#Thread Most Indian art has some underlying spiritual meaning, as every little thing in this world is perceived as a divine creation. Even the humble #Kantha, once the recycling craft of the women of Bengal and Odisha, was a way to communicate with the Divine.
Women stitched together old, much washed sarees and dhotis and turned them into the softest, warmest quilts after embroidering them with motifs drawn from their own lives, culture, religious beliefs and nature. #Kantha was the art of story-telling and the stitches were the words.
In his book on quilts of India, Patrick Finn quotes a Sanskrit proverb that uses quilting as a metaphor. ‘Slowly one stitches rags, slowly one traverses the path, and slowly one climbs to the top of the mountain’. Did you know that there are special deities in India for rags?
Chindhadeo and Chindhadevi are the God and Goddess of rags, and even today, have temples dedicated to them. Maharashtra even has a village called Chindhadevi! The craft of quilting is the divine connection between the fingers that stitch old rags together and the Gods.
Today, #Kantha embroidery has undergone a metamorphosis. It is no longer the exclusive craft of recyclers. It is now an art form.
This exquisite Kantha bedspread has jungle motifs, a design theme inspired by the diversity of the flora and fauna found in the forests of India.
This theme has been popular in India since the pre-historic cave paintings of Bhimbetka. It is often seen used in varied art and craft forms. In Banarasi weaves, it is referred to as shikargah, in the brocade weave of Kanchipuram, it is referred to as Vanasingharam.
In #Kantha, it is called Anand kanan, the forest of joy. This quilt is exceptional due to the richness of its theme, the number of motifs and the neat finishing. It was created over a period of six months, with several women artisans working on it. Bought it at the @GoCoop1 expo

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More from @ShefVaidya

8 Sep
#thread So as per available info in the #punegangrape, 14 year old girl is called to pune station, allegedly by her 23 year old ‘peaceful’ friend at night. ‘Friend’ doesn’t turn up, but ‘peaceful’ autodriver knows exactly where to find the girl, and knows she is alone.
‘Peaceful’ autodriver takes her out of station, calls his ‘peaceful’ friends and they take the girl to multiple locations in two days including a lodge in Khadki and the girl is r@ped multiple times. In all this, her phone is switched off.
Two days later, peaceful gang is r@pists drop the girl on a bus to Mumbai, her phone works and she calls her ‘friend’, the same guy who didn’t turn up on day 1. Peaceful ‘friend’ doesn’t go to the cops, but takes the girl to Chandigarh!
Read 7 tweets
6 Aug
#Thread. ‘Handlooms are so expensive’ lament women who splurge on fancy shoes but have price issues about Handloom. For #NationalHandloomDay, showcasing the #sutaluga, a pocket friendly weave of Odisha! #MyHandloomMyPride @TexMinIndia @HTH_Odisha @odisha_tourism @PiyushGoyal
Badabag in Jagatsinghpur district of #Odisha is home to the slightly coarse cotton single Ikat sarees known simply as #sutaluga meaning ‘cotton saree’ in Oriya. These sarees were once the daily wear sarees for most women in Odisha #MyHandloomMyPride @odisha_tourism @arunbothra
Even today, these sarees carry a modest price tag that ranges between 800 - 2000 rupees. Woven using extra weft motifs and single ikat borders and pallus, #sutaluga sarees are elegant and drape well. This is a typical sutaluga pallu. @odisha_tourism @arunbothra #MyHandloomMyPride
Read 11 tweets
4 Aug
#Thread In the run-up to #HandloomDay day, will do a series on motifs. A motif is a symbolic image that is repeated to create a visual narrative. The word comes from the French word for pattern. Motifs used in Indian textiles are inspired by nature, and culture #MyHandloomMyPride
Motifs on Indian textiles are inspired by architecture, scriptures, religious beliefs, flaura n fauna n abstract patterns. Motifs tell a story. They serve a symbolic purpose that is beyond fashion. The trefoil motif seen on the priest king’s shawl from #harappa #MyHandloomMyPride
The peacock is one of the earliest motifs we see in Indian art. Found on Sindhu-Saraswati civilisation era pottery, the peacock is considered to be a symbol of immortality, courtship, rebirth, romantic love and fertility. #MyHandloomMyPride
Read 7 tweets
12 Jul
#Thread On the auspicious occasion of #RathaJatra21, showcasing the ancient art of #pattachitra, traditional paintings with scriptural narratives done on cloth. The village of #raghurajpur near Puri in Odisha is renowned for pattachitra. @odisha_tourism @arunbothra @PattachitraP
Pattachitra is a combination of two Sanskrit words patta, meaning cloth, and chitra, meaning picture. Pattachitras are known for their colours and themes drawn from Hindu epics, scriptures as well as from folktales. @pramila_mallick @odisha_tourism @PiyushGoyal
#pattachitra themes are usually based on Thia Badhia - depiction of Lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra, Krishna Lila, Dasabatara - the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Dasmahabidyas - ten aspects of Shakti and other themes from Hindu scriptures. @PattachitraP
Read 9 tweets
20 Jun
#thread on #blockprinting, India’s heritage. Do read and share. @silkmarkindia @csbmot @smritiirani @TexMinIndia. Block printing or छिपाई का काम is one of the oldest crafts of Bharata being continuously practised, with its history going back to the Sindhu Saraswati civilisation.
It is believed that the tre-foil design on the shawl of the statuette of the Priest King found in Hadappa excavation is an example of block printing. Our ancestors have known the art of dyeing and printing a fabric with desired motifs using wooden blocks for thousands of years.
Ancient Indians knew how to extract dyes from plants and minerals, they also knew the use of mordants to fix dyes. fragments of cotton with block prints from India found at Fustat in Egypt go back to the 16th century and are examples of Ajrakh and Bagru block printing from India
Read 9 tweets
14 Jun
#thread on #RajaParba, an unique three day festival of #Odisha that celebrates the feminine menstrual cycle. This year’s Raja Parba starts today. @odisha_tourism. @pramila_mallick @PandaJay @Naveen_Odisha. Please RT. Pic is of sand art by @sudarsansand on #rajaparba
Woke feminists will often tell you that Hindu dharma oppresses women. They will also tell you menstruation is considered to be ‘impure’. Nothing can be considered further from the truth.
All states in India have their own way to include and honour menstruation. #RajaParba
The beautiful state of #Odisha has a 3 day festival called Raja Parba that starts from today. The word ‘Raja’ comes from 'Rajaswala' which means a menstruating woman in Sanskrit & Parba means festival in Odia.

Raja Parba is Odisha’s way of celebrating womanhood.
Read 9 tweets

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