Rajasthan is unarguably the most colorful place in India and a thrilling land of brave and courteousness. It features unbeatable forts, magnificent palaces and waves of sand dunes and peaceful lakes. The entire state is identified by an unusual variety in all its aspects, be it people, culture, customs, costumes, cuisine,language and music. The same goes with the arts & crafts of Rajasthan as well. Since this land has an infinity of metals, stones and wooden items, the Rajasthani handicrafts are some of the finest works of art and portray the creative and supreme craftsmanship of the artists of this state.

This land is known for a range of adorning techniques such as inlay, metal casting, carving, appliqué, etc. Some of the famous handicrafts works include:

Blue Pottery: 
This art form was first introduced in Rajasthan by Maharaja Ram Singhji and borrowed from Persia. The color combinations used in this technique are also peculiar such as blue (oxide of cobalt), Green (oxide of copper) and white.

The traditional floral or arabesque hand made designs and the animal figure patterns are the major ones. The various articles prepared out of this art include items like ashtray, tiles, flower pots, lamp shades and jars.

Metal Craft: 
This craft occupies a major position among the Rajasthani handicrafts and enameled silver which is used from pill-boxes to figurines. For the table-tops, dancing peacocks, caparisoned elephants, dancing camels, swords and shields, brass enamel is used which is less expensive and more widespread. Wrought iron has also gained popularity in the metal craft works.

Wooden Artifacts:
Furniture is among the most common and popular handicrafts of the state with its contemporary variants that include chairs with painted backs, camel-hide stools, marble-top tables and carved cabinets. Wooden animals are also included among these artifacts and include a variety of animals like horses, elephants, parrots- that are beautifully painted in vibrant colors.

Stone Carving: 
You will get to see amazing statues, idols, figurines, carved panels, even intricate jharokhas for gardens and pavilions that are shaped out of white marble, pink Dholpur, green Kota, white and grey soapstone. The elaborate carvings clearly manifest the genius of the craftsmen of the region.

Paintings: 
The custom of painting dates back to the dawn of civilization and you will find the intricate motifs in the geometrical and natural designs that are done on clay vessels and potteries that were revealed in the pre-historic Harappan sites of Kalibangan and Peelibanga in Rajasthan’s north-western region. Rajasthan is quite popular for its miniature paintings and mirrors an unbelievable portfolio of scenes that depict the tales of the myth and legend.

Explore the true essence of Rajasthan through the Rajasthan handicrafts tour in which you will come across a number of outstanding handicraft articles that would make for some of the best souvenirs for the souvenir hunters. 

Applique of Rajasthan

Applique in Rajasthan is done with embroidery to give a magical style of decoration. This is done on almost all things such as clothes, bed sheets, lampshades and wall hangings. The Applique work can also be seen in daily use items also like bags and tablemats. It is also done on blouses, petticoats, gowns and other garments. The base fabric is medium weighted and primarily white in colour. Patchwork motifs of various sizes, shapes and colours are arranged in a manner that produces captivating patterns.

Applique
Applique is a decorative artwork, in which one cloth is sewn or fixed onto another or a cloth is decorated by glass pieces, metals, wood or metal wires. The art of applique is regarded as one of the traditional artwork of ancient Muslims in India. It is said that ‘Applique’ work came into India in the 19th Century either from Europe or Arabia in the Middle East through trade contacts. Applying fabric on fabric with the edges sewn down by thread and needle does this art of Applique. This is mainly practiced in Rajasthan and Odisha.

Types of Applique in Rajasthan
The two notable Applique works of Rajasthan are ‘Gota’ and ‘Kinari’ work. These ‘Gota’ and ‘Kinari’ are golden and silver coloured pieces and laces those are sewn on the cloth. Here in Gota work, the embroidery is made on a velvet cloth, which gives it a unique look. The Gota work uses the ‘Applique’ works in both the classical and folk designs. The Gota work is mainly done on the costumes for women. Khandela in Shekhawati mainly prepares these items. Preparing geometrical models from square shaped coloured textile pieces in which dark earthy colours are used generally makes Applique. This is mainly done on quilts, known as ‘Rallis of Jaisalmer’.

