India has a long history with kites. Most people believe that Chinese travelers Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang brought kites to India, but kites evolved on their own in India, and today Indian kites are almost exclusively fighter kites. Tissue paper and bamboo are used to make them, and almost all Indian kites have the…
Category: decor
Mata Ni Pachedi
Mata, Shakti, and Devi are mythological names that conjure up vivid ideas. Goddess’s many forms are imagined by the Chitara families of Gujarat’s roaming Waghris tribe as hand-painted or block-printed images on textiles, surrounded by stories from mythology, epics, and folklore. The term ‘Mata-ni-Pachedi’ literally means ‘that which enshrines the Goddess.’ This craft has been…
FOLK ART ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING FOLK TALE
The patronized folk art which is believed to have originated in 200BC during the rule of Satavahana dynasty is Leather Puppetry. Born in the rich region of Andhra Pradesh, the leather puppets are intimately linked to the state’s unique traditional folk and cultural expression. “Tholu Bommalata” (dance of leather dolls) is one of the oldest…
Marble Craft
Rajasthan, a geographically old region noted for its abundance of hard shakes such as rocks, marbles, quartzite, slates, and other transforming rocks, has long been a stone carver’s paradise. The Rajasthani maker has been able to construct substantial and beautiful castles, royal palaces, and sanctuaries since medieval times, because of the ready availability of magnificent…