Rajasthan

Kota Doria is a fabric made of both cotton and silk. As the name suggests, it is mainly woven in a small town called Kaithoon in the district of Kota. The word ‘Doria’ comes from the Hindi term dori, meaning thread. Kota Doria is finely woven in simple pit looms at homes and is known for its low yarn count. The most notable feature of the fabric is its attractive square patterns, known as khats, of different sizes and colours. Kota Doria is decorated mostly with embellishing borders, zari work and different types of floral patterns known as bhuti. 

In a Kota Doria fabric, the proportion of cotton is more than silk. The most common practice is to use eight cotton and six silk yarns for making one square or khat. It is the combination of both silk and cotton that makes the product strong as well as soft. Widely favoured for its light-weight, the process of producing a Kota Doria involves various stages. These include winding, warping, dyeing, sizing, weaving, embroidery, etc. While initially Kota Doria was used only for making sarees, its range has diversified now to include kurtas, dupattas and other apparels. The light-weight and exquisite Kota Doria fabric is especially favoured in the scorching summers.

Rajasthan is popular for its colourful, resist-dyed fabrics, one of which is the beautiful, striped Leheriya. The diagonal stripes are inspired by the wave (leher) of wind blowing across the desert sands of Rajasthan. The Leheriya was patronised by the Rajput kings, who mostly preferred this technique for decorating their turban cloths. 

In resist-dyeing, the fabric is tied at different intervals before dyeing. The tied portions resist the dye, and thus, once the knots are opened, interesting patterns are formed on the fabric consisting of dyed and undyed parts. In Leheriya, the fabric commonly used includes very fine silk or cotton that absorbs the dyes well. The typical wavy patterns are acquired by folding the fabric diagonally before the process of tying begins. The folded fabric is then rolled and wound around a cylindrical, short wooden pole mounted on a stand. As the process of tying begins, the artisans start from the loose end of the fabric around the pole, and keep unwinding it as the tying progresses. These artisans, mostly women, are known as bandhere, who usually perform the tying process at their homes. The tied portion is first soaked in water to test its capacity to absorb the colour of the dye. Subsequently, the fabric is immersed in a large vessel of dye. Once the process of dyeing is over, the fabric is dried. The beautiful Leheriya patterns become visible once the resist ties are removed. 

Besides, turban cloths or Safa this fabric is also favoured for products like dupattas, sarees and others. The different colours of the vibrant Leheriya have their own significance for the wearers. For instance, the bright pink Leheriya is considered auspicious for brides and  is worn on special occasions. Today, Jaipur and Jodhpur are among the important centres where the stunning, colourful, wavy Leheriya is produced. 

Bandhej or Bandhani is a type of resist-dyed fabric produced in Rajasthan and Gujarat and is popular for its fine dots and intricate designs. Besides the dots, the design also includes shapes of tiny boxes called dabbi, sweetmeats termed laddu and cowrie cells named kori. In Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur are important centers of Bandhej production. It is done on fine cotton and silk fabrics, which are used as odhani for women, turban cloth for men and also stitched into garments like skirts and bodices. 

For Bandhej, the required designs are first made on the fabric, which is then tied at different intervals. To tie, the cloth is plucked with long fingernails and knotted with threads. This is a process almost exclusively performed by women. The knotted fabric is then dyed using natural colours, mostly black, red, green and yellow. The function of knots is to resist the dye applied to the rest of the fabric. Once the dyed fabric is dry, the knots are opened to reveal the undyed parts, creating beautiful patterns. Depending on the kind of knot made, the fabric displays a variety of colourful designs comprising both the dyed and undyed portions.

The state of Rajasthan is well-known for its centuries-old hand block printing. The primary tools for block printing include different sizes and shapes of wooden blocks prepared on the basis of the required designs. These blocks are usually made from teak or sheesham wood. The designs to be printed on the textiles are firstly prepared on paper and subsequently carved on the flat side of a block of wood. Metal blocks are also used sometimes to develop intricate patterns and better clarity in prints. The fabric to be printed is cleaned, firmly placed on a table, and marked with desired patterns using scale and chalk. Thereafter, the blocks are dipped in dyes and carefully placed on the fabric to obtain beautiful designs. The various motifs on the fabric are usually highlighted using separate blocks of different colours, shapes and patterns. The commonly used colours for block printing are black, red and maroon. These are used to print a range of designs including circular, linear and floral patterns. 

Sanganer and Bagru are two prominent centers for hand block printing. The Bagru prints are usually done on fabrics with off-white, ivory white and beige backgrounds. The designs and styles of the Sanganeri block prints are mostly inspired by different natural elements including flowers, fruits, animals and several geometric figures. It is popular for its delicate and colourful lines, which are mostly printed in blue, green and yellow colours against a white background. It is said that this textile art has been practised in Sanganer since the 12th century, and today it is the Chhipa community that is primarily engaged in producing block-printed textile in Sanganer.

