Indian Floor Paintings

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The origin of painting is traced to a moving legend recorded in the Chitralakshana— the earliest Indian treatise on painting. When the son of a King’s high priest died, Brahma, Lord of the universe, asked the king to paint the likeness of the boy so that he may breathe life into him again. This is how, it is believed, the first painting was made.

Another popular story is that God in one of his creative provocation extracted the juice from one of the mango trees as paint, and drew the figure of a woman so beautiful that it put the heavenly maidens to shame.

The Chola rulers made extensive use of floor paintings. They are known by different names in different parts of the country; Alpana in Bengal, Aripana in Bihar, Madana in Rajasthan, Rangoli in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Chowkpurana in Uttar Pradesh and Kolam in the south.

Decorating the floor in different parts of the house is believed to be a good omen. The entrance decoration is a gesture of welcome. Elaborate designs are made on all occasions.

The designs are symbolic and basically common to the whole country like: geometrical patterns, with lines, dots, squares, circles, triangles; the swastika, lotus, trident, fish, conch-shell, foot-prints (supposed to be of goddess Lakshmi), creepers, leaves, trees, flowers, animals and anthropomorphic figures. These motifs often are modified to fit in with the local images and rhythms. One important point is that the entire graph must be an unbroken line, with no gaps to be left anywhere between the line for evil spirits to enter.

Ethnic Indian Handicrafts and Paintings

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Indian paintings provide an aesthetic continuum that extends from the early civilization to the present day. This form of art in India is vivid and lively, refined and sophisticated and bold and vigorous at the same time. From being essentially religious in purpose in the beginning, Indian paintings have evolved over the years to become a fusion of various traditions which influenced them.

Paintings in India

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Indian Paintings as an art form has flourished in India from very early periods as is evident from literary sources and also from the remnants that have been discovered.

Indian Paintings can be broadly classified as the murals & miniatures. Murals are huge works executed on the walls of solid structures. Classic examples are the paintings in Ajantha & Kailasantaha temple.

Miniature paintings are those executed on a very small scale on perishable material such as paper, cloth, etc., Though this style had been perfected by artisans under the various rules, not many remain today. Prime examples are the Rajasthani & Mughal miniatures.

Contemporary artists have kept up to the times & excel in their modern works, giving free expression to their imagination & artistic liberty.

Art of Ellora cave paintings

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Mural paintings in Ellora are found in 5 caves, but only in the Kailasa temple, they are somewhat preserved. The paintings were done in two series - the first, at the time of carving the caves & the subsequent series was done several centuries later. The earlier paintings show Vishnu & Lakshmi borne through the clouds by Garuda, with clouds in the background.

The sinewy figures have sharp features & pointed noses. The protruding eye typical of the later Gujarathi style appears for the first time in Ellora. In the subsequent series, the main composition is that of a procession of Saiva holy men. The flying Apsaras are graceful . Very few murals in the Jain temples are well preserved.

Kasmiri Floor Coverings

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Kasmiri Floor Coverings are famous the world over for its embroidery work. The embroidery style used for this purpose is coarser and sturdy, as compared to that used for shawls. The chain stitch is used in varying degrees of thickness. The yarn goods are usually done on floral designs.

A line of dark color, adjacent to a light color gives the impression of depth and richness. The embossed effect created by the work makes it a nice change from printed or woven materials and accounts for its great demand in the international market.

The Namdas, a type of carpet, are made with chain stitch. At one time, they were considered the cheapest flooring but designers have made them so attractive that their beauty is much sought after. They have become an art form and have been raised from the floor to the walls, where they are hung in place of pictures.

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Chain stitch rugs are done in pastel shades on Hessian cloth and are extremely attractive. The whole surface is covered with embroidery and is then backed with strong cotton material to give them strength and body. The light pinks, blues, greens and creams blend in such an aesthetic whole that the rug becomes too beautiful to be kept on the floor. Bags, screens and cushion covers are other applications of the same art.

Gabbas are made from old worn out blankets pressed together. Felt applique in bold designs is held down with chain stitch done with a hook. The designs are bold and can be floral or geometrical. Special designs are made to suit any taste or meet any demand. For example, those made for children’s rooms show pictures from fairytales, birds, animals etc.

Miniature Painting

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The miniatures, as the name indicates were small works, which were made on perishable material & hence no definite proof of their birth & development can be traced.

