The Craft Encyclopedia

Chhattisgarh

Dhokra is a 4,000-year-old lost-wax metal craft from Bastar.

Karnataka

The story of Bidriware: silver inlay on jet-black zinc alloy, born in 14th-century Bidar.

Tamil Nadu

Thanjavur art plates raise deities in silver and copper over brass, a craft of the Maratha court.

Tamil Nadu

Swamimalai sthapathis cast panchaloha deity bronzes by the lost-wax method of the Chola masters.

Uttar Pradesh

Moradabad — Peetal Nagri, the Brass City — has cast and engraved brassware since the Mughal era.

Telangana

Pembarthi's Vishwakarma artisans have embossed brass sheet since Kakatiya times, adorning temples and chariots.

Kerala

From the secret-alloy Aranmula Kannadi mirror to temple lamps, South India's bell-metal casters keep sacred metallurgy alive.

Odisha

Tarakashi turns fine silver wire into gossamer lacework.

Uttarakhand

In Almora's Kumaon hills, Tamta coppersmiths hand-beat copper into gagars, lamps and ritual vessels.

Bihar

Madhubani painting began on the mud walls of Mithila homes.

Odisha

Explore Odisha's GI-tagged Pattachitra: cloth-scroll paintings from Raghurajpur made with conch-shell white and lacquer, plus buying and care tips.

Andhra Pradesh

Kalamkari from Andhra Pradesh: hand-drawn Srikalahasti and block-printed Machilipatnam styles, natural dyes, GI status and how to buy authentic work.

Tamil Nadu

Thanjavur (Tanjore) painting explained — 22-carat gold foil, gesso relief and gem-set deities from Tamil Nadu, with GI facts and a buyer's guide.

Maharashtra

Warli painting from Maharashtra: the Warli tribe's rice-paste wall art, its symbols, GI protection, and how to choose an authentic hand-painted piece.

Madhya Pradesh

Gond painting from Madhya Pradesh: the Gond tribe's dot-and-line art, its signature infill patterns, themes, and a practical buying and care guide.

Rajasthan

Pichwai paintings of Nathdwara, Rajasthan: devotional Krishna cloths with lotus, cows and gold detail — history, technique and buying advice.

Rajasthan

Phad painting from Bhilwara, Rajasthan: epic scrolls of Pabuji and Devnarayan carried by Bhopa singers — history, technique and buying guide.

Telangana

Cheriyal scroll painting from Telangana: the Nakashi community's red-ground story panels and masks — GI status, technique and buying tips.

Kerala

Kerala mural painting: temple art in five natural colours, from lime-plaster walls to canvas — history, technique, buying and care guide.

Karnataka

Mysore painting from Karnataka: delicate gesso gold work and muted palettes of the Wodeyar court — GI facts, technique and buying guide.

Himachal Pradesh

Kangra painting, the lyrical Pahari miniature school of Himachal Pradesh: its history, natural pigments, GI status and how to buy an authentic piece.

Sikkim

Thangka paintings of Sikkim, Ladakh and Tawang: sacred Buddhist scrolls in mineral pigment and gold — how they are made and what to look for when buying.

Uttarakhand

Aipan, the red-and-white ritual art of Kumaoni women: rice-paste designs on ochre, their meanings, and how to buy and care for aipan on paper and cloth.

Jharkhand

Sohrai and Khovar, the GI-tagged mural art of Hazaribagh's women: earth pigments, comb-cut technique, harvest and wedding traditions, and buying tips.

Jharkhand

Paitkar scroll painting of Jharkhand: the Chitrakar storytellers of Amadubi, natural pigments, Santhal narratives, and how to collect these rare scrolls.

Uttar Pradesh

Banarasi silk from Varanasi: Mughal-era brocade, kadhwa and jangla weaves, real zari, GI protection, and how to spot an authentic handloom sari.

Tamil Nadu

Kanchipuram silk saris: three-shuttle korvai weaving, temple motifs, real zari with a red silk core, GI status, and a practical buying guide.

