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Artisans from these highlands provide a wide variety of
spectacular ware—from dazzling shawls to miniature paintings and
more.
Hidden from public gaze,
amazing, highly specialized activities take place all over Himachal
Pradesh throughout the year. In soft, picturesque valleys and high
among the rugged mountain reaches, the crafts people of Himachal
practice their age old skills. In many cases, it takes many months of
patient work before a crafted article of rare workmanship is ready to
be revealed for public appraisal.
Exquisite examples of
needle painting, the rumals (large handkerchiefs) of Chamba
have long been famous for their unusual beauty, and as symbols and
omens of goodwill. Weddings in the hills and valleys around Chamba
are still not complete without an exchange of Chamba rumals.
Originally, the hill
women in and around Chamba embroidered the silk rumals with folk
motifs. In time, they were influenced by the ">pahari school of
painting which developed after Mughal miniature paintings came into
vogue. Gradually, the Chamba rumals were transformed into works of
art. Episodes from mythology and legends were embroidered on the
rumals with stunning effects. The facial expressions of the
characters, their lithe body movements, and scenic detail were
brought to life on the rumal through remarkable skill at embroidery
and an unerring feel for colours.
In addition to its
rumals, Chamba is also known for the design quality of its leather
chappals (flat, open shoes) and belts. Chamba chappals with
their open toes and partially woven ‘vamps’ catch even the
most unobservant eye. Besides their aesthetic appeal, they are light
and comfortable.
All over the higher
reaches of Himachal Pradesh, straw and treated bark shoes or
pullas—used for walking on snow—are an unusual sight
for strangers from the plains. The straw or bark, in natural fawn and
beige shades, interspersed with dyed bright reds, magentas and blues,
is tightly woven to make them in different sizes. Each pulla is made
in one piece with its bark sole providing excellent grip on snow.
The woollen shawls and
pattus of Kulu are no less striking. The location matters
little: whether situated in the valley itself, or nestling against
the contours of the mountainside, virtually every homestead in Kulu
has a handloom which remains particularly busy during the winter
months. With less work in the terraced fields, the women devote
themselves to weaving the traditional Kulu shawls. The woollen yarn
for the centre spread of the shawl is natural white or cream, while
the borders have geometric or floral designs woven in brightly
coloured woollen yarn.
As we traversed a
charming wooden bridge and crossed the gently murmuring Beas at Kulu,
on our way to picturesque Naggar, associated so intimately with the
Roerichs and Devika Rani, we passed a number of wooden homesteads
with slate roofs—so typical of Himachal Pradesh. Outside their
home woven Kulu caps, were men leisurely spinning wool on a takli
(hand held spindle). From within the houses came the clear, audible
twangs and thumps of the handlooms as the Kulu women—dressed in
colourful pattus and traditional scarves over their heads—busily
wove their shawls.
While some families in
Kulu rely on their own herds of sheep for the wool, the majority
purchases the wool in raw form the gaddis (nomadic shepherds)
when they pass through Kulu in summer on their way to the high
pastures near the Rohtang Pass, or when they pass downwards on their
return journey.
The more enterprising
weavers in Kulu valley and elsewhere in the State have lately started
devoting themselves exclusive to producing gudmas (soft but
heavy woollen blankets, generally with red and black trimmings),
thobis (floor coverings) and kharchas (mattresses).
While the gudmas are made from the soft fleece of sheep, thobis and
kharchas are spun from goats’ hair. The production of numdhas,
made by felting wool and then embroidering it, has taken an upward
swing in recent years. This diversification of skills is, in a way, a
tribute to the free ranging spirit of the Himachali craftsmen.
Faithful to the core, they refuse to give up ancestral traditions,
design and skills, but they are consciously seeking avenues which
will allow them to preserve their heritage as well as cater to the
needs of modern buyers. For example, the handful of stone carvers in
Kangra who once specialized in intricate, yet massive, temple
carvings, have now turned to carving miniature mythological figures
in stone.
So it is that many of the
crafts in this State, while retaining their quintessential
traditional flavour, are reaching out to a cross section of potential
buyers. But there are a few crafts which are practised solely or
largely for themselves. Attractive carpets, woven once upon a time
only for personal use or as gifts, are now finding a wide market. In
Sirmour district particularly, a number of Tibetan families have,
over the years, been weaving carpets in bold colours and designs. But
the beautiful small carpets woven for use as saddle cloth for horses
can rarely be purchased in the market. Similarly, the small, soft
rugs in bright hues that decorate the corner of many a homestead in
the hills of Himachal are seldom produced for sale.