In Bengal, Bihar & Orissa, Buddhist manuscripts were illustrated, mostly paintings of Buddha on palm leaves. They resemble the Ajantha style but on a miniature scale.
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Tanjore Paintings

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If ever Art has ardently wooed Beauty, nowhere is it more evident than in the paintings of Thanjavur. Every creation is truly a celebration of the beautiful. Rich, full bodied colours vie with exquisite filigree work to overwhelm the eye. The themes are figures of God, Krishna being the most frequently reproduced , but in various poses & depicting various stages of his life. Other Gods are depicted too. Today people are experimenting with birds, animals, building structures, etc.,

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MADHUBANI PAINTINGS

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The art of Madhubani painting, is the traditional style developed in the Mithila region, in the villages around Madhubani, Bihar. Madhubani literally means a forest of honey. This style of painting has been traditionally done by the women of the region, though today men are also involved to meet the demand. The work is done on freshly plastered or a mud wall. For commercial purposes, the work is now being done on paper, cloth etc.

The paintings are basically of a religious nature. They are done in the special rooms in their homes (in the pooja room, ritual area, bridal room.), on the main village walls, etc., for ceremonial or ritualistic purpose. The women offer sincere prayers to the deity before starting the work.
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KALAMKARI PAINTINGS

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Kalamkari literally means, Kalam - pen & kari - work, i.e., art work done using a pen. Vegetable dyes are used to colour the designs applied on cloth. The art of painting using organic dyes on cloth was popular in several parts of India, but this style of Kalamkari flourished at Kalahasti (80 miles north of Chennai) and at Masulipatnam (200 miles east of Hyderabad).

The Kalamkari tradition chiefly consists of scenes from Hindu mythology. Figures of deities with rich border embellishments were created for the temples. In Masulipatnam, the weavers were involved in the block printing art, while at Kalahasti, the Balojas (a caste involved in making bangles) took to this art.
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Folk Painting

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The somewhat lesser-known traditions of Indian painting are the so-called “folk” paintings dating back to a period that may be referred to as “timeless". These are living traditions, intrinsically linked with the regional historic-cultural settings from which they arise

PITHORO PAINTINGS - Gujarat

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Pithoro called Babo Pithoro by the tribals is one of the many deities worshipped in the region and this Pithoro style of folk painting is a way of appeasing the Gods and not a decorative wall piece.

The walls of the houses are painted by professional artists belonging to the Rathawa caste. The owner of the house prays for deliverance from evil and bad times (be it illness, lack of rains, low harvest yields) with the promise of getting a pithoro painted.

Since the painting is done only by professionals, it is an expensive affair and the owner gets it done when it suits him. If a pithoro painting is already done on a wall, it is redone.

The main wall in the house is prepared, along with the adjacent walls. The surface is coated with a plaster of clay & cow dung, by the young unmarried girls. The actual painting is done on a Wednesday. The rituals start a day earlier. On the Tuesday, the walls are whitewashed. The white dry clay is brought in five new baskets covered with five pieces of new cloth.

Murals

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During the 4th century AD. in a remote valley in Western India, work began on the Ajanta caves to create a complex of Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls. The sculptor-monks who lived here during the months of rain also took up a novel exercise of painting large tempera murals on the walls of the caves. The walls and ceilings were painted with frescoes in vibrant mineral colors. These paintings turned out to be of a quality which has never been surpassed.

The themes of these wall-paintings range from Buddhist legends to decorative patterns of flowers and animals. They seek to depict permanent human values and principles and are also records of the social texture of the times. The Golden Age of India under the Mauryan Empire was marked by luxurious living and splendor. The Ajanta murals were painted during this time of prosperity.

These murals also formed the basis of an entire aesthetic tradition which later spread to other countries in Asia. Versatility of line and form and role of color and composition are the endearing features of this art form. These paintings create a feeling of gaiety, wonder and resonance in the beholder. The viewer is transported into another state of consciousness where sound and light and color and palpable form are fused into one separate reality.

Miniature Paintings

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The essence of the Indian miniaturists’ visual expression lay in the idea of symbolism. In the language of symbols they recorded their communion with nature, rich in wonder, awe and delight. Their minds excelled in expressing what lay beyond the primary function of lines and pigments. ‘The master painter disposes’, Buddha once remarked while alluding to the art of metaphysical teaching, ‘his colors for the sake of a picture that can not be seen in the colors themselves.’

