Handloom and Handicraft

Tangaliya weaving is practiced in the Surendranagar district of Gujarat. It is a unique art with dotted splendor and is also known as Daana weaving. The name Tangaliya is derived from the word Tang (leg) means a lower part of the body as Tangaliya was traditionally draped around the waist. This indigenous craft has a history of around 700 years rooted in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The Dangasia (Shepherd) community of this region has knowledge of the Tangaliya weaving technique. Weaving used to carry out in 26 villages by this community. The distinctiveness of this weaving is twisting extra weft while weaving created on both sides of the fabric which creates beautiful dotted geometrical patterns and forms. As artisans say Tangaliya originated with the love story of a young boy from the Shepherd community and a girl from the weaving community. The boy fell in love with a girl from the weaver community and married her but displeased his family and they didn’t welcome this couple. T...

  Toda embroidery is a distinct style of embroidery of Toda tribal community of Nilgiri district in Tamil Nadu. It is locally known as ‘Pugur’, which means flower.  The embroidery is so fine that fabric looks like woven cloth. Both sides of the embroidered fabric are usable. Tribe forwards this unique style of embroidery from generation to generation. Toda people are proud of this unique heritage. Toda embroidery is part of their daily life as they wear thick traditional garments with hand embroidery. More than 300 Toda women are dependent on this profession. They are very expert in embroidery on the surface of plain cotton material. The local term for the embroidery work used by artisans are ‘kuty’ or ‘awtty’ meaning stitching and ‘kutyvoy’ means the embroidered piece. The embroidered shawl is called “Puthukuli” in local terms. Young Toda girls learn this craft by observing the works done by the elders of the community. As a custom of the community , dead body is alway...

  Kashmir is a heaven in the world not only for its natural beauty in the form of lakes, valley and meadows, etc. but also for the handicraft prepared by Kashmiri Artisans. Among all handicrafts, Pashmina shawl is one of the prominent handicrafts in India. Pashmina, the name comes from the Persian word Pashm which means “Wool” and the meaning of Pashmina is “Made from Wool”.  It is known for its fineness, warmth and softness in fashion. Pashmina shawls are developed by hand spinning and hand weaving to give them long life which may go up to 25 years. Pashmina shawl has also received Geographic Indication in India.       The Pashmina wool comes from different breeds of Cashmere goat; such as the changthangi or pashmina goat from the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh region, malra from the Kargil area in the Ladakh region, the chegu from Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas of northern India, and the chyangara or Nepalese pashmina goat from Nepal.  Cashmere ...