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Rajasthan Arts & Crafts
When it comes to sheer variety, beauty and brilliance, the hadicrafts
of Rajasthan are hard to beat. From elegant meeakari work to beautiful
block prints; from chunky silver jewellery to camel leather jootis,
this states craftsmen (and women!) produce a mind boggling
array of goods that make for stunning souvenirs. Look out theses:
Textiles: Rajasthan is known for its excellent cotton
fabric, and the variety of forms the cloth is available in is
truly amazing. The towns of Sanganer and Bagru (both near jaipur)
produce the highly popular block printed cloth, which created,
usually in floral patterns, using vegetable dyes.
Jewellery: Rajasthans people both women as well
as men wear a lot of jewellery, and the production of jewellery,
in silver, gold and precious stones, ranks as a major craft in
the state. Chunky silver jewellery, in the form of earrings, necklaces,
anklets and armlets is highly popular in rural Rajasthan, and
is sometimes embellished with bits of coloured glass.
Woodwork: The desert may not produce too much wood, but
what there is along with wood imported from other parts
of India is beautifully worked by local craftsmen into
excellent statues, furniture and other objects dart.
Stoneware: Rajasthan is famous for its stone: whether
it is the lovely golden beige sandstone of the desert, the famous
greenish blue or brown limestone know as kota stone; or the stunning
white marble from Makrana.
Pottery: Although it is a big difficult to pack and take
away due to chances of breaking Rajasthans
fascinating range of pottery and earthenware is worth looking
over. Different parts of the state have their own distinct styles
of pottery Alwar, for instance, is famous for its thing
earthenware know as kagzi pottery; the village of Mollela is renowned
for its terracotta ware especially its fine reliefs of deities
such as Ganesh; while Jaipur, the capital, is famed for its blue
pottery.
Pichhwai: A traditional art of Nathdwara, pichhwai is
inextricably tied up with Nathdwaras guardian deity, Krishna,
for this form of art always depicts Krishna himself, in his different
forms and moods.
Mural Painting: Murals are used very extensively in decorating
walls all across Rajasthan not just in splendid medieval
mansions but also in modest huts. The style of mural painting in
Rajasthan uses a base of wet limestone plaster; onto this, a design
is painted in vegetable dyes and then allowed to dry out before
a second layer of plaster is applied and repainted with the design.
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