Subclusters of AHMEDABAD Ahmedabad district: Ahmedabad Viramgam Gandhinagar district: Pethapur Mahesana district: Mahesana Visnagar Patan district:

Patan, Siddhpur, Sami, Harij, Radhanpur Sabarkantha district: Himmatnagar, Shamlaji, Sanali, Idar,Poshina Banaskantha district: Ambaji Danta Palanpur Crafts of AHMEDABAD Kite making Block making Mata ni pachediritual cloth painting Patola weaving Mashru weaving Ari embroidery Bohra caps Wood carving Silver ornaments

RESOURCES Craft Kite making Raw Materials Tissue paper Bamboo stick Cotton sewing threads Glass powder Block making Mata ne pachediritual cloth painting Saag wood Unbleached cloth(kora madarpat) Sources Delhi and Kolkata Pune and Hyderabad Assam,Kolkata Ahmedabad Dariyapur,Ahmedabad Ahmedabad Valsad,Mills in Ahmedabad

In Astodia,the old part of the city in which colonies of block printers have lived and worked for decades,a craftsman block prints yardage of bright orange fabric. THE METACLUSTER COMPRISING the districts of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mahesana, Patan, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha,extend from the central to northern part of Gujarat.Ahmedabad,the city named after Sultan Ahmed Shah and situated on the banks of the River Sabarmati,was the state capital until 1970.The city is in many respects a study in contrasts and contradictions:the spectacualr architectural heritage set within the old quarters of the city where even today merchants and skilled craftspersons live in the quaint houses with carved wooden entrances that are characteristic of the pols,the quarters located in winding lanes and alleys interspersed with chowks.On the other hand,the new city of Ahmedabad is a bustling commerical and industrial area that was once famous for its history of commerce in textiles and textiles manufacturing and processing industries.Today,it is renowned for its institutions of culture,heritage and education such as the Calico Museum of Textiles,the Shreyas Folk Museum and the Gandhi relevance to the city as Gandhi launched his movement for truth and non-violence,the satyagraha at Ahmedabad.The Gandhi Ashram`s handmade paper-making unit and Khadi Prayog Samiti,an institution for science and technology research;Self Employed Women`s Association(SEWA),are few people-centred initiatives that use craft as a resource repository of ornamentation in wood carving-figurative,floral and geometrical motifs,in relief,lattice and sculpted form.The exquiste wood carving skills extend to the textile hand-block printing industry,which has block carving in Pethapur and Ahmedabad,two traditional textile exporting centres.Stone carving is widely practiced in Ambaji,Patan,Mahesana,Himmatnagar,Ahmendabad and Koteshwar. ACCESS Ahmedabad is well connected by air,rail and road to Delhi,Mumbai and other major cities in western India.In addition,it is now also accessible via the newly constructed Golden Quadrilateral highway. Unlike the wooden block which directly prints the positive form of the motif in rogan,tinsel printing,the rogan or khadi paste is applied through the punched out form of the motif,in a brass stencil.The adhesive is then dusted with either gold ,silver ,copper or flock(fibre dust)or varoq,gold or silver foil.The origins of khadi printing are linked with the velvet and silk textiles-standards flags canopies and tent panels used by the courts of Rajasthan; and pichhwais ,religious textiles,where this method was a faster and inexpensive way to simulate gold brocade.Ahmedabad has only one family in the Astodia area,practicing the languishing craft.

Vegetable dyes Blocks(teak wood) Patola weaving Mashru weaving Wood carving silk Rayon yarn Cotton yarn

Ahmedabad Pethapur China,Korea and Brazil Surat Surat,Ahmedabad

WoodAhmedabad saag,sevan,Sheesham,Teak Ahmedabad

Silver silver ornaments

Beaten metal utensils being sold at Manek chowk,old city of Ahmedabad.

An elderly lady sitting on the doorstep of her home at the Lambapada ne Pol;the stucco worked mural on her right is a representation of the mohalla mata or `goddess of the colony`.

KHADI PRINTING Khadi printing Varaq,silver foil on khadi.

Flocking.