Painters delighted in unfolding the other dimension of the object; the basic shift in emphasis was from the multiplicity of sense experiences to unifying ideas, from the mutable aspect to an ever-present situation. Subjects derived from myths served as the base for such a transformation of nature into art, to reveal aspects of existence, human and supernatural or divine.
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International Establishments for Promortion of Trade

Many of the developed countries are trying to help others, specially the third world countries. There exist special cell/ organizations which promote trade imports from other countries to theirs. Most of these offices some or most of the following services:

1. Statistical information about their countries and markets.
2. Information on sale opportunities.
3. Information on import requirements and procedures.
4. Information on marketing techniques and business practices.
5. Listing of wholesalers, agents, importers, distributors etc.
6. Arrangements for contracts when visiting the market.
7. Trade fairs and exhibition assistance.
8. Publication concerning the markets.
9. Names of buyers seeking suppliers of a special product in specific quantities.
10.Training programs.
11.Free advertising of products in weekly trade information bulletins; also circulation of product offers to importers.
12.Seminars on trade promotion.
13.Establishment of regional/ national trade promotion centres and show rooms for product display.
14.Product test centre.

Abu Dubai :
1. Abu Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry; P.O. Box 662, Abu Dhabi; 22449 Tijara Em.
2. Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry. P.O. Box 3014, Abu Dubai, 3883 Gharaf Em.

Afghanistan : Afghan Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Mohmd. John Khan Walt; Kabul.

Australia : Consulate General of India, 153, Walker Street, North Sydney NSW 2060.

Austria : Austrian Federal Economic Chamber; Dept. of Foreign Trade, Stubenring 12, A-1010

Vienna : Federal Section of Commerce; (Office of Trade Policy), Bauermarket 13, A-1010 Vienna.

Belgium : Belgian Office for Foreign Trade, 162 Blvd Emile Jacqmain, B-1000, Brussels.

Canada : 1. Canadian Chambers of Commerce, Suite 301-200 Elgin Street, Toronto, Outerio MJJ 1B7.
2. Trade Facilitation Office; 200 Promonade du portage, Hull. Quebac, K1A OG4.

Cuba : Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Calle 21 no. 661 Esq.. A. Vedado Comara de Coercio de Cuba Habana, Cuba.

Chechoslovakia : Foreign Trade Corporation for Import and Export of Cultural Commodities; 30 Ve Sureckoch, Prana 2.

Denmark : Import Promotion Office, Danish Chamber of Commerce, Borsen, DK- 1217, Copenhagen K.

Egypt : Federation of Egyptian Chamber of Commerce; 4 Midan El. Falaki, Cairo.

Finland : 1. The Finnish Foreign Trade Association; Arkadiankatu 4- 6, P.O. Box 908, Sf00101 Helsinki 10.
2. The Finnish Import Promotion; Lapaunkatu 4, SF- 00100 Helsinki 10.

France : Bureau de Expertations Etrangeres, Centre Francais du Commerce Exterieur, 10 avenue d’lena, F- 75783 Paris.

Greece : The Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry 7, Academicans Street, Athens- 134.

Hungary : Hungarian Chamber of Commerce; V Kossuth ter 1 Budapest 106, Budapest.

Indonesia :
1. Indian Committee of Kadin Indonesia; Gedung Manggala wana Bakti, JI. Gatota Subroto, Senayan, 8th Floor, Room No. 807, Jakarta.
2. Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Gedung Chandra LT 2- 3- 4 JI MH. Thamrin Jakarta.

Israel : Israel Centre for Trade with Developing Countries; Chaim Street, P.O. Box No. 20027, Tel-Aviv.

Italy: Istituto Nazionale Per IL Commercio Estero (ICE); (National Institute for Foreign Trade), Via Liszt 21, P.O. Box 10057

Japan : Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Toranomon 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105.

Malaysia : Malaysian Handicrafts Development Corporation, Ministry of Land & Regional Development, WISMA KRAFTANGAN, No. 9, Jalan Tun Perak, 50050 Kuala Lampur.