Telangana

Pochampally Ikat from Telangana: pattern tie-dyed into the yarn before weaving, single and double ikat, GI heritage, prices and buying advice.

Gujarat

Patan Patola, the double-ikat silk of Gujarat's Salvi weavers: months on the loom, natural dyes, a fully reversible weave — and what justifies the price.

Maharashtra

Paithani, Maharashtra's tapestry-woven wedding silk from Paithan and Yeola: peacock pallus in zari, Satavahana-era roots, GI status and buying tips.

Madhya Pradesh

Chanderi sarees from Madhya Pradesh: sheer silk-cotton, gold buti motifs, GI-tagged.

Madhya Pradesh

Maheshwari sarees from Maheshwar: reversible borders, fort-wall motifs, Ahilyabai Holkar's legacy.

West Bengal

Jamdani weaving from Bengal and Uppada: motifs hand-inlaid into gossamer muslin with no sketch.

Assam

Muga silk of Assam: rare wild golden silk that grows more lustrous with every wash.

Jammu & Kashmir

Kashmir Pashmina and Kani shawls: hand-spun Changthangi fleece, twill tapestry on wooden bobbins.

Himachal Pradesh

Kullu shawls from Himachal: bright geometric patti borders on warm wool, angora and pashmina blends.

Punjab

Phulkari embroidery of Punjab: darning stitch worked from the reverse in glossy floss silk on khaddar.

Odisha

Sambalpuri ikat (bandha) from Odisha: yarn tie-dyed before weaving into conch, wheel and flower motifs.

Rajasthan

Kota Doria from Kaithoon, Rajasthan: an airy square-check weave alternating cotton and silk.

Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow chikankari: shadow work and jaali embroidery in over thirty stitches on cotton and georgette.

Gujarat

GI-tagged Kutch embroidery from Gujarat — Rabari, Ahir and Mutwa mirror-work stitched by hand.

Gujarat

Ajrakh resist block printing by Khatri printers of Kutch and Barmer — sixteen stages of indigo, madder and mordant dyeing.

Madhya Pradesh

Bagh print from Dhar, Madhya Pradesh — GI-tagged hand block printing in alizarin red and iron black, washed in the Baghini river.

Rajasthan

Sanganeri florals and Bagru dabu mud-resist — Jaipur's twin block-printing towns, stamped by hand with teak blocks by Chhipa printers.

Gujarat

Bandhani tie-dye from Kutch, Jamnagar and Rajasthan — thousands of fingernail-tied knots, dyed into auspicious dots.

West Bengal

Baluchari sarees from Bishnupur, West Bengal — mythological scenes woven into silk pallus on jala looms.

Bihar

Bhagalpuri tussar (kosa) silk — wild silk with a natural golden sheen, handwoven in India's Silk City.

Himachal Pradesh

The GI-tagged Chamba Rumal of Himachal Pradesh: do-rukha double-satin embroidery identical on both sides, drawn from Pahari miniatures.

Himachal Pradesh

GI-tagged Kinnauri shawls from Himachal's high valleys — wool, pashmina and yak-wool with symbolic geometric borders woven in tapestry technique.

Nagaland

Naga shawls from Nagaland, woven on backstrap loin-looms — bold banded textiles that encode tribe, status and honour.

Mizoram

The Puanchei is Mizoram's most colourful handloom — a GI-tagged ceremonial wrap of diamond motifs worn at weddings and the Cheraw bamboo dance.

Meghalaya

Eri or ahimsa silk is spun after the moth leaves its cocoon.

Arunachal Pradesh

In Arunachal's Ziro valley and beyond, Apatani and Adi women weave bold geometric shawls and wraps on the loin loom — cloth that marks clan and ceremony.

Sikkim

Sikkim's indigenous Lepcha community weaves the striped thara cloth on backstrap looms, in cotton and nettle fibre drawn from their Himalayan homeland.

Manipur

Manipur's GI-tagged Meitei handlooms: Moirang Phee with its stepped temple border, and Wangkhei Phee, a sheer hand-woven muslin for sarees and phaneks.

