Craft Visit

Located deep in the northern part of the state. Ilkal was an ancient weaving Centre where the weaving seems to have started in the 8th century AD. The availability of local raw materials helped in the growth of this saree. Weaving of Ilkal sarees is mostly an indoor activity.

Handwoven sarees take about 8-15 days , powerloom takes 1/2 days for 1 saree,

ILLKAL SAREES

local women in Ilkal sarees

pit looms

traditional bobbin winding

CHANNAPATNA TOYS

The indigenous craft of Channapatna Toys is around two centuries old. The unique craft and technique of the traditional Channapatna toys are hereditary and are passed through generations. We visited a factory called Sri Beereshwara arts and crafts located in the town of Channapatna.

Most of the toy’s base is done by a circular machine. . The cylindrical billets are then fixed to a lathe machine to turn them into various shapes, using different tools. The lacquer sticks are prepared from the natural resin secreted by a female ladybug on trees.. then mixed with natural dyes to make a desired shade of colors which is then applied against the revolving wood piece which is already turned and smoothened, giving it a uniform layer of colored lacquer. Then as the finishing of the colored toy, a dry screw pine leaf is pressed against the rotating piece to attain a uniform spread of color for a translucent finish.

Toda Embroidery

Nilgiri Hills (Ooty, Tamilnadu) is treasured with not only natural beauty but also very rich peoples ‘culture, as around 23 tribes reside here.
Todas have played a major role as a leading community among all the tribes in Nilgiris.

Toda Embroidery has a lot of significance in their life as they are required to wear new clothes (Pothukulli) made with the traditional hand embroidery on an occasion of marriage or also on a funeral. They also perform their folk dance for entertainment during festivals and marriages and Nature is the main subject for their dance too.
This traditional garment is worn by both men and women on special occasions. It is draped around in a specific way from the waist to the shoulder.
The color palette speaks of the life cycle where each color represents a stage of life. The off-white color of the base cloth is indicative of infancy, red that of adolescence and black for maturity.