The biggest exhibition of Indian textiles and clothing in Asean offers an insight into India’s age-old textile heritage, writes Intan Maizura Ahmad Kamal
THERE’s no way anyone could’ve missed the bobbing head of Shri Badshah Mian with his striking rainbow-coloured turban. One of India’s national award winners, the 57-year-old’s expertise lies in tie and dye design, a craft that has been passed down through seven generations of his family. He’s hoping his two sons will continue the tradition.
Just opposite the walkway from Shri is an equally colourful Karmabai Merubhai Goradiya, looking resplendent in her Banni embroidered traditional dress complete with neck accessories and veil. Also a national awardee, the shy Karmabai’s forte lies in Banni embroidery, one of the ethnic styles of embroidery of Kutch (Gujrat).
Shri and Karmabai were among the 10 Indian traditional textile artisans present at the recently concluded Intexpo, the biggest exposition of Indian textiles and clothing in the Asean region at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
The event not only gave international buyers and visitors the opportunity to view the latest products that modern India has to offer but also gain a better insight into the country’s age-old heritage in textiles. Housed in a themed pavilion, the artisans, who came from various parts of India, were on hand to demonstrate their intricate skills.
The story of Indian handicrafts dates back to the beginning of the Indian civilisation. Indians have been creating artefacts with unimaginable designs as objects of adoration for the temples ever since the dawn of history. These objects travelled through time to assume variegated forms with unmatched functional values, embellished by some of the most inimitable aesthetics.
Beginning as temple crafts, the handicrafts slowly permeated every aspect of daily life. Today, the handicrafts come in numerous designs and materials and undergo various processes.
The industry produces one of the widest ranges of lifestyle and utility products. A workforce of more than six million forms the backbone of the Indian handicrafts industry. Armed with inherited skills, techniques and traditional craftsmanship, the industry is highly labour-intensive and decentralised and is spread out all over the country, both in rural and urban areas.
TIE AND DYE
Eyes lighting up with pride, Shri confides that his forefathers originated from the state of Rajasthan and produced exquisite works for the Maharajas.
“If you go to Rajasthan you’ll see various designs and patterns of tie and dye,” he says with a smile. “Rajasthanis love wearing various styles of this art and their costumes are more vibrant because of it.”
Tie and dye designs or bandhni are very popular, and because of its uniqueness — no two designs are the same as it’s all handmade — can be found in many exclusive boutiques in India. You can find elegant pieces of tie and dye ranging from saris, handkerchiefs, shawls, lehanga choli (long skirt and blouse), turbans, tops, bedsheets, cushion covers and pillow covers to table cloths and many more.
Rajasthan is famous for its leheriya pattern, which literally means waves. These are harmoniously-arranged diagonal stripes, originally dyed in the auspicious colours of yellow and red. The material is rolled diagonally and certain portions are resisted by lightly binding the threads a short distance from one another before the cloth is dyed. Much skill is required when the distance is shorter because you don’t want one colour to spill onto the other. The dyeing process is repeated until the desired number of colour is achieved.
The colours are derived from mixing pigments from different plants. “Every colour is organic,” explains Shri. Pointing to the ingredients, he adds: “Coffee seeds give a brown colour, while the turmeric roots give me yellow. Pomegranate and the betel nut offer different shades of brown while these madder roots give me the vibrant pink colour.”
How does he know what colours he’ll get? “There’s no science, no calculation, just judgement,” says Shri with a shrug.
The process of making bandhni (tie and dye) as well as patterns, designs and craftsmanship vary from one region to another. Rajasthan and Gujarat are the main hubs where this art flourishes. Rajasthan craftsmen, says Shri, are easily recognised because they grow a nail on their little finger to make it easy for them to lift the cloth for tying. Sometimes they wear a small metal ring with a point.
BANNI EMBROIDERY
Karmabai strikes a pose for the camera. Banni embroidery used to be the best means by which women, especially those from the rural areas, expressed their lives, dreams and desires.
Taking a small embroidered sling bag from the pile of table runners, wall decorations, handbags and handphone holders in front of Karmabai, I express my admiration for the fine handiwork. She beams but is unable to converse due to the language barrier.
Never mind — there are plenty of information boards around.
Embroidery, which is essentially meant to strengthen the fabric and to decorate it, is an important part of the household tradition of the different communities in India. The Banni embroidery is one of the ethnic styles of embroidery of the Kutch (Gujarat), which has a large number of settlers from Central Asia.
THE DESIGN
This type of embroidery is very popular because of the intricacy and richness of the design. Silk floss is used to create the pattern on the fabric. To begin, the design is first marked on the cloth either by free-hand drawing or by tracing, and then followed by the outlines of the design. The filling is done using needle and coloured silk/cotton threads.
The thread is fed from below and is pulled up with an awl and comes up like a loop. The second loop is then pulled forward. This creates the chain-stitch effect, which gives the strong linear patterns.
You can’t fail to be captivated by the delicate weaves on the fabric. The additional use of mirrors in the buttonhole, which are studded using the chain-stitch pattern on the cloth, helps to enhance the overall effect.
KALAMKARI/HAND PRINTING
Hunched over a large piece of cloth with charcoal sketches of Indian deities, his hand gripping a small brush and his face full of concentration is Shri M. Viswanath Reddy, who comes from Andhra Pradesh and is another of India’s award recipients for his Kalamkari works.
The word Kalamkari comes from the Persian words Kalam and Kari, which means drawing with a pen. While the technique has been around for centuries, the style as we know it today, actually emerged from the craft schools that sprang up under the patronage of the Mughal emperors three centuries ago.
There are two distinctive styles in India — the Srikalahasti style, and the Machalipatnam style. Viswanath practises the former, which uses a kalam or pen for free-hand drawing of the subject.
Demonstrating his handiwork, the earnest young man, who learnt his craft from his Kalam-artisan father, explains that to do this piece of art, he begins by first sketching the black outline using charcoal before filling the colours in. “I use all natural colours derived from seeds, flowers, roots — all vegetable dyes. We dip in the colours using this traditional kalam (pen). Depending on the design, it can take a couple of days or longer because it involves 17 painstaking steps.”
THE PEN
The Kalam is made from wooden pieces with arrangement for easy flow of colours. A small bamboo stick with a point is split to form a tip of about an inch. A bit of rug with wool is tied around about an inch from the point and is easily done with one finger that holds the brush. With this Kalam, the paint will run over the piece of cloth guided by the artist’s creative instincts.
This style of Kalam work flowered around temples so it’s not surprising that it has an almost religious identity. Scrolls, temple hangings, banners depict deities and scenes taken from the great Hindu epics and mythological classics.
-Textile facts
1. Indians use organic colour from substances such as coffee seeds for brown colour, turmeric roots for yellow, pomegranate and betel nut for different shades of brown and madder roots for vibrant pink.
2. Embroidery, besides forming beautiful and intricate patterns on otherwise plain fabric, is essentially meant to strengthen the fabric.
3. Kalamkari comes from the Persian words Kalam and Kari, which means drawing with a pen and is made out of 17 tedious steps.
source: http://www.nst.com.my / New Straits Times / Sunday Life & Times / by Intan Maizura Ahmad Kamal / January 08th, 2012