The skills of weaving and
embroidery have been given a new dimension in Himachal Pradesh. They
have been combined to create traditional outfits for well crafted
dolls known as Himachali dolls. The dolls, dressed in Himachal style,
complete with head scarves and adorned with traditional jewellery of
the State, are almost perfect replicas of the women here. Regional
variations are also captured in dress and jewellery. For instance,
some of them are dressed as Kulu women wearing pattus while others
represent gaddinis (sheep rearing nomads).
The silver jewellery of
Himachal Pradesh is one of the oldest handicrafts in the State. The
silversmiths scattered in various parts of the State all recount how
Sita, the wife of Lord Rama, wore silver jewellery designed and
crafted by them in the days of yore. Carrying on this long tradition,
these silversmiths continue to produce articles of utility—engraved
silver teapots, glasses, lamp stands, fruit trays and more.
Wood Carving is yet
another note-worthy old craft of this hill State. In fact, most of
the wooden homesteads here display excellent standards in wood
carving. Carved wall panels, doors and window ledges are very common.
Today, the woodcarvers are mainly concentrated in the Kangra Valley,
around Palampur, and use the wood of walnut and birch trees as the
medium for carving a range of items such as trays, fruit bowls,
mythological figures, pens and their stands. Bamboo and wicker work
is also popular folk craft. The locals are adept of making baskets,
containers, trays and bowls in various shapes and sizes.
Often beginning their
work in isolation, so necessary to create a masterpiece, the
industrious crafts people of Himachal crown days, weeks, sometimes
months of effort by reaching out to people through their crafts in a
magnificent way. As Chitu, a wood carver we met near Hamirpur
remarked expressively, “These hills, these mountains, these
valleys where we live are timeless. So it is with our crafts. There
is a beginning and an end for each piece, but they are all part of a
timeless stream of creativity, an essence of life—and that is
what appeals to buyers.”
Shopping Guide.
Between them, the Mail and the shops near the skating rink on the
ridge, and Lakkar bazaar in Shimla provide a pot pourri of the crafts
of Himachal Pradesh. The Chinese shoemakers along the main Mall
provide handmade shoes of high quality. At Dalhousie and Chamba you
can buy wood carvings bamboo and wicker work, Chamba rumals
and chappals, Himachal dolls, woollen shawls (including Kulu
shawls and Pashmina shawls) and gudmas. At Jwalamukhi, Kangra,
Palampur, Dharamshala and Baijnath you can buy bamboo and wickerwork
baskets, wood carvings, silver jewellery and stone carvings. At Kulu
and Manali, you can buy a range of shawls, gudmas and numdhas, Kulu
caps, pullas and wood carvings. Hamirpur and Bilaspur also have a
small, select pot pourri of Himachal crafts.
CARVINGS OF KULU VALLEY
Since long ago, the
plains of India, particularly in the North, have been subject to
invasions from central Asia with the result that ancient art forms
did not survive in the Punjab, which bore the maximum number of these
attacks. Luckily some valleys of the Western Himalayas like Chamba,
Kulu, Mandi and Kangra, which till recently were rather inaccessible
have preserved vestiges of ancient and later civilizations from the
Kushan and gupta times, to the late 18th and early 19th
century art of Kangra. In Chamba, one comes across wood beam temples
with rich wooden reliefs, and brass and stone statues which date back
to the period of Ajanta and Ellora. In Kulu, there are well preserved
7th and 8th century Shiva temples and
strikingly powerful stone sculptures at Bajaura, Naggar, Dashal and
Jagat Sukh—in gupta style, although the empire itself crumbled
under the impact of the invasions of the semi-nomadic people of
Central Asia, the Palas of the East and the Rashtrakutas from the
South. These temples, with shikharas constitute one of the
important distinct architectural styles seen in Kulu Valley.
Of these Gupta style
stone temples, the Basheshar Mahadeo temple at Bajaura is the best
preserved. Situated about 16 kilometres from Sultanpur, Kulu on the
Mandi-Kulu motor road, the temple has no plinth, the main structure
rising from the ground level itself. The entrance to the inner
sanctum is guarded by two elaborately carved sculptures of Ganga and
Yamuna. There is a linga inside and the niches have sculptures
of Ganesh, Vishnu and Mahisasuramardini.
The Shiva temple at
Naggar is not basically different except that here one comes across a
sculpture of shiva and Parvati instead of the linga, which is
something uncommon. The temples at Dashal, Jagatsukh and Thawa also
conform to the style of the temple at Bajaura, although they seem
much older. Folk and primitive motifs are used extensiely in them.
