All the information on textile crafts of West Bengal. Segregation of crafts according to the districts of West Bengal and origins and significance in the culture. Provided with a Textile Map.

1. Bengal Introduction
Bengal is the hustling-bustling land of rich culture, art, literature and textiles which is one of the
the smaller states of India. Because of its geographical location it becomes an amalgam of culture and
culture and is also known as the cultural capital of India. It has been ruled by the Empires of Magadh,
Magadh, the Buddhist Pala Dysnasties, Delhi sultanates, Mughal muslim Subehdars, Bengal Sultanate,
Sultanate, The Nawabs of Murshidabad, Hindu dynasties, East India Governors. And been through
through British Raj, Independence and Partition. The region has been a historical melting point ,
point , blending indigenous traditions with cosmopolitan influences from pan- empires. Bengal was
Bengal was the richest part of Medieval India and hosted the subcontinent's most advanced political
political and cultural centers during the British Raj.
West Bengal serves as home to many talented artisans in India. Artisanal communities such as
chitrakar (painter), kumbhakar(potter), kansakar(metal worker), sutradhar(wood or stone carver),
tantubay(weaver), shankhakar(conch shell engraver). The unique rustic and mystic charm of Bengal
crafts is admired by art-lovers the world over. From delicate detailed Kantha embroidery done on silk
done on silk saris to the saris like Jamdani, Baluchari, Shantipuri are a marvel spun and woven by
woven by hand. The traditional weavers or Tantubay’s of west Bengal are reputed worldwide because
because of the quality fabric spun and their elaborate thread work.Darjeeling:
• Thangka painting made on cloth with Buddhist
themes or mandalas, for meditation.
• Hill painting is essentially done on black polyester
cloth with watercolours, introduced in
Kalipong.They were earlier painted on canvas, but
requirements of led them to switch to polyester.
These portray Tibetan and Nepali people and also
paint the natural surrounding beauty.
• Carpet weaving started in the Tibetan Refugee
Centre to provide employment opportunities to the
refugees. The wool is sourced from Tibet for
making carpets and it is dyed with vegetable dyes,
however for bright colors chemical dyes are also
used. Carpets are made on looms using double knot
technique. The carpet has a pile structure woven in
cotton warp and predominantly a wool weft. The
wool weft is looped around a rod and woven at
regular intervals with plain weft. The loops are
later cut to form a pile surface, dragons and floral
motifs are interwoven with geometrical shapes.
Traditional tibetian motifs like leather coins, dog’s
paw, Druk (dragon), Tashi Takgye(8 auspicious
symbols) are mostly used for carpets.
• These boots are modifyied version of the leather bags, which was tied to their feet
to keep them warm. These boots have thick yak/sheep leather sole and high
layered leather or thick heavy woollen cloth and Khochen(silk like material) sides.
The inner lining is sometimes made of fur. The posterior of the boots towards the
upper end is left open and tied with a hand-braided belt. These boots are used by
wealthy Tibetans and Bhutanese as a part of their formal outfit. The upper part is
heavily brocaded. These shoes have no difference between left or right and they
can be worn on either foot. The boots worn by women are called sombas. The
konglans are of better quality and have elaborate brocade work. The brocade
fabric is traditionally from China. These are made by the craftsmen of Bhutia
community scattered in Kalimpong.
Konglan- Stitched Boots: The Tibetans
living in the mountains had to walk long
distances through coarse land and
extreme cold weather with their yaks
and hence they needed a footwear.
Cooch Behar:
Sheetalpati- reed mats: Sheetalpati literally meaning ‘cool mat’
imparting coolness is made of locally grown reed. (Maranta dichotoma)
is famous among the mats.

2. • The members of Kayastha caste are mainly involved in this craft.
The mats are plaited with thin stripes of the reed. Dyed strips are
added to create more patterns in the weave. The strips may not be
long enough so new strips are overlapped and woven through the
weave that does not require a joinery. Colored mats have
traditional Bengali motifs. The quality is judged by is glossiness,
smoothness and fineness of the texture.
Murshidabad:
• Murshidabad, Maldah, Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia are districts
to have large settlements of silk weaversThe tradition of weaving
Baluchar butidar saris (drapes with floral ground) was famous. The
motifs reflect an aristocratic lifestyle mixed with Hindu, Muslim and
European elements. This weaving tradition declined at the end of
19th century though today the weaving industry produces patterned
fabrics with jacquard looms, the earlier baluchar saris remain
unmatched.
