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BIDRIWARE
The ancient craft of Bidriware is an
art of inlaying pure silver in metal
originated from the city of Bidar in
Karnataka. Beautiful designs are
car ved on metals, and thereafter thin
silver wires are hand etched on a
zinc-based metal. It is then dipped in
a solution prepared with the soil
available only around the Bidar fort
which exhibits brilliant oxidizing
properties. It turns zinc, a white
metal into sheer black ware, while
pure silver inlay retains its original
color. The zinc alloys turn into a
lustrous black so that inlaid silver
contrasts stunningly with the dark
background. Bidriware techniques
and style are influenced by Persian
art.

SANDALWOOD
CARVINGS
The art of sandalwood car ving has
been practiced in Karnataka for at
least a thousand years, and Karnataka
is world famous for its exquisitely
car ved figurines with intricate details.
Sandalwood artisans are concentrated
in Shimoga, Mysore, Uttara Kannada
and Bangalore districts of Karnataka.
The soft aromatic wood can be
delicately car ved with ease to create
elegant masterpieces.

MYSORE ROSEWOOD INL AY

The Rosewood inlay art of Mysore
covers a range of techniques used by
artisans in and around Mysore using
inlay of contrasting coloured materials
like ivor y shells, mother-of-pearl,
horn and sandalwood into depressions
in a rosewood object to form ornament
or pictures that normally are flush
with the matrix.
These artifacts have been awarded
Geographical Indication tag from the
Government of India in 2005 due to its
historic representation as an artifact
depicting the region and the design
used by the local artisans.
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KINNAL
CRAFT
A traditional wooden craft with magnificent
colours and exquisite car vings, local to the
town of Kinnal, in Koppal district.

The artisans who are called chitragaras, use

lightweight wood for the making of these toys.
Paste made of Tamarind seeds and Pebbles is
used for joining the various parts. Jute rags,
soaked, slivered into pieces, dried, powdered,
and mixed with sawdust and tamarind seed
paste is made into kitta. A mixture of pebble
powder paste with liquid gum is used for
embossing the ornamentation and jeweller y on
the body of the figure. Once the components of
the figures are assembled, kitta is applied by
hand all over, and small pieces of cotton are
stuck on it with the tamarind paste. Over this
the pebble paste is applied which forms the
base for the application of paint.
The styling is realistic and the designing and
chiselling has a master touch. In the festival
season, clay toys and images are made, often
out of cowdung and sawdust.
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MYSORE
PAINTINGS
It is a form of classical South
Indian painting that originated in
and around Mysore which was
encouraged and nurtured by the
Mysore royalty.

Mysore paintings are known for

their elegance, muted colours, and
attention to detail. The themes for
most of these paintings are of
Hindu gods and goddesses and of
mythology. The colours are from
natural sources and of vegetable or
mineral substances such as leaves,
stones and flowers.
Mysore Paintings are characterized
by delicate lines, intricate brush
strokes, graceful delineation of
figures and the discreet use of
bright vegetable colours and
lustrous gold leaf.
Due to the long-lasting quality of
the stone and plant-based colours
used, the original Mysore paintings
retain their freshness and lustre to
this day.

CHITTARA
Chittara is an artform painted using
clay paste to create intricate
geometric patterns on the floors and
walls of entrances of houses. It is
known to have originated from cave
paintings which eventually found its
way to the walls and floors of village
homes.

The Kannada word Chittara means an

image or design. Historically, the art
form has been practiced by women of
the Deewaru community in Sagara
district, where these images were
painted on auspicious occasions on
both the interiors and exteriors of
their homes. They use eco friendly
natural resources like ground rice
paste for white, roasted rice for
black, yellow seeds, red earth and
the brushes are made up of Pundi
Naaru (jute fibres).
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BOARD GAMES
Chauka Bara is one of the oldest
board games of Karnataka. It is
known as Chowka Bara in Mysuru
and as Chakaara or Chakka in North
Karnataka. This game is similar to
ludo and can be played by four
players. It is a game of chance that
is played with cowr y shells (kavade
in Kannada). The players attempt to
race their pawns from the starting
point to the safety of home.

Ali Guli Mane or Channe Mane is

a traditional indoor board game of
Karnataka. The game is generally
played by two players on a wooden
board that has fourteen pits. The
pits are used to store seventy
tamarind seeds or cowr y shells that
act as counters in the game.

CHANNAPATNA
TOYS
They are manufactured in the town
of Channapatna, Ramanagara district.
Beautiful products like cars, puzzles,
keychains, wall hangings, rocking
horse and other decorative art pieces
including kitchenware are produced
from wood of the Wrightia tinctoria
tree, colloquially called Aale Mara
(ivor y-wood) and hand lacquered.

