View source for Rajasthan: handicrafts

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[[Category: India |W]]
[[Category: Communities |W]]
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=The warp and weft of communal harmony=

'' India Harmony '' Volume - 1 : Issue - 3 April, 2012

Royal patronage in the past with
special incentives to artists and
artisans has nurtured a thriving crafts
industry in Rajasthan. Jaipur the capital of the
state is known as the craft capital of the
country. And the soul of this craft lies in a
binding and timeless amity between
communities – especially Hindus and
Muslims.

[[File: comunal.png||frame|500px]]

Highly stylised motifs and patterns of bandhej
or the tie and dye textiles in brilliant shades,
popularly known as the art of royalty is one of
the most famous industries of Jaipur. This art
and industry nurtured by the Maharaja of
Jaipur, weaves Hindus and Muslims together,
as they create spectacularly beautiful textiles.

The dexterity and the creativity that goes on
to make the tie and dye textiles are
marvellous. Laheriyas or the delicately
created patterns in waves are dyed mostly in
Udaipur, Jodhpur and along with this there are
panchranga or five-coloured bandhej on
sarees, odhnis or turbans. Kota in Rajasthan is
famous for its self-checked weave cotton.
Block printing is another form of craft, which
has developed as a small-scale industry in the
state. Old centers of this craft are Barmer
which is known for the unique ajrakh prints
while Jaipur, Sanganer and Bagru emphasize
more on the stylized Mughal inspired blocks
like paisley and floral motifs. Chittor is
known for its jajam prints. The handprints of
cotton are known for their motifs in bright
colours. It is not only colourful but an ecofriendly
form of printing on textiles. Fabrics
are printed with the help of wooden blocks
and vegetable dyes.
 
The embroideryof Rajasthan varies from
community to community
which has its own
style. The Jat women
of Sikar and
Jhunjhuna make
designs of flora and
fauna on the
border of their
skirts. The Jat
women of
Bikaner are
famous for
bandhini. The
Phulkari bagh stitch is more common among
the Meos of Alwar district. The appliqué
works of Rajasthan also have a distinct
appeal. They are done on quilts called rallies.
The pichwai of Nathdwara is a designer cloth,
which is used as a decoration in temples. The
gota work is a type of embroidery, which is
done on velvet cloth which also another
variety of embroidery.

Similarly, the ubiquitous Rajasthani 'safa' or
turban in brilliant shades is a product created
by people of both communities working
together in Jaipur. And during weddings, as
well as festive occasions, the majestic
headgear notches up big sales. The centuries'
old marble industry of Kishangarh is a huge
grosser and here too one finds a harmony that
makes the industry famous across the world.
[[File: comunal1.png||frame|500px]] 

Lac jewellery, also known as lacquer
jewellery, originated in Rajasthan and has is
immensely popular. Lac jewellery set with
glass chatons is very popular in Rajasthan and
Jaipur city is the big centre for it. The bangles
are worn on all auspicious occasions by the
Hindus in Rajasthan as they are considered a
sign of good omen, but very few people know
that it's mostly the Muslim community in the
state which makes the bangles glitter.

The beautifully coloured bangles may be either
plain or in various attractive designs. A good
chunk of the jewellery is, which in turn
provides more employment and inspires
improvisation in design and pattern of
jewellery.

Jaipur is also known as the 'gem city' and is
famous all over the world for its gemstones
master cutters, polishers and gemstone dealers
and for its cut and polished emeralds. It is also
a world leader in semi-precious stones and
Kundan (the art of setting precious stones in
gold) - Meena (the art of enameling on gold or
silver) jewellery. Making different forms of
jewellery items is also another form of craft.
The `kundan` and `jadau` jewelry have uncut
precious gems fixed on the twenty-four carat
gold ornaments like necklace, rings and
earrings. Enamellings or `minakari` work is a
form of jewellery craft where the piece is fixed
on a stick of lacquer and delicate floral designs
engraved on it. The etchings are made in
groves and the enamel colours are filled inside
intricate miniature paintings. The `kundan`
craft of Jaipur a part of the Mughal jewellery
which has uncut stones set in open lacy gold
work. The hollow portions of the ornament in
which the stones are set are filed with gold of
pure quality. In `jadau` the kundan style and
the minakari technique is amalgamated to
produce a different kind of design. Jadau is
actually, gems in front and superb
enamelwork on the reverse.
[[File: comunal2.png||frame|500px]] 

Besides these, glazed blue pottery with its
origin in Persia, hand block printed textiles,
stone craft marble and sandstone articles and
traditional miniature paintings available in
Jaipur are also in huge demand.. Tourists are
also often found shopping for 'jootis'
(traditional Rajasthani moccasins) and
'kathputlis' (puppets). It is one huge crafts
bazaar for a huge range of goods - from
jewellery and brass work to textiles, from
blue pottery to woodwork and many more.
One can visit Sanganer Village for hand-made
paper, block printing and blue pottery.
[[File: comunal3.png||frame|500px]] 

Similarly, Kishangarh is known as the marble
city of India and different types of marble
handicraft are made here that are sold both in
the domestic and foreign markets. And the
glue that binds the industry together and is
responsible for its success is harmony
between the Hindu and Muslim workers.
[[File: comunal4.png||frame|500px]]
 
Alwar is known for its sheer body pottery
known as kagzi or paper pottery. The pots of
Pokhran have geometrical patterns embossed
on it. The painted pottery of Bikaner is
painted with lac colours to which a shade of
gold is added. Nohar in Bikaner is the hub of
pottery. The blue pottery of Jaipur is produced
without the use of clay. It is made up of
quartz, raw glaze, sodium sulphate, multani
mitti which are baked on fire only once unlike
the conventional way of pot making. The neck
and the lip are shaped on the wheel. The
decorating on the pot is done with brushes
made of squirrel`s hair and mostly decorated
with arabesque patterns, occasionally with
animal and bird motifs.

The list of crafts in Rajasthan is endless and
one of the famous crafts of the state is the
leather items. Mojdis or leather footwear is
made from locally tanned leather, which is
then decorated with metals or beads. Bikaner
is known for making a leather bottle out of the
camel hide called kopi. Bikaner is famous for
decorative saddles for horses and camels. The
region is also adept in making beautiful lamp
and lampshades out of leather.