
Allahabad and the surrounding villages are famous for these baskets. |
In North
Bihar, baskets are made in a coiled form with local monsoon grass,
which is covered with the golden colored Sikkri grass,
which is dyed according to the color desired. Besides baskets many toys of birds
and human figures are also made in this manner.
In the Terai
area of Bihar the tribals weave baskets with a bolder form, which
are decorated with human, and animal figures in stylized forms. The baskets
are decorated with tassels made out of shells, which are presented to brides
during marriage as part of their dowry items.
Mysore district of Karnataka
produces cane baskets.
Northeastern
part of India has the finest work in cane and bamboo. Even their houses are
made of cane and bamboo. Bamboo baskets are used for various purposes. Whole
bamboos are used for containers as the solid nodes make it a tubular container.
They are used to carry water, store other liquids like rice beer, and Chang,
and also for making drinking cups.
The Chettiand baskets of Tamilnadu
have intricate patterns made with the use of date palm leaves.
These patterns are as fine as embroidery and are the specialty of the Chettiar
community people of Tamilnadu.
Bengal
has a tradition of fine work bamboo baskets, which are used for ceremonial purposes.
Winnowing baskets called Kulas are also prepared and used for winnowing. Master
craftsmen also prepare special Pitaras, oval boxes, Jhampis, oblong caskets,
Phul Saji, flower baskets, chalnis and sieves.
Back MAT
WEAVING
Materials like reeds, grass, cane,
and bamboo are used to make different types of mats throughout India. Pattamadai
village in Tirunelveli Dsitrict
of Tamilnadu is famous for its fine quality mats. Here the local reed is split
into nearly hundred pieces and are woven on a loom with a cotton warp. The mats
are so fine that they can be rolled and placed into a small box. The weaving
also takes enormous time and patience on the part of the weaver. . Men and women
of the Lebbai Muslim Community weave these famous mats only in this village.
Mat prepared in Tamilnadu
|
While the weft of the Patamadai
mats is of reed, the warp is of cotton or silk, depending upon the quality
required. Four strands of the 100 count are taken together to produce
a single thread of great strength.
Now starts the actual weaving,
which is done by women. One end of this wet grass is inserted in a hole
of a long fine stick, which can be compared to a huge needle. With the
help of the stick, the grass is passed into the loom.
Afterwards the stick and the
grass is held on both sides by both hands and slightly twisted to give
uniform roundness and strength. Then the reed is placed against it several
times to keep it in position. After the weaving is complete, the mat is
compressed to eliminate any unevenness, a process that takes at least
four hours.
The best mats weigh only 400
grams and can very easily be folded. They can either be single color or
combined in traditional red, green and black. |
Kerala
is famous for Kora
grass mats. They carry intricate designs where black and deep
maroon colors are used. The screw
pine mats of Kerala are made from the fragrant Keora plant. They
have a soft texture and intricate embroidery works.
Manipur
is famous for the red mats.
They are stitched together and a border is formed at the edges. These mats are
also exported.
Bengal
is noted for Sitalpatti mats,
which are woven with green cane. The name Sitalpatti meaning cool spread, best
expresses the quality of the mat. Here one set of cane in golden color is placed
diagonally and another dyed maroon is placed above it in the opposite direction.
The craftsmen with deft fingers plait them together to make animal and human
forms. Bengal is also noted for fine quality mats made of the Madhur kothi grass.
Intricate patterns are worked in by dyeing the grass a russet color. These are
known as fine Maslond mats.
Back |
©
www.indianmirror.com