Vegetable dyes are used in the

colouring process to ensure that the
toys and dolls are safe for the use by
children.
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NAVALGUND
DURRIES
This is a type of rug with geometric
patterns, birds and animal motifs
native to Navalgund in Dhar wad
district.

Nuvulgund durrigullu, also known as

"Jumkhaanaa" in Kannada, were
initially made by a group of weavers
of Bijapur who used to live in the
Jumkhaan Gulli.

These durrigullu are made exclusively

by the women of the community,
operating the looms from home. The
weavers have preser ved the motifs
and act as the lifeline of this art. The
beauty of them lies in bright colours
and geometric patterns. These are
weaved on a vertical loom, which is
locally known as khadav magga.

KAMBLI
A handmade blanket woven with sheep
wool. The shepherd community, locally
known as the Kurubas are well known
for wearing this while grazing their
cattle.

It protects them from the harsh sun in

summers and cool breezes during
winters.

These kamblis are eco-friendly and

provide large employment to rural
artisans. It is also considered to be an
auspicious textile and is used in
religious ceremonies as an offering.
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KASUTI
The word Kasuti is made up of Kai and
Suti, ‘Kai ’ means hand and ‘Suti ’ means
cotton thread. This traditional form of
folk embroider y is famous in the
districts of Bijapur, Dhar wad, Belgaum,
Miraj, Sangli and Jamkhandi.

Kasuti involves intricate embroider y

handwork and is traditionally used in
dresswear like Ilkal sarees, Ravike /
Kuppasa (Khana) and Angi. Kasuti
embroider y features folk designs
influenced by rangoli patterns of
Karnataka and intricate patterns like
gopura, chariot, palanquin, lamps and
couch shells.

Four types of stitches employed are

Gavanthi, Murgi, Negi and Menthi. The
work is laborious and involves counting of
each thread on the cloth. The patterns
are stitched without using knots to
ensure that both sides of the cloth look
alike.
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SIDDI
KAUDI
The patchwork quilts known as kawandi is
an Indian adaptation of traditional African
quilting technique by the Siddis of Karnataka
(descendants of early African immigrants).

Kaudi or Kawandi is a quilting craft made

of pieces of cloth from old, worn-out
clothing gathered together by the quilters
from family, friends or from items purchased
at the local used-clothing markets.

The rectangular patches of brightly coloured

cloth are often placed on top of other larger
patches to create a series of layers in
contrasting colours. Once they have enough
pieces of cloth to make a quilt, a cotton sari
is used as the backing for the quilt.

Kawandi are often called patchwork quilts

and are created using the appliqué technique.
The stitches are important, as they add a
distinctive ‘rhythm’ that is regarded as the
‘visual signature’ of the maker. The final step
is to sew at each corner of the quilt one or
more folded square patches, which form a
multi-layered triangle called a phula, or
‘flower.’
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UPCYCLED SILK
Bengaluru produces a large amount
of excess fabric on a daily basis; the
offcuts from the mills and factories;
rejected materials; off season, as
well as the remnants from tailors.

Fortunately, these 'commercially

valueless' fabric pieces which could
have ended up in landfills, are being
upcycled into creatively designed,
hand stitched quilts. This quilting
craft from North Karnataka was
originally made by village women by
collecting used fabrics in domestic
use from family members over time.

This skill has now been leveraged to

utilize the urban scrap materials
from Bengaluru to create new, beau-
tiful, artistic and unique products.
The result has a multi-fold impact by
reducing waste, providing income,
the upgrading of rural skills and the
expansion of the range and scope of
sustainability.

AHIMSA SILK
Ahimsa Silk, also known as peace silk,
cruelty-free silk and non-violent silk,
refers to a type of silk that is
produced without harming or killing
the silk worms.

This is in contrast to conventional

silk, whereby cocoons are steamed,
boiled, or dried in the sun, killing the
silk lar vae inside.

