India's dying crafts get a shot in the arm at the Paramparik Karigar exhibition, now in its fifteenth year

India's dying crafts get a shot in the arm at the Paramparik Karigar exhibition, now in its fifteenth year

Fabrics in bright reds, purples and greens with floral designs and animal motifs flow in abundance at the Paramparik Karigar textile exhibition.

Dayaben Dohat from Gujarat offers fabrics with Soof embroidery that
are known for neat single-line stitches. pics/ santosh nagwekar

Paramparik Karigar is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting traditional crafts that preserve the ethnic diversity of Indian culture. "Several ancient crafts are dying out due to sheer neglect. We decided to remedy this by organising exhibitions, video documenting the stories behind each craft, and conducting residency programmes and workshops," says Anu Chowdhury Sorabjee, organising committee member, Paramparik Karigar.

Actress Kirron Kher, who bought Soof embroidered sarees from Gujarat, tribal art sarees from Orissa and Kantha sarees from West Bengal, when she attended the exhibition earlier in the week says, "We can help prevent these crafts from going off market by wearing these textiles. The fabrics are made by National-award winning craftsmen and are family heirlooms."

ON: Tomorrow, from 10.30 am
To 6.30 pm
AT: Coomaraswamy Hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vaastu Sangrahalaya (formerly Prince of Wales Museum),
Kala Ghoda.

Top 5 picks at the textile exhibition
Kantha sarees from West Bengal
Takdira Begam is a 56 year-old artisan from Bolpur village in Birbhun district of West Bengal. She belongs to a family that has been making Kantha sarees for over three generations.

Three members of her family have even won the National Award for their embroidered fabrics, which depicted scenes from Hindu mythology. Takdira makes everything from dupattas to bed covers, and her designs can take up to four months to complete.
Prices start at Rs 1,500 for dupattas and Rs 3,000 for sarees.

Soof embroidery from Gujarat
Soof (neat) embroidery gets its name from the precision of outlines created from a single stitch. The geometric designs are created by inserting the needle from behind the fabric so that the designs appear in front.

"Fabrics embellished with Soof designs were given as gifts during weddings, but are now used on sarees, blouses and dupattas. Elephants, camels, fruits and flowers are common motifs," explains Dayaben Dohat from Gujarat, who runs Parker Hand Embroidery.
Prices start at Rs 5,000 for sarees and Rs 100 for mobile cases.

Tussar silks from Chhattisgarh
"Making Tussar sarees is a painstaking process, as it requires the artisan to start from scratch," says Ganga Yamuna Bunkar, who sells handmade Tussar sarees. "We buy silk worms by the basket to make the thread. It takes us four days to get just 100 gm of thread," he adds.

The Chhattisgarh artisans are known for their special 'temple' borders, akin to a triangle. Thereafter, they unravel the thread and spin it into single or two-toned sarees.
Price start at Rs 3,000 for sarees.

Tribal Ikkat fabric from Orissa
Kapileshwar Mohonto from the Kotpad village in Orissa came to Mumbai with a one-way ticket and a few Ikkat sarees made from the single-weave loom in his home. He was soon able to educate his children and add six more looms to his workshop. Kapileshwar's sarees are characterised by tribal motifs of fish, animals and geometric patterns in white, maroon and brown.

"We dip the threads in a mixture of wood ash, cow dung and iron, which is boiled and left to dry for 15 days and then washed in river water to solidify the colours. We use only vegetable dyes," he says. Women typically make the dyes, while men do the weaving.
Prices start at Rs 350 for cotton stoles; Rs 1,500 for cotton sarees; Rs 500 for Tussar silk stoles and Rs 3,000 for Tussar silk sarees.

Bagru prints from Rajasthan
Bagru block-printing is a 450-year old technique that has put Bagru, the village located 25 km from Jaipur, on the map. "It is tough to sustain this craft as it requires the threads to be dipped in a lot of water and we live in a drought-prone area," explains artisan Lal Chand Chhipa.

He has had to make do with a bore well to supply the 50,000 litres of groundwater needed for the craft. The dyes are extracted from natural sources like pomegranate peel, turmeric, sesame oil and lime. Their indigo (blue) fabrics are a good choice to wear, particularly in muggy cities like Mumbai. "Extracts from the indigo plant absorb body odour, and act like a deodorant of sorts," he adds.
Prices start at Rs 400 onwards for stoles and Rs 5,000 for sarees.