• The Nawabs and Muslim aristocrats used the material produced in
raw silk mainly as tapestry, but Hindu nobleman had it made into
Sarees, often with a panel of large mango or paisley motifs at the
centre, surrounded by smaller rectangles depicting different scenes.
The Saree borders were narrow with floral and foliage motifs, and
the whole ground is covered with small paisley and other floral
designs. An interesting feature of earlier Baluchar Sarees was the
stylised bird and animal motifs that were incorporated in paisley and
other floral decorations.
Gradually, hunters mounted on horses and elephants appeared,
followed by scenes of the Nawab's court. When the British took over
Bengal, "sahibs" and "memsahibs" appeared-a "sahib" smoking and
the "mem" fanning herself.
• worked like embroidery on the loom. Originally this product
was produced in Tangail District presently in Bangladesh. But
the popularity of the Sarees were spraed in other Districts in
the undivided Bengal. In West Bengal their are many areas
famous for this type of Sarees.
Birbhum:
• Leather craft: Embossed leather craft is practiced in Surul
village in Shantiniketan. The craft was initiated at Vishwa
Bharti University. Rabindranath Tagore had invited batik
artists from Java, Indonesia, to introduce the technique in
India. In its initial phase it was only restricted to batik on
leather. However, the craftsmen of the cluster have diversified
to embossing designs on leather and then doing batik on it.
The process consists of softening the leather, embossing the
designs through dies, and dyeing the product.
Tangail Saree are famous with its extra-
weft bruits, tiny repeated motifs, all
over the ground of the Saree,
• Kantha- Patched cloth embroidery: this embroidered textile was m
made in Bangladesh(earlier known as east bengal) out of old saris and dhotis. Essentially a
woman’s art, they are made as gifts for family and friends. The work of the hindu and muslim
women differed in the kind of motifs and the patterns used. The muslim women used more of
geometrical kind of motif patterns and floral motifs. The ones made by hindu women are
pictorial and narrative, with forms of daily lives, composed around a central floral motif. (made
of completely reused materials). It can be used as a quilt, a wrap, or folded as a bag. The
density and direction of the running stitches creates a unique tonality and a rippled effect. The
design usually relies on a central circular form occupied by a many-petalled lotus flower and
four mango or tree motifs to mark the four directional axis.

3. The space between the lotus and the trees is filled with figures,
objects and symbolic motifs inspired from the woman’s
environment.
 Originated in India, the art of making batik Saree has come
a long way from a mere handicraft. The creation of batik
sarees is a thre- stage process of waxing, dyeing and de-
waxing (removing the wax). The word batik actually means
'wax writing'. It is a way of decorating cloth by covering a
part of it with a coat of wax and then dyeing the cloth. The
waxed areas keeps its original colour and when the wax is
removed the contrast between the dyed and undyed areas
makes the pattern.
Bankura:
Patachitra- Scroll Paintings: These are
made by the Patuas, a branch of the
chitrakar caste. They make these
paintings to earn their living. The
mythical narratives, contemporary tales
and folklore painted on scrolls are
carried from village to village, and
narration is accompanied by folk songs.
Midnapur:
Maslond- Grass mats: these mats are made from the
grass called madur kathi (Cyperus corymbosus). This
grass grows around 4-5 feet tall in the swampy region
around Midnapur.
There are three types of formats in
Patachitra- the vertical scroll, horizontal scroll
and a single quadrangular sheet. Width maybe
from 1-2 feet while the length can go up to 25
feet. The pictures were painted with vegetable
colors earlier on cloth paper. The craft has been
affected by the onslaught of lithography,
oleography and bazaar pictures.
Ganjifa Cards: These are made out of handmade
paper in Bishnupur. The cards bear images and
symbols of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu
called Dasavatar. The game had flourished
under the patronage of Malla dynasty. The
craftsmen claim that the designs of the cards
have not changed at all in the last 1000 years.
They also make Dasa Mahavidya cards
illustrating the 10 rupas of Godess Sati. Wet
cotton rags are layered and pasted into cloth
roundels with tamarind glue. After the cards
have dried , the designs are painted onto the
white background. The roundels are 4-5 inches
in diameter. The craftsmen prefer to use
watercolors now.
These derive their name from the Persian term for throne- masand.
