“THE HERITAGE OF INDIA”

✓ VARIETY OF INDIAN TRADITIONAL TEXTILE

1) Pigment painted textiles
2) Dye painted textiles
3) Resist dyed textiles
4) Printed textiles

1. PIGMENT PAINTED TEXTILES

PATTACHITRA (or) PATAS:
The Pattachitra (or) Patas is a traditional, class
of pigment painted cloths in eastern Indian states of Orissa and West
Bengal. The artform is known for its intricate details as well as
mythological narratives and folktales. The paintings resemble old
murals of Orissa especially found in the religious centers of Puri,
Konark, Bhubaneshwar region. The traditional paintings are more
than 1000 years old. It’s done by the traditional painter communities
chitrakaras. The artisan’s lives in the village Raghurajpur located
nearby southern bank of bhargabhi river. The village has total 376
craft persons. The artisans in the village owned their own pukka
houses.
• Making process of canvas:
They use western cotton cloth to prepare
canvas as it is much softer and free from starch unlike the new
cotton from the mill. Traditionally, cotton canvas was used now
both cotton and silk canvas are used. Processing starts from
dipping of cotton in a solution of crushed Imli seeds and water
for 4-5 days. The cloth is then taken out and sun dried. After it
is dried, a paste of chalk powder, imli and gum is applied on
 both side of the cotton cloth and it is sun dried. After drying,
Khaddar stone is rubbed on the cloth several times for
smoothening the canvas. When canvas is smoothed, the
Chicana stone is rubbed for shining the cloth.
• Making of colours:
The materials used in ancient time to make
this painting were vegetable, earth and mineral sources.
i. BLACK - Lamp black (a burning lamp).
ii. YELLOW - Haritali stone (Jaipur) powdered mixed with
water and gum.
iii. RED - Hingual stone locally available.
iv. WHITE - Conch shell is powdered and boiled with kaitha
gum.
v. GREEN - Boiling green leaves like neem leaves with water
and kaitha gum.
vi. BROWN – Obtained from geru stone, whose powder is
mixed with gum and water.
• Process of painting:
i. The process of patachitra painting begins with
preparation of canvas.
ii. Colours are naturally prepared.
iii. Borders are drawn first on the canvas on all the 4 sides
consisting of two (or) three lines according to the size.
iv. The outline of the figures is drawn first with pencil. The
body colours are then added followed by colouring the
attires.
v. Once the painting is completed, outline will be given to
the figure using black colours.
2.DYE PAINTED TEXTILES
KALAMKARI:
Kalamkari is an ancient style of hand painting done on
cotton (or) silk fabric produced in Indian states of Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana. The word kalamkari, where ‘KALAM’ refers pen and
‘KARI’ refers to craftsmanship. It is practiced in the city of
Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The areas involved in this craft
are pedna, kappaladoddi, polavaram and the villages surrounding
these areas. There are two styles of kalamkari art:
i. Srikalahasti style – of painting draws inspiration from the Hindu
mythology describing scenes from the epics and folklore.
ii. Machilipatnam style – of kalamkari, motifs are especially
printed with hand craved traditional blocks with intricate
detailing painted by hands.
• Making of fabric:
i. Cow dung bleach (cow dung + water + milk) and the fabric
is stirred well.
ii. Washing in normal water.
iii. Myrabolium treatment (Myrabolium powder + water).
iv. Black liquids are used for outline and alum liquid is used
for filling colours
v. Running water wash in normal water
vi. Colour development (boiling the fabric by gradually
increasing the heat with the ingredients alizarin and dye
source).
vii. Washing in normal water 3 times.
viii. Fixation (fabric is dipped and stirred in the alum water).
ix. Drying the fabric.

• Making of colours:
 Kalamkari primarily use earthy colours like indigo,
mustard, rust, black and green. Natural dyes used with no use
of chemicals and artificial colours.
i. BLACK – Blending jaggery, water and iron fillings.
ii. MUSTARD/YELLOW – Boiling pomegranate peels.
iii. RED – Bark of madder (or) algirin.
iv. INDIGO/GREEN – By mixing blue and yellow.

