India has a vibrant cultural heritage and diverse traditional amalgamation in terms of art forms, heritage, lifestyle, celebrations, handicrafts, food et al. Ahmedabad is no different in this regard. Topping the charts are the age-old crafts of the city once known as ‘The Manchester of the East’. The artisans here have still kept many, rare to find and age-old art forms alive n kicking. These traditional crafts have so been blended or should we say contemporized by the artisans such that they are woven to fit in today’s modern lives. Ahmedabad has a rich plethora of such age-old crafts, still simmering on with uniqueness like ‘Mata ni Pachedi, ‘Mata ni Angi’, Pothi Binding, wooden carved Havelis, silver ornaments making and many more.
Traditional crafts, crafts and more crafts!!!
The era gone by had within its fold varied intricate work options undertaken by the locals of the city which. In addition to being a means of livelihood, these also blended in their day to day lifestyle. Torans, then and even today occupy a prominent place in the traditional Gujarati households. Similarly, beadwork, mirror work, and embroidery have the same importance then and now.
The womenfolk used to do their bit to pitch in the family income by putting to use their skills in toran making. They would put their expertise to display with decorative household articles like moti(beads) work on mukhvaas bottles, mirror work and embroidery on a multitude of items like pillowcases, table cloths, wall hangings which are very uncommon and rarely found in today’s times.
Business accounting in olden days
With the evolving times, we have attuned ourselves to the change scenarios too. In businesses nowadays accounting software are used to manage accounts but just refresh your memories to recollect how there were ‘munim’s and ‘pothis’ or ‘bahi khatas’ then for account management.
For the worship…
India is a land where people across religions revere a multitude of deities. Since time immemorial, gods and goddesses have been a central part of our existence and our celebrations. Hordes of people eked out a living making clothes for the gods (Bhagawan na vagha). In addition, we had traditional and rare to be seen nowadays things like ‘Mata ni Pachedi’ and ‘Mata ni Angi’. These crafts, as well as craftsmen, are shrinking day by day.
Glittering silver
Ahmedabad is a huge ambit for the manufacture and sale of silver ornaments. A separate market thrives here amidst new age jewelry retail brands. These sophisticated brands provide customer friendly services. In spite of this, the age-old single shop jeweler has managed to hold his own fort in this silver ornament market of the city. One has to see the hustle and bustle here to believe it.
Havelis of yore
The bylanes of the old city still reflect the pols or housing clusters. These pols comprise of majestic Havelis of yore. These Havelis are home to the exquisite craftsmanship of wooden carvings. In addition, the carvings also showcase the owner’s interests. Moreover, they also reflect the social life of then.
These and many more such unknown, hidden from the eye, age-old crafts are lying unexplored in our city. So come and unearth a treasure trove of our age-old arts and crafts with our Craft Walk.