Ahimsa silk is produced on a ver y

small scale and is a cottage industr y
in Karnataka, its production supports
a large community of rural silk
farmers, who are mostly women,
spinners and weavers.
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THANKYOU
Thank you for witnessing the
vibrancy of Karnataka’s arts
and crafts We hope you are
enthralled with the vibrancy of
the traditional handicrafts and
handlooms of Karnataka. This
exhibition is an attempt at
showcasing a few of the many
cultural forms of the state.
With support from all walks of
life, we are proud that many of
these crafts are recognised
with a Geographical
identification (GI) tag. Request
Patrons to promote these
forms by using them as gifts,
educating the young minds of
the power of these crafts and
constantly supporting our
artists and artisans.
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HERITAGE
KARNATAKA
The Stories of any place can
be traced to its traditional
hand made crafts and cloths.
Karnataka boasts of many
such stories laced with the
rich historical heritage of its
handloom and handicrafts, be
it the Channapatna toys, the
Kinnala sculptures or the rich
colourful Lambani art forms.
The traditional arts are not
just a creative expression, but
also provides a context for its
social, cultural and economic
ecosystems. The diversity of
these contextual expressions
gives rise to various stories
of our geography. This
exhibition is an attempt at
presenting a part of a
spectrum of such traditional
stories intertwined with its
crafts, games, and fabric.
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ILKAL
Ilkal saree is named after the town Ilkal in
Bagalkot district.
Ilkal sarees are woven using cotton warp on
the body, art silk warp for borders and art silk
warp for pallu portion of the sari. In some
cases instead of art silk, pure silk is also
used. Weaving of Ilkal saris is mostly an
indoor activity.

A practice involving active participation of

women in the household. It takes about seven
days to produce one sari.

Ilkal sarees are produced in pit looms using

cotton, silk or a combination of cotton and
silk or artificial silk yarns. These sarees are
famous for their pallu, usually red in colour
with patterns of white temple towers.

The ends of the pallu contains hanige(comb),

koti kammli (fort ramparts), toputenne (jowar)
and rampa (mountain range) patterns. The
body consists of stripes, rectangles or
squares, and sometimes also has kasuti
embroider y.

The border is usually red or maroon in colour.

The traditional border designs are chikki,
gomi, paraspet and gaddidadi.
These sarees are produced in different
lengths of six, eight or nine yards. The extra
length allows the women to wrap the saree
around their heads.
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MYSORE
SILK
Mysore is rich for its Royal heritage, Grandeur
and the silk produced here reflect the
traditional splendour through its rich yet
delicate motifs. The name Mysore silk is a
befitting contribution to its ancestr y.

Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation Limited

(KSIC) the proud inheritor of this royal legacy,
has treasured it for over seven decades, has
been producing 100% pure silk with pure gold
zari. Karnataka produces mulberr y silk
contributing to nearly 45% of the countr y's
total mulberr y silk.

KSIC is the owner of the Mysore Silk brand.

Products include silk sarees, shirts, kurta's,
silk dhoti, and neckties. KSIC has
implemented unique id, hologram based
design and unique identification barcode
on each Mysore Silk saree produced in
its factor y.
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MOLAKALMURU
These are traditional silk sarees
weaved in Molakalmuru, Chitradurga
district.

Molakalmuru sarees are also called

Karnataka Kanchipuram.
The motifs used are fruits, animals,
and flowers. Mulberr y filature silk in
warp and charkha silk in weft are
used.

The patterns, motifs and designs

used in border, pallu & buttas of
Molakalmuru silk saree are inspired
by nature and these sarees received
special patronage during the ruling
of Nalvadi Krishnarajendra Wadeyar,
the prince of then Mysore province.

BANJARA
KASUTI
The Banjaras or Lambanis are one
of India’s oldest nomadic tribes who
hailed from parts of North India and
migrated towards the South. The
lamabani embroider y is intricate and
is one of the most unique cultural
elements of India.
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VIMOR HANDLOOM
FOUNDATION
The Vimor handloom foundation, an offshoot of Vimor,
was set up in 2004 with the sole mission of empowering
weavers and conser ving the rich textile heritage of
India. Vimor is a home-based, store that opened in 1974;
designing, documentation, revival of heritage weaves,
as well as supporting and mentoring weavers have been
its areas of focus. The foundation continues to carr y
forth the spirit and legacy of Vimor.

We conduct design inter ventions, training programs and

skill education workshops to help weavers and artisans
attain sustainable livelihoods in their geographical
areas. We also believe in sharing our knowledge about
textile inheritance through research, documentation
and interactions, with weavers and domain specialists.

The Vimor museum of living textiles established in 2019,

is aimed at conser ving the textiles of the common man.
Research & documentation of oral histor y and textiles
is one of it's primar y 'objectives, the craftsmen as well
as donors of textiles to the museum are the main
resources. Textile tourism, interactive workshops for
weavers, university students, weaving classes for urban
people and talks, are some of the other activities.

Hands to Empower is a program that aims to empower

unemployed women in rural areas through educational
workshops that impart skills in embroider y and weaving,
providing a sustainable source of income and
benefitting the local economy.