In Kulu the rectangular
stone and wood temples, furnished with a pent roof and verandah are a
class by themselves. The walls are built of alternate courses of
stones and deodar beams. The Naggar castle is an example of this
style of architecture and there are two important temples belonging
to this class: the Bijli Mahadev and Sandhya Devi temples. The former
has fancifully carved wooden uprights that join on the roof and a
good deal of open carvings surround the arched windows in the fretted
verandah.
The Sandhya Devi temple
is built on the structure of an old temple that dates to the 8th
century. This is testified by the fact that the lower part has stone
carvings quite different from the upper wood carvings done in
primitive style. The wooden part completely encases the original
structure and this was done in the year 1428 AD according to an
inscription on the temple. The present structure with Mughal pillars
and wood carvings seems to have been built still later.
Another important style
in which the Kulu temples were built can be seen at the Tripura
Sundari temple in Naggar and the Hidamba Devi temple at Dhungri,
Manali. These are pyramidal structures with tiered roofs, generally
three, four or five in number and superimposed one above the other,
diminishing in size towards the top. The Hidamba Devi temple is an
interesting study from the point of view of wood carvings. The temple
was built in 1553 AD by Raja Budh Singh. In these carvings, one comes
across motifs derived from Gupta art, which are intermixed with
ornamental motifs such as knots, scrolls and plaitwork that have
their origin in the art of the nomads of Central Asia. There are also
carvings of local gods and goddesses.
The old Kulu houses which
are still extant on the left bank of the Beas—in Naggar,
Haripur, Jagat Sukh and Vashisht—with their overhanging
balconies going round the entire first floor of the building and
sloping slate roofs, are structures of remarkable beauty. The
railings, brackets and pillars are artistically cut and the wooden
window panes decorated with carvings. The entrance doors and the
ventilators above them also have carvings of fine workmanship. Even
the carved wooden household articles used by the people of Kulu are
genuine objects d’art.
LYRICS IN COLOUR
The paintings of the
Guler-Kangra school, exquisite lyrical composition, are the most
splendid specimens of Pahari miniature paintings. Refined in outlines
and replete with rare sensuousness, these miniatures are a fitting
climax to a painting tradition in the northern hill states which
imbibed foreign influences on the fabric of a local style.
The Guler style emerged
with the Ramayana and Bhagwata Purana paintings. A new romantic
naturalism sensuous colours, beauty of the female form and a striking
spontaneity characterized the Guler style. Natural elements were a
conspicuous part of the composition. Big trees of the Guler region,
swaying plantain leaves, pointed cypresses and an undulating hills
came to be identified with this particular style. Also, dark clouds
pierced by serpent-like lightning and skeins of white cranes were the
Guler symbols of desire.
The Guler-Kangra
paintings are mostly illustrations of Krishna-Radha legends,
absorbing with its divine framework the aspirations of human lovers.
Apart from devotional
themes, Kangra paintings specialize in portraying women drawn after
the masterly classification of nayikas by Keshavdas in Rasik
Priya. Thus, we have nayak-nayikas depicting love in union
and nayikas pining for union with the nayak. The eight different
categories of nayikas have been identified as per their disposition
in love. Hence, svadhinpatika is adored by her lover;
vasaksajja awaits his return form sojourn abroad; utka
is anxious about his welfare (“Like a newly caged bird she moves
restlessly in her leafy nook,” says Keshav Das of Utka Nayika);
abhisandhita has been separated from her lover over some small
quarrel; khandita turns the nayak away for having spent the
night with some other woman; proshitpreyasi is obdurate,;
vipralabdha is the jilted nayika to whom the flowery bower is
like a fiery furnace;and abhisarika sallies out into the
stormy night to seek her lover. Kavipriya was the other Keshav Das
classic which was illustrated. Pranks of the charming child Krishna:
playing a flute, dancing with the gopis (milk-maids), subduing
the Kalia serpent and lifting the Govardhana hill-episodes from the
Bhagwat Purana—were great favourites with painters and patrons.
Paintings of the seasons
and each month of the year were also down with a rare feeling for the
changing landscape, flowers, birds and life around the lovers. The
rangmalas (musical modes) had a limited patronage in Kangra
but are still known for their tranquil depiction of ragas and
raginis.
Technically, Guler-Kangra
paintings show a great sophistication of composition. Multi-figure
composition are handled with élan. As Anand Coomaraswamy has
remarked “Rarely has any other art combined so little fear with
so much tenderness, so much delight with such complete renunciation.
If the Chinese have taught us how to understand the life of Nature
manifest in water and inmountains, Indian art at least can teach us
how not to misunderstand desire, for we are constantly reminded here
that the soul of sweet delight can never be defiled.”
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