Heritage legacy since 11th century: Patan ka Patola


www.youtube.com


Patola sarees flourishes from Patan, situated 127 km from Ahemdabad located in Gujarat. Patola are double ikat woven silk saree which has preserved India’s affluent and ancient heritage in textiles since 11th century.  In the Gujarati families, patola saree is well chosen to bring luck and prosperity and every square in the saree personifies security in all spheres of the life. The authentic work doesn’t involve any computers or power looms. One saree is made with great patience, deep focus, deliberate dedication and hard work. The handmade authentic patola sarees are prominent for its colorful divergence and geometrical designs and its display lures the connoisseur of exquisite textiles.

Most significant is the Bandhani process which involves complex and hard technique of tie and dyeing horizontally and vertically before weaving. Paintings in Ajanta caves have the earmarks of Patola’s tie-dyeing artistry. This process is build using natural dyes such as indigo, turmeric, Natural lakh, manjistha, katha, pomengrate skin, henna, marigold flower, ratnajyot etc which has given patan patolas their eco- friendly status.

Patola has an aristocratic past. According to legends King Kumarpal of Solanki Empire called 700 families of Patola weavers from Maharashtra and Karnataka regions to settle down in North Gujarat and endure their traditional art. Today, out of 700 families only 3 Salvi families are left to nourish this art. Thus, this craft is becoming endangered.

The ethnic and time- honored styles comprises of Chowkadi( square), Chhabdi( basket), laheriya( strips), narikunjer, navratna, paan( leaf), phulwadi( floral), panchphul( five flowers) and sarvariya etc. 

Patola weaving is an extremely skillful craft which lasts over 300 years.  A single saree is shaped within a time span of one to two years and ranges from 1.5   to 10 lakhs and sometimes even costlier than this.

This craft faces threat of extinction and if this heritage craft should be preserved, then future generations should acquire this skill for its survival.



Location: New Delhi, Delhi, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THEYYAM- A Ritual Art Form

Image
                                                                                      economydecoded.com     Theyyam is a popular, traditional and ritualistic art form of worship of North Malabar region in Kerala. This ritual of sacred dance is performed before the shrines by the people of few lower castes and tribal communities of Malabar like Vannan, Malayan, Mavilan, Velan and Pulayan and is believed to bring about well being for the society as well as the family. Theyyam is not merely a unique combination of dance and music (both vocal and instrumental) whereas it is a product of synthesis of various art forms such as painting, sculpture, architecture, costume- making, designing and also literature. The performers of Theyyam attribute great preponderancy to the worship of heroes, ancestral spirits and spiritual deities. It is considered that he immortal deity enters the mortal body and performs the ritual.  Either the person who perform theyyam or his companions first reci
Read more

BLACK POTTERY Of NIZAMABAD: A magnificent artistry by potters

Image
India has rich and diverse cultural heritage in the traditional crafts and its history is an old saga. One of the craft is the Black pottery of Nizamabad.        This craft is a wonderful amalgamation of concept, design and execution by the potters of Nizamabad, a small township in Azamgarh District of Uttar Pradesh, located on the banks of river Tamsa. It is a unique type of clay pottery well known for its black colored lustrous body with silver pattern work embossed on it. The alluring beauty of the pottery lies in love that skilled craftsman put into it. The small community of Kumhars, known as traditional potters adds magic to the jet black body by engraving beautiful designs that may be floral, geometric and abstract. All age groups of the 200 families of the community such as women, children, men, elderly takes part in their art with great interest and greater number of their works are shipped. This artistry started from Kutch, Gujarat and afterwards mo
Read more

WARLI: A quintessential tribal folk art of Maharashtra

Image
Tribal communities have contributed enormously in developing a rich heritage of our country as well as sustaining their tangible and intangible culture hence, it is really important to understand their cultural milieu as they are prominent section of the society.  Every tribal hamlet in India owns a significant art and skills and is enriched with diverse traditions and folklore.  One of all the tribal arts is Warli, inherited from the indigenous tribal community of Adivasis residing in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Gujarat and enclosing areas. Warli is a traditional folk-art of Maharashtra which is created collectively by 2 to 10 tribal married women, called as Suhasini within their community. Warli painting is different from other folk painting traditions of India in many important aspects. They don’t narrate mythological stories like the Madhubani paintings of Mithila do. On the contrary they depict social life and daily events. According to Jivya Mahse, a best i
Read more