So I am going to Udaipur at the end of this month to see and explore more Indian Art. I’m really looking forward to it. To be so close to the artists.. and pick up authentic works of art from their place of origin. I hope my trip will be successful. I will definitely upload photographs of the same.
Indian Paintings can be broadly classified as murals and miniatures. Murals are large works executed on the walls of solid structures, as in the Ajanta Caves and the Kailashnath temple. Miniature paintings are executed on a very small scale for books or albums on perishable material such as paper and cloth. The Palas of Bengal were the pioneers of miniature painting in India. The art of miniature painting reached its glory during the Mughal period.
The core of miniature painting lies in Rajasthan and can be traced back to its schools of Jodhpur, Jaipur, Mughal, Kangra and Mewar.
The Jodhpur School of Miniature paintings depict love scenes of lovers Dholu and Maru on camel back. There are hunting scenes with elephants and horses. The major colours used in this style of painting are gold and stone colour.
Mughal School of Miniature Painting depicts love scenes, Mughal Royal courts and the battle fields in gold and stone colours. The Mughal paintings feature stylized imagery in rich draped figures with a blend of Indian and Persian styles.
The difference between the Rajput and the Mughal miniature paintings is in the use of colours. While the Mughal school features muted colours, giving it a shadow and depth, the Rajasthan School uses bold primary colours which give the painting an abstract look.
Some of the other Schools of Miniature Painting include paintings from Malwa School, Bundhelkhand School, Raghogarh School, Bandhelkhand School, Bani Thani and so on. The folk miniature paintings emerged in two different styles known as Phads and Pichwais. These were developed by the artisans and peasants and are very attractive and vibrant.
Lord Krishna with Radha
A high degree of expertise is required and this art is carried out delicately with a very fine brush and is characteristic of intricate, colorful and rational impressions. The brush is made from squirrel hair. The colours used are mainly derived from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, gold and silver which are obtained through a painstaking process including but not limited to drying the vegetables, grounding the dried vegetables, stones indigo etc to get a fine powder. After the base coat is applied and dried, the paper is turned over and rubbed thoroughly with Harini Stone. Hence the paintings art very smooth to touch.
Here are some more photographs of the art:
Today I found this photograph of a wall hanging on the internet. Its a fine example of Indian embroidery and motifs. The artist has used chain stitch, rabari, mirror work, etc to painstakingly make this colourful piece.
If you see closely you will notice that he has embroidered parrots [did you notice the curved beaks and green bodies?] even on the borders.
Gujarat & Rajasthan are very famous for such embroidery. I have seen one such piece [in any form cushions covers, table mats, wall hangings] in almost very household in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Such pieces can be very interesting gift items and add an ethnic and colourful touch to you homes 🙂 .
The Cloth of Goddess Mother, or Mata ni Pachedi, as the term is popularly called, is a very popular narrative scroll from Gujarat. These were made by the Vaghris, the wandering caste. The Vaghris were once a wandering caste, some of whom have now settled in Ahemdabad, the great industrialized city of Gujarat.
They make their living outside their houses, in a little lane by the Central Post Office, block printing and painting shrine cloths, which are known as ‘mata-ni-pachedi’ or ‘mata-no-chandarvo’.
Traditionally, the shrine cloths are made for ritual use by members of castes such as sweepers, leather workers, farm laborers, or by the Vaghris themselves. The shrine cloths always have as a central feature an image of the ‘mata’– the mother goddess in her fearsome aspect- sitting on her throne, or mounted on an animal, brandishing in her hands the weapons needed to kill demons. In the background, is an architectural rendering of a temple. In the centre is placed the image of the Mother Goddess and her associates. Around the goddess are depicted the scenes from the mythology of that deity, as also her followers and worshippers. It is usually rectangular in shape and is divided into seven to nine partitions, very much like a Jain miniature painting.