Mauritius :
1. Mauritius Chambers of Commerce & Industry, 27 Royal Road, Port Louis.
2. The Indian Traders Association, Corner of Sir W. Newton & Farquker Street, Port Louis.
3. The Mauritius Chamber of Merchants, 27 Corderie Street, Port Louis.

Nepal :
1. Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce& Industry, Tripureswar, P.O. Box No. 269, Kathmandu.
2. Nepal Foreign Trade Association, Khichapokhari P.O. Box No.541, Kathmandu.
3. Trade Promotion Centre, Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Kathmandu.

Netherlands : Centre for the Promotion of Import from Developing Countries, The Netherlands, P. O. Box No.30009, 3001 DA Rotterdam.

New Zealand : Developing Countries Laison Unit, Department of Trade &Industry, Bowen State Building, Bowen Street, Wellington.

Norway : Norwegian Import Promotion Office for Products from Developing Countries (NORIMPOD), P.O. Box No. 1847, DEP N- 0033, Oslo1 Norway 1.

Phillipines : Philippines Chamber of Handicrafts, Sunvar Plaza Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Poland : Polish Chamber of Foreign Trade, Trebacka 4, P.O. Box No. 361, PL- 00 950 Warsaw.

Romania : Office for the Promotin Of Foreign Trade Relations With Developing Countries, Chamber of Commerce & Industry Of the Romania Socl. Reb, 22 Blvd N. Balcescu, R- Bucharest 1.

Singapore :
1. Singapore Federation of Chamber of Commerce, 47, Hill Street-03-01 Chinese Chamber Of Commerce Building, Singapore.
2. Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce, Maxwell Road, P.O. Box No. 1038, Singapore.

Sweden : Import Promotion Office for Products from Developing Countries (IMPOD), Norrmalmstorg 1, P.O. Box No. 7508, S-10392 Stokkholm.

Switzerland
1. International trade Centre Palais Des National 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
2. Office Suisse D’expansion Commerciale (OSEC), (Swiss Office for the Development of Trade), Avenue de Avant- Poste 4, CH- 1001 Lausanne.

Turkey : Union Chambers of Commerce, Industrial & Commodity Exchange, Atruek Vulcoei, Bakanliklor, Ankara.

USA : Confederation Colubiana de Camaras de Comerci, CONFECAMARAS’, Apartado Aero 29750, Bogota, Columbia.

United Kingdom : U.K. Trade Agency for Developing Countries (UKTA), London Chamber of Commerce & Industry Building, 69 Cannan Street, London.

Yugoslavia : Yugoslav Chamber of Economy, Knez Mihajlova 10, Yu11000, Belgrade.

Thanka painting

Thanka painting from Leh in Ladhak revolves around Buddha and ritual worship. The figures flow and the forms of the dragons dominate. Thanka paintings, made of cloth, are popular for their brilliant color display as wall hangings.

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Pata Chitra

The Pata Chitra painters are attached to the family of Jagganath Temple of Puri. In this tradition the cloth, cotton or tussar, is coated with a mixture of chalk, tamarind seed and gum, giving the surface a leathery finish. These are also drawn on palm leaves.

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Kalamkari technique of painting

The Kalamkari technique of painting involves drawing outlines with burnt tamarind twigs dipped in molasses and iron fillings. The vegetable dyes of deep shades are used to create epic scenes. With repeated but subdued coloring processes, a sober yet fine effect is achieved. The finished product recalls with vigor the mythological themes that are depicted and the pictures pulsate with larger than life figures. The immense scope of expression ensures that no two panels are alike.

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Indian paintings

Indian paintings, drawn mostly by village craftsmen, have the most exquisite styles possible. These reflect the traditions handed over from generation to generation over centuries. The colors and themes used reflect the cultural diversity of India.

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Ajanta Cave Paintings

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The Ajanta Caves carved out of volcanic rock in the Maharashtra Plateau was not far off from the ancient trade routes & attracted traders & pilgrims through whom the Ajanta art style diffused as far as China & Japan. The Buddhist Monks employed artists who turned the stone walls into picture books of Buddha’s life & teachings. These artists have portrayed the costumes, ornaments & styles of the court life of their times.

The artists applied mud plaster in two coats - the first was rough to fill in the pores of the rocks & then a final coat of lime plaster over it. The painting was done in stages. They drew the outline in red ochre, then applied the colours & renewed the contours in brown, deep red or black.
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