One of the most interesting textile art forms in Rajasthan is the unique Dabu print. The Dabu or mud-resist printing is an amalgamation of techniques of block printing and resist-dyeing. The fabric here is first cleaned, marked with required designs, and printed using hand blocks (mostly wooden). The hand blocks are dipped in dyes and carefully pressed on the fabrics to produce different patterns and motifs. 

Thereafter a mixture or paste is prepared using mud, jaggery, gum, waste wheat chaff, lime and water. This mixture is then carefully applied to certain portions of the printed fabric and left to dry. To make the drying faster, sawdust is sprinkled on the mixture. Once it completely dries, the cloth is soaked on a vat of dye. The mud mixture acts as the element that resists the dye, which is applied to the rest of the cloth. The coloured fabric is then properly washed to remove the mud as well as excess dye. This reveals the parts that were under the mud paste and hence left undyed, producing beautiful patterns alongside the dyed portions. The village of Akola in Rajasthan is one of the most important centers engaged in producing Dabu printed textiles today.

This state celebrates a rich heritage of textile painting, one of which is the phad or scroll painting. This art form is practiced mainly by the families of painters belonging to the Joshi lineage of the Chhipa community, residing in the Bhilwara district. Made on large cotton or silk scrolls, the phad paintings are religious in nature, narrating different tales of local deities and heroes dressed in traditional Rajasthani attires and headgear. The phad is packed with vivid representations of humans, trees and flowers, animals and architectural structures.

Episodes from the epic of Pabuji and tales of Devnarayanji are most commonly depicted on these long, horizontal scrolls. The phad paintings are known for their roundish figures, the outlines of which are first drawn in black and later filled with bright colours. Each colour denotes certain emotions, for instance, red is used for bravery, while green is used for jealousy. Local priests or Bhopas carry the phad from one place to another, where they display the painting and perform musical renditions of the stories depicted therein. 

The word Pichwai, literally translating to ‘back hanging’, refers to religious cloth paintings to be hung behind idols in temples. The history of Pichwai is associated particularly with the Pushtimarga sect, founded in the turn of the 16th century by the Vaishnava saint Vallabhacharya. This sect primarily worshipped Shrinathji, the youthful form of Lord Krishna, as an avatara of Vishnu. The main temple of Shrinathji is located in the town of Nathdwara, a few kilometers northeast of Udaipur. It is from this temple, more than three centuries ago, that the Pichwai art form is said to have originated. 

The Pichwai paintings are large, devotional cloth hangings displayed as backgrounds for Shrinathji’s icon in his shrines. For making a Pichwai, required images are first carefully sketched on the fabric (mostly cotton). It is then painted using natural colours made from zinc, coal, saffron etc. In the paintings one can see varied depictions of Shrinathji, often surrounded by bright flora and fauna, cows and peacocks in vivid colours. At times the paintings are decorated with gold threads and heavy embroidery. The Pichwai has now gained immense popularity and can be found not only in the temples, but also in the homes of people and other personal settings.

Gota Patti is a special applique work from Rajasthan that makes use of small pieces of golden lace. Also known as ‘lappe ka kaam’, it is used to decorate a variety of garments like sarees, dupattas, ghagras and others. Fabrics of different materials such as cotton, silk, georgette and chiffon may be used for Gota Patti. The fabric is first spread on a wooden frame and marked with the required design using chalk paste. This process is known as Chapaayi or printing. Once the design is transferred on fabric, it is ready for the process of Takaayi or stitching. The Gota or lace that is stitched on the fabric is first woven using cotton and metal threads. These are then cut into small circular, floral or leaf shapes and stitched on the fabric in different combinations to create elaborate designs of flowers, paisleys, humans, animals, peacocks etc. These decorated fabrics are then stitched into the required garments. The Gota Patti work gives a lavish look to the clothes and apparel to be worn on special occasions. 

Apart from Gota Patti, the applique work or stitching of small pieces of fabric on a larger cloth is practised in many other parts of Rajasthan. Barmer, Jaiselmer and Jodhpur are some of the places where it is done extensively. Fabrics meant for different purposes like saddles for camels, Pichwai, quilts and others are decorated by stitching small pieces of clothes on them to form interesting patterns. 

Rajasthan is known for its large varieties of embroidery, including Sujani, Aari, Mochi Bharat, Rabari embroidery and various others. One of these is the four hundred-year-old Danka embroidery or Danke ka kaam, which is practised today by a few artisans in Udaipur. It is a very labour intensive and time-consuming process that first requires the preparation of the Danka or small square plates.

These were originally made of pure gold sheets, however, now silver sheets are electroplated with gold for making the Danka. These electroplated sheets are then cleaned and polished with fine sand before cutting them into small squares. These squares or Danka are then processed further and made ready to be stitched onto fabrics of different materials like chiffon or silk. The Danka pieces are carefully spread on the fabric as per the design and stitched using silver or gold wire. These pieces are combined to form beautiful motifs of flowers, leaves, paisleys and others. The Danka embroidered fabric is exquisite and heavy with designs making it an object of rare beauty.