When any of the mata’s devotees suffers illness or misfortune, he goes to the mata’s shrine and vows that he will make a sacrifice to her if she will relieve him of his trouble. If his wish is granted, he pays for the shrine to be cleaned and decorated, and an enclosure made up of ‘pached’(rectangular shrine cloths) is erected around the shrine, with the chandarvo, the great square shrine canopy, draped above it.
A ceremony of chants and a trance-inducing dance is conducted by a priest-shaman, known as a ‘bhuvo’. This is followed by the ritual sacrifice: the cooking and eating of a young goat. There is always a depiction of a bhuvo-priest, leading a sacrificial animal to the mata, on a pachedi, or chandarvo.
Before the decoration of these cloths can begin, the material must first be freed of starch and then after washing and drying in the sun, soaking it again, this time in a mixture of salt and cow dung and then boiling. Next, it is immersed in water containing caustic soda and castor oil, and based solution of myrobalan and castor oil and dried, it is ready for printing.
The motifs of the Mata-ni-Pachedi are then printed on with large wooden blocks, using a dye made out of rusted iron which has been soaked for a week in sugar solution thickened with a flour of tamarind seeds. This reacts with the myrobalan mordant to produce black. Most of the spaces between the black printed figures are painted with alum and starch using a cheed tooth-stick. The shrine cloths are then passed to dyers, who dye them in vats of alizarin, which reacts with alum to form a deep red. 
The art work is framed with a bold border, and is divided into a line of single color and a band of decorative linear patterns. The colors of the pachedi are black, blood red and white. The surface of the material also acts as a color.
The pachedi usually gets sold around the time of Navaratra, i.e. April and September. Today it has been reinvented as decorative wall pieces.
The Literal translation of the word kalamkari is Pen Craft. The intricate pictures are drawn with kalam or bamboo reed using natural dyes. The antiquity of natural dyed fabrics in India dates back to the pre-Christian era. Samples of these fabrics have been found in many excavations carried out at several parts of the world like Cairo, Greece, Central Asia and Arabia suggesting an overseas trade.
Percy Brown in Arts and Crafts of India– a descriptive study, New Delhi, 1903 mentions that Kalamkari during 18th century was practised all over the Coromandal cost stretching from Machalipatnam at the north to southern parts of India, especially in areas like Kalahasti, Salem, Madura, Palakolu, Machalipatnam, Tanjore, Eleimbedu in Chengalpet, and in Cocanada districts.
The Natural dyestuffs used in this craft are inexpensive and freely available in many parts of our country. These decorated fabrics were either used as temple backcloths or as garments. The art of Kalamkari, which has been practised in several parts of India from early times is now confined to merely a few places like Bagru, Sanganer, Palampur and Faizabad.
| TECHNIQUE: PREPARATION OF CLOTH | |||||||
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Wash thick cotton cloth well, beat to remove starch. Do not use soap. The cloth is then boiled in water for sometime in order to remove other impurities. Take finely grounded myrobalan nut powder. This is used here because of its high tannin content. Add finely grounded myrobalan- nut powder in to buffaloes milk. Stir up well until the solution appears pale yellow. |
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The fat in buffaloes milk prevents dye from spreading on the cloth .For the best results avoid, boiled milk or standardized milk that is supplied in sachets. After soaking the cloth in the above solution for 5 minutes, wring it very tightly and dry in sunlight for 6 to 8 hours. Leave it under room temperature for one day. The treated fabric is ready for use. This treatment helps the fabric to absorb the required metallic mordant, and also to develop a permanent black colour ,using ferrous mordant. USEFUL INFORMATION
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 Destarched Cotton Cloth  Myrobalan Coated Cloth |
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| MAKING OF KALAM |
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This instrument is used to draw lines on the cloth. A bamboo reed is taken and a woollen rag is rolled over it. Latter it is entwined by a cotton thread. (See figure-1). The tip of this instrument should be thin and sharp. The skin of the bamboo is retained on one of the side, which gives the reed strength and longer life to the tip. When this instrument is dipped in to the dye solution, the woolen ball absorbs the dye by capillary actions. The artist holds the loaded kalam in upright position gently presses the woolen ball and drags it on the cloth. The dye, which comes out of the woolen ball, passing through the bamboo point, reaches the cloth. The kalams that have broad tips are used to draw thicker lines and also for filling flat areas on the cloth.  |
