Ranki

Pattachitra is a common term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal. In Sanskrit, Patta  means cloth and chitra means picture .  One of the ancient artwork of Odisha Pattachitra is originally created for rituals use and as souvenirs for Pilgrims to Puri, as well as other temples of Odisha while Bengali Pattachitras are originally present as a visual device during the performance of a song.   Technique    The studio of patta Painting is the home of the chitrakars (painter) . woman members of family make the glue, the canvas, fill the colors and the male members draws the initial line and gives the final finishing.   The canvas is prepared by coating the clothing with a mixture of chalk and gum made from tamarind seeds, after rubbing it with two different stones and then dried. Which gives a leathery finish on which the vegetable, earth and stone colors are p...

The  history of this fabric goes back to the 19th century in a place called Chirala, in coastal Andhra Pradesh. ‘Telia’ means oil, and 'Rumal' means handkerchief. Telia Rumal has been the mainstay of Ikat in Andhra. Having originated in Chirala, the skills later spread to Nalgonda district.  Chirala’s proximity to the sea enabled exports to Africa and Arabia, where it was used to make keffiyehs and turbans. The Telia Rumal, meant for the Middle-Eastern market, was worn primarily around the neck for its 'tel' (oil), to keep dryness at bay. Urbanisation and globalisation of consumer tastes have not robbed telia rumal of their place in India's cultural and social life. This fabric was a hot seller in Andhra Pradesh for about 20-25 years. At that time, the designs used to be simple stars and dots representations. But when this fabric came to the Telangana region, the design underwent dramatic changes. Such was their skill, the dyers/weavers could...