Once a flourishing craft the knotted wool carpets of Amritsar are faced by a declining trend with few craftspeople left plying their trade. Competition from machine made carpets and other wool carpet centers has resulted in a slow but steady decline in this craft. Weavers can be found in Konke Village, Tapiyala village, Chugawan village, […]
Phulkari- literally embroidered flowers phul = flower; karai= embroidery/embroider) – is the traditional art of crafting embroidered odhnis (head-drape[s] or chaddar (wraps/shawl[s]) used by women in the Punjab. Throughout the Punjab, in the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities alike, women embroidered the odhni or chaddar ornamented with phulkari and bagh, garden, a variation where the […]
Durries – made from cotton warp and jute, coir, wool, and occasionally, unrefined silk weft – are flat and pile-less floor coverings common in Indian homes. They are also used on the Indian newar charpoy/ traditional bamboo frame bed. Different parts of the country have localized durrie traditions; the particular combination of weaving technique, weft […]
A popular thick cotton wraparound for men, the khes is used as a means of protection against harsh winds. It is made of coarse yarn. Often half the yarn is dyed black and chequered designs are woven in black and white. The need for covering the floors of the houses with cotton rather than woollen […]
Decorative, colorful strings, knotted together into a woman’s braid or designed into hair buns, parandas form an important part of women’ attires in Punjab. The tassels are highly decorative: red is usually used for brides, gold or silver for special occasions, and other colors to match the everyday apparel. The Nala is the drawstring that […]
Practiced in several parts of India this tradition exists in Punjab too. […]
India’s paper tradition has an antiquity of nearly a thousand years. Even though is presently caught in a struggle between the changing past and an unknown future, India still has the largest population of hand paper makers in the world […]
Textile industry is the worst offenders of all when it comes to environment safety and pollution control. All the processes of the textile and apparel industry require use of water in sizing, desizing, and scouring, bleaching, mercerization, dyeing, printing, finishing and ultimately washing. All the processes using large amount of chemicals hazardous in nature and […]
Menawati or candle making is a traditional craft. Made by pouring molten wax (earlier beeswax collected in the jungles) into moulds in which there is a cotton wick, the other process followed is by pouring molten wax down a wick. White candles and arrange of other color candles are made using chemical color additives. […]
In Batala town the Khunda/ Bamboo staves are crafted for use by the local Punjabi farming community, the nomadic cattle herding Gujjars, and the Nihang warriors, also used as an essential part of the Bhangra dance these iron tipped staves serve the purpose of a walking aid and weapon. The Staves made from whole bamboo […]