Huggable Handicraft

Kutch is the fascinating area of Gujarat where I am currently and it also happens to mean cuddle in Welsh (cwtch).  If I could throw my arms around any region of India it would be this one.  It’s like the rest of Gujarat but there is a depth of sincerity to the people here which is indescribable.  People seem to rub along very happily with less segregation than I have seen elsewhere between religions, tribes and social status.  In 2002 this fragile dessert region was devastated by a massive earthquake, perhaps the aftermath gave everyone a sense of solidarity or maybe it’s just too hot for animosity.

The little red taxi had all of its windows open on the way out to the villages today but all it did was spread the heat, fan-oven style, cooking me evenly from the toes up. In between my turns on the spit, I spent money on beautiful things.  Although today was mostly embroidery, it was a real treat to sip homemade lemonade whilst I watched the pit-loom weaver create high quality artisan craft on his beautifully traditional piece of kit.

...sneak preview

Textiletastic

Now I am not my mother’s daughter when it comes to patience with a needle but you don’t grow up in a family that runs a needlecraft business or with such a textile talented mother without it having an influence upon you.  An influence which makes my latest destination one hell of a place to spend money!!  Western Gujarat and in particular the Kutch region is a handicraft hotbed.  There are hundreds of different tribal and family groups here producing distinct and wonderful textile art which is sold directly by the artisans, through cooperatives, or traded in the Bazaar.

I deliberately held back from buying gifts in the knowledge that I would be coming to Kutch, so since arriving I have been fastidious in contributing to the local economy.  In fact Dr Ishmail Katri and family were probably delighted at the fact there are so many Berkin women to buy for as I cleaned him out of exquisite block printed silk earlier today!  Dr Ishmail is the head of a family who for 10 generations have been printing natural fabrics from all over India which are then generally exported or made up for premium retailers like FabIndia.  In fact, unbeknown to me previously, I have been wearing a couple of his fabrics since the wardrobe renewal I had to execute in FabIndia Mumbai (see fat bottomed girl post!!).

On the way back from my fascinating morning of block printing, I stopped at a house where the front room was dominated by a huge hand loom.  This was no lowly village abode though, this was a modest palace, a master Ikat weaver’s home.  Haramshi Maheshwari’s sarees start at around £100, typically retail between £200 and £400 and can reach the thousands of pounds where weddings are the order of the day.  Ikat is an amazing technique which I do recall writing at length about at University, however for you guys: they tie-dye the weft (goes across the width) yarn with a predefined pattern which is then woven into plain warp (goes length ways) yarns creating distinctive “aztec” looking designs.  Double Ikat (the next step up) is mind-blowingly detailed: both woven directions are pre-dyed to the chosen pattern and then by magic incredible designs slowly emerge from the back of the loom.  An Ikat saree wasn’t really on my shopping list and I really couldn’t afford another scarf having just stocked the Berkin Boutique (the basic two-colour ones started at £30) so in the end I was relieved to come away with a piece that will make a lovely table cloth …for a little stool. 

I am sat next to a big pile of carefully chosen gifts and exciting bits fabric and embroidery that I intend to play with when I get home.  The pile is already too big to carry to the post office but I am not going to think about that until I’m done!

Bhuj Bus

I don't take photos from buses because they always disappoint, as these did,

...but it was oh so photogenic