The ‘Barmer Applique’ is traditionally sewn on bedspreads of black and brown bases while the motifs are of natural scenes. In Rajasthan, women of 6 villages prepare these Appliqués. It takes about one month to prepare a complete bedspread.

The Barefoot College of Rajasthan teaches the ‘Tilonia Applique’ to the women and it is adapted from ‘Mandanas’, which are traditional patterns on floors in Rajasthan.

Making of Applique in Rajasthan
Applique work of Rajasthan is mainly done on stunning red, purple, yellow, black, green and white fabric. The base is prepared first in the square shape, rectangular and circle shape or even in oval forms sometimes. This works as the background for that art piece. The Applique motifs of contrasting colours are then cut into various shapes like that of animals,birds,flower, leaves, celestial bodies and geometric shapes. These variously shaped motifs are now stitched on the base cloths in artistic ways. Giving several folds makes raised motifs of the Applique. The intricate stitches such as bakhia, guntha, turpa, chikan and other embroidery techniques are the main elegant part of the Applique artwork. Recently, the use of small and bright mirror pieces has become popular in Rajasthan. The last work of the Applique is the stitching of the borders.

Family Involvement in Applique of Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, while preparing an Applique, the family gets involved. Those who are more experienced in the family do the intricate designs and the younger and less experience ones do the stitching of the borders and make the base clothes. The most eminent Rajasthani applique work is produced by the Marwari community. Due to the obscure workmanship, done by both men and women, it is believed that Rajasthani applique work of the Marwari community is influenced by the Egyptians.

Block Prints of Sanganer

Each village in Rajasthan boasts of the Chhipa caste engaging in block printing- be it mud resist or discharge or wax resist process. This stable tradition is still very much in fashion, despite the accessibility of modern techniques like screen-printing. The Chhipas hand over their craft skills down the generations, from parent to child, the expertise remains within the family.

 The beauty of the block print is heavily reliant on water sources; thus the commercial activities sprung near water resources- like Sanganer, Bagru, Akola, Barmer, Jodhpur, etc.
Over time, each center for block printing in Rajasthan has developed its distinguished design style and techniques.
The village of Sanganer near Jaipur has been a major centre for very fine block-cutting and printing. Almost 500 years' old, Sanganeri printing gained high popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries in all European countries with its Calico prints and became one of the major exports of the East India Company.

 Legend has it that it was probably towards the end of the 17th century that this art form developed here. Thanks to the constant wars with the Mughals and Marathas, many printers migrated from Gujarat to Rajasthan. Under the royal patronage, by the end of the 18th century this industry was fully developed in Sanganer.
 The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in its report on the Jaipur hand block printed textile cluster, has mentioned, "Shades of black come out best after washing the cloth in the waters of Sanganer. Sanganer motifs are mostly floral based. Fine lines and intricate detailing are specialties of the Sanganeri style."



Products
The principal items printed here include sarees, dupattas, salwar-kameez, bed cover, curtains, scarves, and printed yardages (running cloth material), etc. Both local and imported cloth material are used. At present,’ mulmul’ (cotton voile), ‘latha’ (sheeting fabrics) and cambric etc. are sourced from Jaipur.
  
Motifs
This elaborate work needs expertly cut mirror images blocks to print the usually asymmetrical Mughal style designs. Although Sanganer is well known for producing fine block printed textiles on off white or pastel backgrounds, today a wide range of textiles are produced with both dark and pale grounds.

The Sanganeri Print is visible from small flower motifs like stylized sunflowers, narcissuses, roses, and other flowers of luxuriant foliage like daturas, rudrakshas, and arkas. On Sanganeri ‘chintz’ (printed cloth) usually, yellow, green blue (with different tones) are used as the background.
Various floral designs, geometrical and God figures are included in its prints. Sometimes, folk designs are also found. Finesse in flowers-petal designs, curves and delicacy are the prime specialties of Sanganer prints.

