Indian Stone Carving in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh is undoubtedly still a prosperous centre of natural stone carvings on sandstone. The footprints of royal enchantment with regard to stone are generally still observable in the elaborately carved forts as well as palaces. Today the emphasis has shifted to looking at a wide selection of additional stones and items. Creative art enthusiasts [...]
Building a Maypole for May Day Celebrations
It’s actually very easy to build a smaller version of the traditional Maypole without spending a lot of money. All that you need is a garden clothes line upright or simple metal or wooden pole which can be sunk into a grassy lawn. This needs to be tested to insure the excited tugs of children [...]
Chikankari~ Traditional Embroidery from Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh (India), is the centre of chikankari , a skill of more than 200 years old. It literally means “embroidery”. It was originally done with a white thread on a white cloth, hence the name “white embroidery”. Now, it is done on a variety of fabrics and in a spectrum of [...]
Karnataka Sandalwood Carving – The ‘Sandalwood State of India’
The Indian state of Karnataka is often referred to as the ‘Sandalwood State of India’. This is due to the stunning sandalwood carvings and craft work found in this southern part of India. The Karnataka state has a large forested area where the trees that yield sandalwood are common. These mainly include the Santalum and [...]
Traditional Gujarati Mashru Weaving
It’s believed Mashru weaving originated in Arab nations, most notably Iraq. Indeed, the very word comes from the Arabic meaning “permitted”. This name signified the prohibition of pure silk garments for Muslim men due to Islamic Laws. The spread of Mashru weaving was probably aided by the development of Islam in India. In earlier history, [...]
Kantha Embroidery of West Bengal
Kantha embroidery is a popular type of craft created in the West Bengal region of India and the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. It’s as popular as ever amongst rural women who keep the traditions of this special craft alive. Kantha can be translated as ‘patched cloth’ although in the ancient language of Sanskrit and with [...]