3.RESIST DYED TEXTILES

a) IKAT:
The term Ikat refers to the dyeing technique used to
create the designs on the fabric. Ikat fabric has been practiced
in India, Indonesia, Japan and other south east Asian countries.
In India the Ikat weaving is originated in Nalgonda district of
Andhra Pradesh. It is also practiced mainly in Puttapaka,
Pochampalli, Ghattupal and Vellanki.
i. Patola:
Especially prized are the double ikats woven in silk known
in India as patola from Patan district in Gujarat. Today patola is
still widely recognized though artisans are few with a recorded
total of only 2 families practicing the craft.
ii. Pochampalli sari:
 A variety from a small village in Nalgonda district,
Andhra Pradesh. India is known for silk saris woven in the
double ikat. There are 800 active ikat artisans.
iii. Puttapaka sari:
It is made in puttapaka village in Nalgonda district,
Andhra Pradesh.
The “POCHAMPALLI SARI” and “PUTTAPAKA SARI” are native
to India and feature exquisite double ikat motifs on silk.
• Making of fabric:
i. The desired pattern is first drawn on the warp and weft yarns
by hand.
ii. The weaver then ties these yarns to match the planned
pattern. The threads are then dyed in the specific colours, so
that the colours seep into the yarn at the appropriate
positions.
iii. The ties on the yarn are untied, and the yarns are strung on
the loom. In warp and double ikat, the pattern emerges on
the loom at this stage.
iv. The fabric is then woven together, and the colourful pattern
of motifs emerges on it.

b) BANDHANI:
 Earliest evidence of Bandhani dates back to Indus
valley civilization suggest that dyeing was done as early as
4000BC. This is popular in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Making of fabric:
i. The extremely delicate and intricate designs are produced by
tying individual parts of the fabric before dyeing.
ii. The process entails folding the cloth, stamping the design on
it, bunching minute portions of it along the design outlines,
and tying each one of these with cotton yarn.
iii. This first set of ties is then dyed in the lightest colour, usually
yellow.
iv. After rinsing and drying, the fabric is tied for the next darker
colour, perhaps red (or) green.
v. Again, there is a renewal of the tying until the darkest parts
are dyed and the entire design is complete. The cloth used for
Bandhani is thin cotton (or) malmal, georgette and silk.

• Regions:
Gujarat and Rajasthan are the states where Bandhani is
practiced from traditional times.
i. Gujarat - (Mandani, Bhuj, Anjar, Jamnagar, Morbi, Rajkot,
Deesa are the main towns).
ii. Rajasthan - (Barmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur,
Nathdwara are the main cities).

c) LEHERIA:
 This technique gets its name from the Rajasthani word
“Wave”- A visual invocation of the flow of water. This style is
traditionally practiced in Rajasthan.
• Making of fabric:
i. The process involves rolling the fabric and tying resists at
various spots on the cloth rolled diagonally from one corner
to the opposite selvage.
ii. This rolled fabric is then dyed according to the usual tie and
dye process in bright colours.
iii. When the fabric is unfolded after dyeing, it leaves a lot of
stripes or other shapes at intervals across the fabric in a
design. Several tie and dye process are undergone if required.
iv. “Mothara”- is a special lentil design popular and achieved by
the re-rolling of the unfolded first stage in the opposite
direction and the resist tied at the diagonal end and repeating
the dye process. The resulting checkered design has un-dyed
areas at regular intervals which are the size of a lentil.
v. Traditional Leheria uses natural dyes and multiple washes and
uses indigo (or) alizarin during the final stage of preparation.

• Regions:
Rajasthan - (Barmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur,
Nathdwara are the main cities).

d) BATIK:
 Evidence of Batik have been found in India over 2000
years ago.
• Making of fabric:
➢ Cotton fabric is bleached (with bleaching powder and water)
and kept overnight for whiteness.
➢ Wax printing is done either with hand, using a brush (or) with
the blocks. (The table on which printing is done is kept cool
with sand and water so that the wax does not spread and the
design stays consistent throughout).
➢ After the initial printing, the fabric is dipped in a colour fixer.
➢ The fabric is then dipped in naphthol dye for 10-15 minutes.
➢ If only a single colour is required, then after this the cloth is
dipped in hot water so that the wax comes off and one gets the
required pattern and colour.
➢ If any white spots are left and if it needed to be ignored, then
the fabric could be dipped once more in any direct dye. This
process is called “topping”.
➢ If more patterns and colours is needed, reprinting could be
done with wax and the whole process is repeated.