| PREPARATION OF BLACK SOLUTION | ||||||||||
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Mix palm and cane jaggeries powder together and allow it to dissolve in the water, after which iron fillings are dropped. The solution is stirred once in a few days and covered immediately. The fermentation takes place in a closed earthen pot. The reaction takes place between molasses and the iron fillings to form the resultant solution, the ferrous acetate. This solution on contact with myrobalan coated cloth turns in to highly permanent black (Ferrous acetate reacting with Tannin). After 15 days filter all solid iron particles carefully and store it in a closed glass or plastic vessel. |
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| DRAWING BLACK LINES |
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The lines thus obtained are allowed to dry for about 1 minute, after which the excess dye is carefully removed by an absorbent cloth. (Thin cotton cloth–slightly wet) The artist takes extreme caution to prevent any accidental spillings of dye on the cloth. The Kalamkari black has an excellent colourfastness. The tip of the bamboo pen has to be renewed whenever it becomes blunt. The thick padding is necessary underneath the cloth while using pen or kalam. After every use, wash kalam with plenty of water, squeezing woolen ball several times. USEFUL INFORMATION
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| MORDANTING TO OBTAIN RED COLOUR | |||||||||
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Red colour is obtained by mordanting the cloth with alum and then dyeing with dyestuffs rich in naturally occurring alizarin.Mordant colours are those colouring matters, which while possessing no colouring power in them are yet capable of combining with metallic basses to form insoluble precipitates on the cloth. |
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The artists sometimes test the concentration by means of tasting a drop of alum solution. It should taste very sharp and caustic. Wherever Red colour is required the above solution is brushed on cloth by means of kalam. The solution thus applied is allowed to dry on the cloth completely till the alum crystals reappear. Allow the cloth to dry under shade for 2 days. |
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To remove unfixed mordant attached to the cloth, the cloth should be washed in running waters. While washing, care should be taken to prevent the unfixed alum which is flowing away from the cloth does not touch other areas (i.e. unmordanted areas). Keep it in flowing waters for 5 minutes. Rinse and dry the cloth. The shevelli (Rubia cordifolia Linn) and surul (Ventilago madraspatana Gaerth) are mixed in sufficient amount of water and allowed to boil. The cloth is immersed in this dye solution. It is stirred for sometime. When all the mordanted areas become Red, the artist removes the cloth. It is then washed thoroughly. The dying vessel must be non-reactive as it will not interfere with dyeing. |
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On leaving the dye- bath the whole surface of the cloth gets more or less stained with the colour Red, but this colour on unmordanted areas can be removed by bleaching thus leaving a coloured design on white background. TO OBTAIN VARIATIONS OF RED COLOUR:
* Note: Surul/Shevelli are native names (telugu) |
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| BLEACHING |
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In presence of strong sunlight, the cloth is kept on a moist riverbed. The water is sprinkled continuously. This process goes on for weeks until that cloth is fully bleached. The Red and Black portions will retain the colour while the rest is bleached white. |
| YELLOW | ||||||
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The cloth is again soaked in buffalo’s milk, squeezed tightly and dried. This will prevent spreading of colours (i.e.. yellow, blue, and green) after dipping the cloth in the milk, the cloth is dried in sunlight for 1 day. It is then allowed to dry under shade for another day. It is now ready for colouring. |
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The myrobalan flowers (Termalia chebula Retz) are grounded into fine powder. It is poured into water and boiled till the volume is halved. It is then cooled and filtered. Later, it is applied on the cloth using the bamboo reed or kalam. |