Goa

Red-and-white checked cotton worn by Goa's Kunbi farming women since before Portuguese rule — a hardy handloom saree revived as a symbol of Goan identity.

Ladakh

Nambu is Ladakh's thick handwoven wool — spun by hand, woven in narrow strips and stitched into goncha robes, blankets and shawls for the high Himalaya.

Rajasthan

Jaipur's GI-tagged blue pottery uses no clay at all: a quartz frit body glazed in cobalt and turquoise, carrying Persian motifs into Rajasthani homes.

Uttar Pradesh

From Khurja in Uttar Pradesh — GI-tagged glazed pottery hand-painted in blue, brown and green florals, on India's tables for generations.

Manipur

The Tangkhul Naga of Longpi, Manipur hand-shape serpentine stone and clay into GI-tagged charcoal-black cookware — no wheel, open-fired, leaf-burnished.

Rajasthan

Hollow terracotta plaques of folk deities from Molela, Rajasthan — GI-tagged clay work modelled by hereditary potters.

Gujarat

Hand-painted earthenware from Khavda in Kutch — wheel-thrown pots with freehand geru, white and black dot patterns.

West Bengal

The story of the Bankura horse — Panchmura's GI-tagged votive terracotta, wheel-built and fired red or black.

Meghalaya

Larnai black pottery from Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills — hand-built serpentine-clay cookware fired in open flame, no wheel.

Goa

Goa's hand-painted azulejos tiles — Indo-Portuguese cobalt-and-white art on nameplates, murals and wall panels.

Karnataka

Channapatna's GI-tagged lac-turned toys — ivory wood coloured with vegetable dyes, safe for children.

Andhra Pradesh

Kondapalli Bommallu — GI-tagged softwood toys of Andhra, carved in parts and joined with tamarind paste.

Andhra Pradesh

Etikoppaka's GI-tagged lathe-turned toys, coloured with lac and pure plant dyes on ankudu wood.

Uttar Pradesh

Saharanpur wood carving — GI-tagged deep relief and jali work in sheesham rosewood.

Jammu & Kashmir

Kashmir walnut wood carving — GI-tagged deep undercut work in the Valley's rare walnut.

Karnataka

Fine sandalwood carving by Karnataka's Gudigar artisans — fragrant deities, boxes and panels from Mysore.

Maharashtra

Glossy lacquered wooden fruit, toys and hand-painted Ganjifa playing cards from Sawantwadi — a royal Maharashtrian craft kept alive by Chitari families.

Nagaland

Bold tribal wood carving from Nagaland: mithun heads, hornbills and warrior figures cut into panels, masks and furniture by Naga carvers.

Arunachal Pradesh

Totemic figures, masks and smoking pipes carved by the Wancho tribe of Longding, Arunachal Pradesh — bold blackened wood, often adorned with beads.

Sikkim

The choktse, Sikkim's carved and painted folding table — dragons and the eight auspicious symbols on furniture that folds flat yet glows with colour.

Rajasthan

Meenakari — Jaipur's art of fusing jewel-bright glass enamel onto gold and silver, often paired with kundan.

Rajasthan

Kundan jewellery from Jaipur and Bikaner — uncut polki diamonds set in pure gold foil, the bridal art of Mughal and Rajput courts.

Rajasthan

Thewa art from Pratapgarh, Rajasthan: 23-carat gold sheet fused onto coloured glass, a GI-tagged technique kept by one family for over 250 years.

Tamil Nadu

Temple jewellery from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu — deity motifs in gold and silver with rubies and emeralds, made for brides and Bharatanatyam dancers.

Chhattisgarh

Chunky brass necklaces, cuffs and earrings cast by lost-wax Dhokra technique in Bastar, Odisha and Jharkhand — tribal jewellery with 4,000-year roots.

Rajasthan

Handmade lac bangles and jhumkas from Jaipur and Hyderabad — natural resin shaped over coals and studded with glass by Manihar and Lakhera artisans.