The main center of weaving the mats are Khalaberia and Sarta. The mat
has plain field at the center surrounded by border motif patterns
reminiscent of the handloom saris of Bengal. There are two types of
mats based on coarser and finer madur & kathi splits. Motifs are
introduced depending on the occasion for use; mats used for sleeping
and eating food on have vertical borders along the edge. Mats used by
Muslims have Quaranic verses or images of mosques. Mats used during
Marriage ceremonies have Butterflies and peacock motifs and very
large border covers. The mats are woven on very simple floor looms and
most of the weaving is done manually. The craftsmen use the technique
of tie-dyeing the stalks to accentuate the patterns and borders. Used as
floor coverings and wall hangings. Initially was only practiced by
women now the entire family practices.
Nadia:
Traditional Shantipur Saree borders,
or paars as they are called, have
picturesque names like bhomra,
bumble bee; tabij, amulet; rajmahal,
royal palace; ardha-chandra, half
moon; chandmala, garland of moons;
ansh, fish scale; hathi, elephant; retan
chock, gem eyed; benki, spiral; tara,
star; phool, flower; etc.
The well known nilambari, blue sky, Saree of Shantipur had a special deep navy-blue
colour like the sky on a new moon night. In some special nilambaris, the borders were
fringed with silver zari stars like the night sky. In traditional Sarees, the pal lavas were
decorated with stripes of different thick nesses, called sajanshoi, in colours
complementary to those of the border.

4. Hoogly:
• Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district,
once famous for its superfine
dhotis has, with falling demand
for them, moved over to the
production of equally superior
Sarees in pastel shades.
Farasdanga in the same district
continues to make fine dhotis,
perhaps
Famous for their fine and uniform texture. The counts of
cotton yarn range from 80s to 100s. The designs used in
extra warp of side border give the verities their names.
The ground warp is fine cotton. For extra warp or
border muga &, mulberry silk etc. are used. The eye-
catching variety includes Ganga-Jamuna, Benkipar,
Bhomra, Rajmahal, Anspar, Do-Rookha, Visva-Bharati,
Brindamani Mour-Par, Nilambari. Today the weavers
use dyed cotton silk, art-silk and viscose yarns, and also
gold silver zari, The ground of the Saree sometimes has
fine and delicate checks, stripes or a texture created by
coloured threads or, sometimes, by the combined use of
fine and thicked counts of yarn. Saree in the past used to
be smoother and softer than those made today. The
special technique used for sizing the yarn was the
reason for this. Also both warp and weft used to be sized,
which is seldom done today.
• the finest in Bengal. Begampur, also in Hooghly
district, specialises in loosely woven, lightweight,
translucent Sarees. In contrast to the Dhanikhali
Sarees, those of Bengampur have deep, bright
colours. A number of large• cotton weavers' villages have been weaving handspun Khadi
• yarn since the sixties.
• The sarongs of the polio women, worn over the breasts and
reaching down a little below the knees, are made by joining
together very compact strips, woven on simple primitive looms
made of a few short pieces of a bamboo stick and a narrow strip of
wood about 3 cm. wide and 60 cm. long. Kolkata:
Dhakai muslin has now lost its legendary
fineness but it continues as Jamdani,
with beautiful extra weft decorations on
a fine surface. After the partition of
Bengal in 1947, many Hindu weavers of
the Dhakai Jamdani
Kolkata is also famous for its jute handicrafts that
includes bags, dolls,
carpets, wall hangings etc which are
and Tangail tradition of East Bengal migrated to India and were rehabilitated at a few settlements in West Bengal,
the most important of which are Samudragarh Fulia, Mugberia, Muradihi and Dhatrigram. The pattern of the
design drawn on paper, is pinned beneath the warp threads and, the weaving proceeds, the designs are worked in
link embroidery. When the weft thread approaches close to where the flower or other figure has to be inserted, the
weaver move up one of a set of bamboo needles round each of which is wrapped yarn of a different color as needed
for design. As every weft thread passes through the warp, he sews down the intersected portion of the pattern with
one or another of the needles as might be required, and so continues till the pattern is completed. When the pattern
is continuous and regular, as in the usual Saree border, a master weaver generally dispenses with the aid of paper
patterns. Very often, two persons work together on a Jamdani Saree. Traditionally, Jamdanis are white, with designs
in bleached white. However, today, very lightly dyed grounds with designs in white, maroon, black, green, gold and
silver Saree, and muga silk of a dark golden colour are also seen.