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| BLUE |
Indigo is the blue matter extracted from the plant Indigoferra Tinctoria. It is insoluble in water. This is dissolved only in alkaline solution. The artist puts a certain amount of indigo in large earthen pot full of water adding proportionate quantities of lime, fuller’s earth and tagara seeds. It i s then mixed with a stick and left for one week. This is applied on the cloth, using a separate pen. Synthetic blue method : owing to the non availability of natural indigo, the craftsmen often use laundry blue crystals (ultramarine) for colouring blue areas. These crystals are dissolved in water and later applied on the cloth. |
| GREENS |
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Blue colour is painted over the yellow areas to get Green. The cloth is finally washed in the flowing river water.  |
Source: http://www.thechromaacademy.com/kalamkari.asp
Here are a few more Kalamkari works:
Lord Ganesh:
Indian princess:
Lord Krishna:
Buddha:
Others:
(Lord Krishna)
Madhubani painting or Mithila painting is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar state, India and the adjoining parts of Terai in Nepal. Painting is done with fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks, using natural dyes and pigments, and are characterized by eye-catching geometrical patterns. There are paintings for each occasion and festival such as birth, marriage, holi, surya shasti, kali puja, Upanayam (sacred thread ceremony), and durga puja (when one prays to Goddess Durga).
The origins of Madhubani painting or Mithala Painting are shrouded in antiquity and mythology.
Madhubani painting has been done traditionally by the women of villages around the present town of Madhubani (the literal meaning of which is forests of honey) and other areas of Mithila.
The themes & designs widely painted are the worship of Hindu deities such as Krishna, Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sun and Moon, Tulasi plant, court scenes, wedding scenes, social happenings around them, etc. Floral, animal and bird motifs, geometrical designs are used to fill up all the gaps. There is hardly any empty space in this style. The skill is handed down the generations, and hence the traditional designs and patterns are widely maintained.
Lord Ganesh:
Cotton wrapped around a bamboo stick forms the brush. The colours applied are prepared by the artists. Black colour is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung; yellow from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves; blue from indigo; red from the kusam flower juice or red sandalwood; green from the leaves of the wood apple tree; white from rice powder; orange from palasha flowers.
Forms of Goddess Shakti:
The colours are applied flat with no shading. There is normally a double line drawn for the outlines, with the gap between the lines filled by cross or straight tiny lines. In the linear painting, no colours are applied. Only the outlines are drawn.
Raas Lila (Lord Krishna dancing with Gopis):
Tree of Life:
Dhokra (also spelt Dokra) is non–ferrous metal casting using the lost-wax casting technique. This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used.
The product of dhokra artisans are in great demand in domestic and foreign markets because of primitive simplicity, enchanting folk motifs and forceful form. Dhokra horses, elephants, peacocks, owls, religious images, measuring bowls, and lamp caskets etc., are highly appreciated.
The process of dhokra craft is long but the product is sure worth the wait. The lost wax casting technique used can be summarized as follows:
The first task in the casting process consists of developing a clay core which is roughly the shape of the final cast image. Next, the clay core is covered by a layer of wax composed of pure bee’s wax, resin from the tree Damara orientalis, and nut oil. The wax is then shaped and carved in all its finer details of design and decorations. It is then covered with layers of clay, which takes the negative form of the wax on the inside, thus becoming a mould for the metal that will be poured inside it. Drain ducts are left for the wax, which melts away when the clay is cooked. The wax is then replaced by the molten metal, often using brass scrap as basic raw material. The liquid metal poured in hardens between the core and the inner surface of the mould. The metal fills the mould and takes the same shape as the wax. The outer layer of clay is then chipped off and the metal icon is polished and finished as desired.
Here is a detailed video of the process. It is in hindi, but the process is the same as explained above.