 Apart from flowers, fruit trees of banana, dates, grapes pomegranate etc. have also been recreated in a very attractive manner. In some old prints figures of parrots and fish are also seen. In the traditional Sanganeri prints, the ground is in white or pastel shades with floral cones and sprays scattered with in symmetrical borders. Cloth printing blocks are usually made of 'teak' or 'seesum'. These dyes are printed on a textile by means of a relief covered block( a different block for each color). In India, the blocks are usually 23-30 cm (9-12") square in size.

Jaipur Bed Sheet- Sanganer and Bagru Prints

Rajasthan is renowned for its sparkling art and craft. One of Rajasthan's most popular handicrafts is block printed fabric. The Sanganer and Bagru prints of this state are celebrated all over the country, and have acquired international acclaim as well. They decorate garments, bedspreads, curtains, table linen, and other household decoration items. Apart from the Sanganer and Bagru prints, those of Barmer and Pali are also well-known.

Sanganer Prints :

The block printed textiles of Sanganer became famous in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, when the East India Company began to export them in bulk. Today, there are over 154 block printing units in Sanganer, and these employ around 20,000 people. There are around 3000 families engaged in this Rajasthani craft.
The block prints of Sanganer are mostly executed on a white or off-white background, using screen printers or wooden blocks. They are colorful patterns of sunflowers, roses, geometric designs. Sanganer prints are known for their fine and intricate detailing. The artists of this region in Rajasthan use both vegetable and chemical dyes for their creations. Often, they employ the technique of calico printing. In this, the outlines are first printed; only after that, are the colors filled in. These designs are then repeated in diagonal rows. The doo-rookhi style of printing is also popular in Sanganer. This is printing done on both sides of the fabric.

Bagru Prints:

Jaipur is perhaps one of the most culturally rich areas of Rajasthan. From this city, the Chippas moved to Bagru around 300 years ago. They made it their home, and one of Rajasthan's most important centers of hand block printing .
The Sanganer and Bagru prints are very s
similar, but the latter employ a narrower range of colors. Moreover, unlike the Sanganer prints which are always on a white or off-white background, the prints of Bagru are mostly red and black and blue. The Syahi-Begar prints are a combination of black and yellow ochre or cream. The Dabu prints are created by hiding them from dye, by applying a resist. Bagru prints are characterized by circular designs, as well as linear and floral patterns.
In both the Sanganer and Bagru prints, the colors are picked carefully. Each has a separate significance. For instance, red is the color of love, yellow of spring, indigo of Lord Krishna, and saffron of the yogi (seer). The wooden blocks that are used are made of teak wood. And traditionally, vegetable dyes made of madder, pomegranate rind, indigo, and turmeric are used. These have now been largely replaced by chemical dyes. Often, the fabric is dyed before it is printed.

Jaipur is known for its rich and valuable treasure of fabrics, jewellery, pottery, footwear, paintings, carpets, quilts, cushion covers, wall hanging products, and many more. The list is endless.

 
But among st these items Jaipur is very famous for its Jaipuri quilts. The Jaipuri quilts are the handmade Indian quilts etc. In the whole Rajasthan, quilt-makers have developed a tradition of making warm and lightweight quilts called as the “Jaipuri Razai”. The word “Jaipuri” means “coming from Jaipur” which is the capital city of Rajasthan and the second word “Razai” simply means “quilts”. 


The Lightweight Jaipuri handmade quilts are widely known for its art and functionality from the past many years. The world famous Jaipuri Razai's are designed by hands using the traditional textile making skills of cotton carding and quilting. The cotton which is filled in the Jaipuri quilts is collected after the process of cotton carding. After fully carding the cotton, approx. 100 grams of cotton is used for filling a single quilt. After filling of cotton in quilt, it is stitched with strong and colorful threads. The last work is to stitch the quilt. The quilt-maker uses a sewing machine to stitch the side of the quilts together. This increases the durability of quilts and the user can use the quilts for many years to come.

Thus, now you can enjoy your winter nights in the cozy Jaipuri Razai (Indian Quilts).