• Regions:
i. In the south, near Chennai, the well-known “Artist’s
Village of chollamandalam” is where Batik gets an artistic
touch. Batik that is produced in Chennai is known for its
original and vibrant designs.
ii. In the north, it’s done in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra.
4.PRINTED TEXTILES
a) ROGAN:
• Making process:
➢ Castor seeds are crushed to extract the oil and boiled in clay
pot.
➢ Once the Rogan gel is formed, rogan gel has to be stored in
container filled with water.
➢ Pigments are then added to the rogan gel to form rogan paint.
➢ Cloth is fixed to the wooden frame by pinning the cloth to the
frame.
➢ The lump of colour paste are put on the palm and mixed
vigorously to get the rogan threads using styles by other hand.
➢ Designs are drawn on the half area of the cloth with free hands
using the styles.
➢ The cloth is then folded to its center line to get the impression
on other side of the cloth.
➢ Finished product is then kept under sun for drying.
• Regions:
Nirona village (Kutch) in Gujarat state.
b) BAGRU:
• Printing blocks:
The main tools of the printing are wooden blocks in
different shapes – square, rectangle, oval, round, semi-circular,
crescent etc. Blocks are hand carved of seasoned teak wood by
trained craftsmen.
• Process of printing:
➢ It is undertaken on both cotton and silk fabrics of varying
counts. The fabric to be printed is washed free of starch and
soft bleached.
➢ The fabric is stretched over the printing table and fastened with
small pins
➢ The block printer pushes along small wooden trolleys with
racks that have castor wheels fastened to their legs to facilitate
free movement. On the upper most shelf trays of dye are
placed. On the lower shelves printing blocks are kept ready.
These blocks are then dipped in dye and imprinted on to the
fabric by a skilled block printer.
➢ The colour is evened out in the tray with a wedge of wood and
the block dipped into the outline colour (usually black).
➢ When the block is applied to the fabric, it is slammed hard on
the back of the handle for a good impression. A point on the
block serves as a guide for the repeat impression, so that the
whole effect is continuous and not disjoined.
➢ If it is a multiple colour design the second printer dips in the
colour again and the third colour if existent follows likewise.
➢ The fabric is then left to dry.
• Regions:
Bagru, a small town situated 32kms south west of
Jaipur.
c) BAGH:
Bagh is a unique style of block printing on handloom
fabrics. An art brought from migrant settlers in the 1960’s, who
travelled from manawar and settled in Bagh village has taken
block printed fabrics to a new level altogether.
• Making process:
➢ Pre-printing process:
➢ Raw material processing is carried out in copper tubs. The
fabric consisting of 100 single sheets is subjected to cleaning
with water and by beating on stones to remove all starch. It is
then kept soaked in water for about 2hrs and then dried.
➢ The washed fabric is subjected to boiling process in a boiler
filled with a mixture of (alizarin, roots of dhavadi flowers and
water). Its takes 4hrs to ensure that the cloth is adequately
dyed.
➢ After the above process, the cloth is subjected to cleaning
process in the water.
➢ A mixture of excrement of goats, raw salt known locally as
sanchura, castor oil and water are prepared in a cement
bucket, and the fabric is immersed so as to generate heat and
this makes the fiber absorbent.
➢ This dried fabric is rinsed with water and prepared for printing.
➢ Printing process:
➢ The cloth obtained from the earlier process is evenly stretched
across the table. A black boundary is drawn with plain stamps.
The cloth now becomes a canvas for the artisans.
➢ Beginning from the outer portion of the cloth and moving
inwards by using the different blocks with various designs.
➢ Post printing process:
➢ After the saree is being dried for about days, it must pass
through another dyeing process alizarin mixed with dhavadi
flower extract are boiled together in a cement structure. The
printed cloth is then left to boil it for 5-6hrs.
➢ After this process, through which the designs turn red, black
and white, the cloth is then left to dry in the sun, but in shade.
The Bagh process is tedious with a lot of
washes for the fabric.

✓ VARIETY OF CRAFT TRADITIONS

1. CLAY:
• Pottery
• Hand modelling
• Terracotta
• Making of giant figures

2. NATUAL FIBRES:
• Bamboo
• Palm leaf
• Sugar cane

3. PAPER CRAFTS:
• Paper toys
• Paper cuts
• Paper stencils

4. THEATRE CRAFTS:
• Puppetry
➢ String puppet
➢ Glove puppet
 ➢ Rod puppet
➢ Shadow puppet

REFERENCE:
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/dream-
handlooms/article9433186.ece
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/weaving-out-of-
trouble-handloom-industry-looks-at-budget-2018-to-solve-woes/artic
leshow/62518039.cms
https://www.craftsvilla.com/blog/indian-prints-fabrics-bandhani-ikat-batik/
http://gaatha.com/rogan-art-kutch-gujarat/
https://my.laureate.net/faculty/webinars/Documents/Webinar%20Documents
/for_seema.pdf
https://yourstory.com/2013/06/crafting-a-livelihood-a-snapshot-of-the-indian-
artifacts-sector-2
http://www.dsource.in/resource/patachitra-painting-bhubaneswar-
orissa/making-process
https://www.utsavpedia.com/motifs-embroideries/kalamkari-art/
http://www.craftmark.org/sites/default/files/P034%20Ikat_Andhra%20Prades
h.pdf
https://theswatchbook.offsetwarehouse.com/2015/08/28/need-know-ikat-
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https://strandofsilk.com/journey-map/telangana/ikat/producer-communities
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http://www.dsource.in/resource/rogan-painting-nirona-gujarat/making-
process