Some finished products:
Lord Ganesh on a carriage pulled by his ‘vahan’ mouse:
A dhokra frame:
Bidriware is the most well known of Andhra’s handicrafts – a metal craft that derives its name from ‘Bidar’, the hometown of this exquisite craft. It is an art of inlaying silver on black metal and it is believed that this ancient and eye-catching craft entered India more than 4000 years ago from the culture-rich Persians, Syrians and Iranians. If one were to believe the craftsmen themselves, they say that the art originated in Iran seven centuries ago. It was brought down by migrants.
There are four main stages in the manufacture of Bidri. They are casting, engraving, inlaying and oxidising.
Behind the breathtaking beauty of Bidri lies hours of painstaking effort by the artisan. The original technique involved the inlaying of gold or silver on a steel or copper base. This method had its origins in Persia. However, the metal used for the base today is an alloy of zinc and copper because zinc gives the alloy a deep black color. It is engraved or overlaid with silver or brass. After casting and moulding, the surface is filed smooth till it acquires the typical Bidri sheen. It is then temporarily blackened with copper sulphate solution and etched into a traditional design using a sharp iron tool.
The designs are traced by hand, by the craftsmen with the help of chisels. Next, pure silver wire or sheet (gold in rare cases) is hammered into the grooves of the design and the surface smoothened with the help of a buffing machine. In the ultimate interesting stage, the articles are heated gently and treated with a solution of sal-ammoniac and earth taken from old fort buildings which has the effect of making the entire surface turn jet black providing a distinct contrast to the shining silver inlay.
Typical Bidri items include plates, bowls, vases, ashtrays, trinket boxes, huqqa bases, jewellery etc. Glass and studded bangles of Bidri are a favourite with women.
Kashmiri embroidery or kashida is colourful and beautiful as Kashmir itself. Embroiders often draw inspiration from the nature around. Motifs of flowers, creepers and chinar leaves, mango etc. are the most common ones.
The base cloth whether wool or cotton, is generally white or crème or other similar shades. Pastel colors are also often used. The craftsmen use the color shades often blending with the background.
Cushion Covers:
Very few stitches are used on one fabric. At times the whole fabric is done in a single stitch type. These stitches are often called Kashmiri stitch. Kashmiri embroidery is known for the skilled execution of a single stitch. Chain stitch, satin stitch, the slanted darn stitch, stem, herringbone and sometimes the doori or knot stitches are used but not more than one or two at a time.
Kashida is now done on darker backgrounds as well.
Kashmiri embroidery on shawls:
Kashmiri embroidery on clothes:
Zardozi is an ancient Persian art (Zar in Persian means gold and Dozi is embroidery) which has been passed down for many generations. It dates back before the Mughal empire, reaching its zenith under the patronage of Emperor Akbar in the 17th century. Zardozi adorned the costumes of the court, wall hanging, scabbards, regal side walls of tents and the rich trappings of elephants and horses. Intricate patterns traced in gold and silver, studded with seed pearls and precious stones enhanced the shimmering beauty of silk, velvet and brocade.
Zardozi is fashioned with a needle that resembles a very small crochet hook which is used to run up and down through the cloth, much like a sewing machine, while the cloth is pulled tightly over a large wooden frame. Zardozi has remained as an appliqué method of embroidery. With one hand the craftsman holds a retaining thread below the fabric. In the other he holds a hook or a needle with which he picks up the appliqué materials. Then he passes the needle or hook through the fabric. After days of painstaking labor, the result is an exquisite gold-veined work of art.
Zardozi Rakhis:
Zardozi frame:
Zardozi purses:
Zardozi clutch:
Zardozi Christmas tree decorations:
Draw preliminary lines with charcoal, usually made of burnt tamarind twigs. Dip the kalam in iron black solution. The woollen ball attached to the reed absorbs the dye. The artist then drags the kalam in upright position on the cloth, slightly squeezing the woolen ball. The dye on contact with the myrobalan treated cloth turns in to black. (Reaction of Fe. Acetate on Tannin)
The cloth is soaked in sheep’s dung solution and squeezed a little and kept wet over night.
Rustic Jewels 