Visit to Pilkuwa - Women on Wings
A first Women on Wings field visit to Pilkuwa
Pilkuwa is a block carving centre
in the northern textile belt including Meerut, Panipat, etc.
on route to the small yet prosperous town
there is a railway station named "chippiyan Buzurgh" (printing venerable)
is there a still older town than this town
the houses are a large block with the ground floor dedicated to the cloth business
& no women in sight
traditionally a block carving & printing "industry",
graduated to canvas for military use in the 20th century
now acidic printed towels, bed linen, etc.
& some great examples of fine hand skill
BLOCK MAKING :
Each block motif may have 4/5/6/7 parts
they say upto 100! for the famous Sooraj Mukhi pattern
each new color, line & fill demands an individual block
the image above show only two of many
the units are small 3X5' cabins, that house a shelf of blocks & maybe two carvers.
Pilkuwa is a block carving centre
in the northern textile belt including Meerut, Panipat, etc.
on route to the small yet prosperous town
there is a railway station named "chippiyan Buzurgh" (printing venerable)
is there a still older town than this town
large blocks, streets at right angles, semi- covered drains |
the houses are a large block with the ground floor dedicated to the cloth business
& no women in sight
traditionally a block carving & printing "industry",
graduated to canvas for military use in the 20th century
now acidic printed towels, bed linen, etc.
& some great examples of fine hand skill
BLOCK MAKING :
the outline & color fill of the one motifs |
Each block motif may have 4/5/6/7 parts
they say upto 100! for the famous Sooraj Mukhi pattern
each new color, line & fill demands an individual block
the image above show only two of many
the block maker |
the units are small 3X5' cabins, that house a shelf of blocks & maybe two carvers.
this street is chippiyan ka Mowhalla ( Printer's Street)
PROCESS
hard woods like indian rosewood (shisham), teak, etc. are used
blocks for printing are carved on the vertical face of the wood to ensure durability
generally wood is used along the horizontal grain
the vertical face is high in compressive strength to withstand the impact while printing
Recently Azhar Kamal & his uncle have been jointly awarded the Certificate of Merit in block carving from the Government
Dhanya vaad = Danke Well
Image Credits : Irma van Zand
Sajawat Handicrafts is one of the larger manufacturers here, a unit hosting 10+ carvers, finishing equipments, etc.
wire inlay |
so fine the pattern hardly visible |
exploring the skills, product |
Dhanya vaad = Danke Well
Image Credits : Irma van Zand
1 Comments:
Beautiful blog Tanveen, it reflects my memory of the visit. Thanks again for letting us into your world!
Love, Irma
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