Handicrafts of India
Surmounting the changes happening due to advance of technology, handicrafts of India still remain an integral part of its culture. Showcasing fineness of craftsman skill of evolutionary tradition of centuries, these crafts are not only luxury decorative pieces, but also is the main source of employment for a vast majority of the population.
Ranging from the simple clay lamps to the diamond studded jewellery items, handicrafts can range from luxury decorative pieces to religious requirements.
Let it be cotton textile trade trusted for its permanent dyes to carpets and jewelleries or various types of carvings, Indian crafts nurtured over ages. Most of the crafts are practices in certain localities for generations.
Some of the major crafts of India:
Cane and Bamboo Crafts:
Originated as a traditional tribal crafts in India, cane and bamboo has been considered as a wonderful supplement of wood. Light and stylish, cane and bamboo craft has made mark as eco-friendly products that require minimum maintenance.
Weaved and knitted by the skilled craftsmen, canes are used not only in the making of different utility and decorative items like, mats, lamp shades, trays, baskets, but also in making strong and unique furniture, jewelleries, bags and decorative items. Such items are very popular in Eastern and North-Eastern regions of India.
Wood Crafts:
Early wood carved temples in many parts of India prove the antiquity of this crafts form. Influenced by availability of woods and rituals, the style of carving varies from region to region. Wood crafts are still popular in folk forms like Toys, puppets, utility goods and religious objects like furniture, screens, boxes, bowls, carved wooden doors with intricate designs, brass inlay and trellis work for the windows are main examples to this
Wooden houses and decorative wood panels used for ceilings and pillars named as Khatamband in Kashmir, intricate carvings on wooden pillars of Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, wooden pandals for deities in Assam, Tanjore dolls of Tamilnadu, Sandalwood (box) carvings of Karnataka wooden toys of Andhra Pradesh, sandalwood and rosewood works of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, metal thread work, done in furniture called Tarkashi of Manipur, lathe- worked lacquered furniture of Sankheda in Gujarat, traditional statues and commemorative wood pillars of Nagaland and wooden masks and figure carvings of Odisha are some examples of wood carving culture of India.
Murals:
Murals are ritualistic paintings prepared on the walls of homes in India. The patters are mostly associated with rituals of various festive occasions. Free- hand drawing by the women with the use of a twig and white chalk against the walls colored with mud and cow dung murals are prepared for the purpose of decorating or embellishing them.
Stone Carving
Rich in the skill of stone-carving, this tradition is closely linked with architecture in India. Over generations; it flows more as a practice in some parts of the country even today.
Grand temples of India-be it Puri, Konark, Khajuraho, Kailash Temple, Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, various forts and mansions illustrate the rich tradition of Indian stone carvings.
From the jali screens, sculpted from both sandstone and marble to statues, Rajasthan is one of major centers of stone and marvel carving in the country and mythology and religion are the core concepts of traditional carving. Odisha is famous for its fineness stone carvings in various temple structures.
Terracotta
It is an art of clay often used, mostly in religious offerings. Temple terracotta panels of Bengal, terracotta horses and elephants for religious offernings in South India – all have a ritualistic connection. Though differ in making and pattern, in Bihar, Bengal and Gujarat, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Tamilnadu, it is a ritual to create clay figures of animals and deities as offerings to wade off evil.
Pottery
Pottery and earthenware are distinctly utilitarian in rural lifestyles of India and often decorative where as studio pottery belong to the realm of art. Making finest crafts from clay is the earliest expertise of Indian craftsmen. This hand-moulded craft includes beautifully shaped pottery, clay toys and types of unglazed Pottery.
Enriched with its own specialty; Kangra and Andreta inHimachal Pradesh, Pokhran in Rajasthan, Meerut and Harpur in Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur in Maharastra, Kutch in Gujarat, Jahjjar in Haryana, Birbhum in Bengal and Manipur are famous for their special styles in unglazed pottery.
Mughal influence enriched the making of Glazed pottery style with white background and blue and green patterns. This skill is developed in Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Khurja, Chunar and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and Karigari in Tamilnadu whereas; Delhi, Khurja and Jaipur are known for ‘Blue Pottery’ that uses blue dye to colour the clay.
Jewellery
From heavily decorated ethnic jewelleries to the junk jewelleries and tribal jewelleries, every region of India is distinctly decorated with a wide range of jewelleries made of feathers, beads, lac, cowrie shells, prescious and semi- prescious stones, metals and gems.
Heavy Gold designs of South India, lac, meenakari and Kundan technique of North India, fine granulation and filigree works of Odisha are among the popular ones. Mostly the ornaments are related deeply with the tradition. Shapes, designs and metals used differ on the basis of region and culture.
Metal Casting
Brass and Bell metal works are in high demand for its use in daily life as well as decorative pieces. Casting of brass and copper in Moradabad and Bell metal casting in Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Assam have their own divergent techniques and style.
Another technique of working with metals in India is the combining of two metals. After treatment, the final products are popular as Bidar work, Koftagiri, Zarnishan and Tarkashi.
Enameling works from Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow and Moradabad, the lost wax method Bronze casting, of Madurai, Swamimalai, Mysore, Bangalore and Karaikal in South India, in Gujarat, Varanasi and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Balasore and Puri of Odisha are well known as master metal-casting centers.
Carpets & Durrees:
Used not only as a floor covering, but also as a floor decorative with a variety of designs and pattern to welcome guests. Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are famous for Carpets.
Simple & embroidered; durree is a long strip of cotton woven thick fabric used for making beds as well as an indigenous floor cover. This craft exist in almost every corner of India, in various manners.
Appliqué Art:
Applique works of Pipli, near Puri in Odisha has a distinct identity of its own.
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