Handmade in India

Languages
Marathi
Konkani
Hindi
Attire
Women:
Nauvari-nine yard
sari or draped cloth
choli-blouse
Men:
Dhoti-drapped lower
garment
Kurta-tunic
Phetas,Topitraditional
headdress
Cuisine
Sabudana khichadisago
snacks
Puran poli-bread with
sweet filling
Alphanso mangoes
MAHARASHTRA,with its vibrant
capital Mumbai,is a highly industrialized
and prosperous state in India,where
history has interwoven itself in the fabric
of the lives and crafts of the people for
centuries.It comprises five distinct
subregions based on the topography-
Konkan, Vidarbha,Desh (Deccan
Plateau), Marathwada and Khandesh.
The central part of Maharashtra is Desh;Konkan is the narrow
coastal lowland lying between the Arabian Sea and the Sahyadri
Range famous for its Alphanso mangoes;Vidarbha has rich natural
resources in its cotton growing soil;Marathwada boasts of two
famous UNESCO world heritage sites in India-the Buddhist caves at
Ajanta and the rock-cut temples at Ellora.Khandesh,the region under
the Tapi River Valley,is famous for its alluvial
bottomlands that produce cotton,oilseeds,and
tobacco.These region have influenced various
indigenous crafts like fishing and boat making in coastal
areas,bamboo crafts or wooden toys in the forested hilly
regio of the sahyadris and the Satpudas.Mughal
patronage influenced the motifs and techniques of the
classical hinroo textiles,bidri ware and the pallav,crossborder
or endpiece,of the Paithani saris.Saint poets like
Sant Ramdas and Tukaram who propagared the highest
spiritual values along with great revolutionaries,in the
artistic,literary heritage of Maharashtra and taken it to
glorious heights.The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum at
Pune has preserved some of the most unique artefacts of
crafts and traditions that are integral to the daily
existence of the Maharshtrians like chitrakathi
paintings,which are visual depictings of stories narrated
by the story tellers.
Inset A detail of the stone carving at the Kalaram
Mandir,Nasik,built in the 16th century AD.
Festivals
Nag Panchami
Narali Pournima
Gokul Ashtami
Ganesh Chaturthi
Gudi Padva
Pola
Dussehra
Diwali
MakarSankranti
Holi
Id-ul-fitr
Pateli
Hannukah-jewish
festival
1. Hoarding artists,commissioned to make film posters are very skilled in the art of painting large-scale
reproductions.Hand-painted posters though,are now a dying tradition.Indian cinema has globalized and
embraced computer rendered film imagery,as a result of which many fine artists have turned to painting
political figures for campaigns.
2. Ganesh chaturthi,one of Maharashtra`s important religious festivals.
3. A fruit vendor in Pune selling oranges grown in Nagpur.She is wearing a traditional hand-woven sari and a
blouse called khan.
4. Garlands are always in demand in the Mumbai market.
5. Detail of a Paithani silk sari.Paithan,in Aurangabad district,is renowned for weaving silk saris with a large
cross border in gold thread,with floral motifs woven in a tapestry technique ,using numerous spools of yarn.
Top view of an antique granite flour mill from a museum collection.Grain fed through the central chute is ground
between the grinding wheel on top and the stationary stone below.Stone carvers in Kolhapur nd Buldana districts
make domestic,industrial and special purpose grinding stones.