Textile art is the pride of India. Many forms of work are done with the help of textiles. This is decades old work and they are living entities of tradition, mythological stories, gods and goddesses. Textile art provides a vivid, sustainable alternative to today’s fast paced world that heavily relies on machine made goods. These textiles are like a symbol of how aesthetic India’s sensibilities are. The five most prominent textile arts are Kalamkari, Ikat, Kutch, Bandhani and Chikankari.
CHIKANKARI FROM LUCKNOW
Chikankari is a form of a art that dates back to the time of Noor Jahan which was made with an extreme amount of precision and delicacy. It became popular during the Mughal era. It is done on cloths such as muslin, georgette, cotton and silk. It is called ‘white on white’ embroidery. All these fabrics are light to wear and are adequate for summer outings. Initially, chikankari art was used on curtains, kurtas and bandis. Today women love to wear elegant chikankari saris as well as lehengas. The reason why chikankari is very famous is because it has an underrated modesty about it, it does not give an extremely heavy look yet it makes the buyer look elegant and adds a lot of charm as well as prestige.
BANDHANI FROM RAJASTHAN
Bandhani is also known as the tie-dye method. Its origin traces back to Indus Valley Civilization in 4000 BCE. It is a resist-dye technique, and its depictions are so old that they are even seen in the Ajanta Murals of the sixth century. According to Wikipedia, artisans pinch and tie tiny portions of cloth using fingernails. This creates a diversity of dots, waves and stripes and all of these are intricate bindings which is why it results in the name – ‘bandhani’. Many women wear Bandhani saris when they are getting wedded.
KALAMKARI FROM ANDHRA PRADESH AND TAMIL NADU
It is made from a pen and ink style type of art. It is a form of textiles which requires a huge amount of work and patience. The Persians termed it as kalamkari. It depicts majestic sequences from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. This supports in transferring cultural stories to the younger generation. At first, the fabric is soaked in cow dung and clay. Mordants and dyes are applied to it. Then hand painted themes are painting meticulously using a bamboo stick pen or a date palm with fine hairs. Throughout the process, natural dyes from plants, roots and minerals are used.IKAT is also inspired by Kalamkari, according to some sources.
IKAT FROM ODISHA AND GUJARAT
It is a globally ancient art. Yarns are tightly bound before the dyeing is done to resist the dyes in certain parts of the clothing. Then the dyeing is performed in a number of rounds, this results in feathery and blurry patterns. Warp ikat, weft ikat and intricate double ikat are considered to be the most complex. In earlier times, if anyone wears IKAT clothing, it was like a status symbol, they were automatically considered wealthy. Today, ikat fabrics are famous in couture and interior designing.
KUTCH FROM GUJARAT
It is a very colourful form of embroidery. It was started in Gujarat. Women of tribal communities often practice it and these tribes are called Rabari, Garasi and Mutava. This work is done on cotton or silk. The stitches used are square chain, buttonhole, darning, running stitch, satin and straight stitches. Small mirrors or abhlas are used to create geometric designs. This results in a distinctive sparkle and shine on the fabrics. This art was done from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In conclusion, these textile arts matter because they give a glimpse of regional identity and the visual diversity of india.
Author
Shreeja Mukherjee