Punjab

Hand-braided parandis from Patiala: silk-thread hair ornaments with tassels and beads, plaited into the braid for weddings, giddha and everyday flourish.

Uttar Pradesh

Agra's parchin kari sets carnelian, lapis and malachite flush into white marble — the Taj Mahal's own craft, still practised by hereditary artisans.

Tamil Nadu

GI-tagged Mahabalipuram stone sculpture: granite gods and temple panels carved by hereditary sthapathis to Shilpa Shastra canon since Pallava times.

Odisha

Odisha stone carving from Puri and Bhubaneswar — khondalite deities and relief panels by heirs of the Konark Sun Temple's sculptors.

Tamil Nadu

Hand-carved soapstone from South India: pierced lattice lamps, deities and decor in soft steatite — a stone India has carved since Harappan times.

Assam

Assamese cane and bamboo craft — the conical japi hat, ceremonial sorai tray, furniture and decor, split and woven by hand from sustainable culms.

Tripura

Tripura bamboo and cane craft: hair-fine slivers woven into mats, lamps and furniture — northeast precision work prized by contemporary designers.

Kerala

Kerala screwpine mats and bags, hand-plaited from thorn-stripped pandanus leaves by women weavers — a cool, supple, all-natural household craft.

West Bengal

GI-tagged Madurkathi mats from Medinipur, West Bengal — soft madur reed woven on cotton-warp looms into cool floor mats, rugs and table mats.

West Bengal

Sitalpati, the GI-tagged 'cool mat' of Cooch Behar: silk-soft murta reed weaving by Bengal's Patni artisans.

Meghalaya

Meghalaya's cane and bamboo craft: knup rain-shields, back-baskets and coiled stools woven by Khasi and Garo artisans in the world's rainiest hills.

Uttarakhand

Ringaal bamboo craft from Uttarakhand: Himalayan artisans split dwarf hill bamboo into baskets, mats and winnows.

Tamil Nadu

The GI-tagged Pathamadai Pai — korai grass mats from Tamil Nadu woven so fine they fold like silk.

Andhra Pradesh

Tholu Bommalata: Andhra Pradesh's GI-tagged leather shadow puppetry.

Rajasthan

Rajasthani kathputli — carved wooden string puppets in mirrored finery, performed by nomadic Bhat bards for centuries.

Maharashtra

Kolhapuri chappals: GI-tagged, vegetable-tanned leather sandals hand-stitched in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Rajasthan

Mojaris and juttis: hand-stitched leather slip-ons from Rajasthan and Punjab, embroidered with zari and silk.

Jammu & Kashmir

Kashmir's GI-tagged papier-mache: paper pulp moulded, painted in naqashi florals and gold, and lacquered to a jewel finish in Srinagar.

Jammu & Kashmir

GI-tagged Kashmir hand-knotted carpets: silk and wool woven in Persian knots from coded talim scripts in Srinagar.

Uttar Pradesh

Hand-knotted wool carpets from Bhadohi–Mirzapur, India's Carpet City.

Telangana

Warangal & Salawas dhurries: reversible flat-woven rugs beaten tight with the panja claw.

Bihar

Sikki grass craft of Mithila, Bihar: golden baskets, boxes and figures coiled by women artisans.

Gujarat

Sankheda lacquer furniture from Gujarat: turned teak, gold patterns under maroon lac, burnished with agate.

Haryana

Panipat, India's City of Weavers: handwoven durries, rugs and furnishings, many spun from recycled fibre.

Uttar Pradesh

Firozabad glasswork: the bangles, beads and blown glass of UP's Glass City.

Uttar Pradesh

Sanjhi, the hand-cut paper stencil art of Mathura–Vrindavan: Krishna-leela in lace-fine paper.

Uttar Pradesh

Mainpuri tarkashi: brass wire hammered flush into sheesham wood to draw glinting patterns.

Arunachal Pradesh

Mon shugu, the Monpa handmade paper of Tawang: thousand-year-old bark paper made for Himalayan monasteries.