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Decide your favourite colour and pick a city to
match, Rajasthan's kaleidoscope of colours covers all.
Bastions of history, bristling with memories,
these splendid treasures stand battling the vageries of time.
 Fort Amber
The City Palace, Jaipur
Wind Palace, Jaipur
Chittaurgarh Fort
City Palace, Udaipur
Jaisalmer Fort
Mehrangarh
Fort
Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur
The desert sands shimmer and pulsate with an
energy and a spirit of festivity permeates the air, every season
provides many reasons to celebrate.
Camel Festival
Mewar Festival
Elephant Festival
Gangaur Festival
Pushkar Festival
Desert Festival
Ride a camel over the dunes or horses through
the hillside, speed ahead in a jeep and camp under open skies.
A delicate ecosystem, part desert part marshy
lands and even a small section of lush water filled valleys, sports a
wildlife rich in variety.
Whichever Budget Hotel you choose you will
always experience a traditional hospitality that you may never want to
forget.
Jaipur Budget Hotels
Jaisalmer Budget Hotels
Bharatpur Budget Hotels
Bikaner Budget Hotels
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Rajasthan Tours Travel » Tourist
Attractions » Arts & Crafts
Arts & Crafts of Rajasthan
The
Maharajas and nobility of Rajasthan have for centuries patronized its
artists and craftsmen, even importing specialists when none could be found
to create the opulent luxury goods they craved. Art and decor seems to
permeate the very air of this land and nothing remains untouched, humble
mud huts are decorated with as much attention as exquisite palaces and
forts, camels and elephants are painted and decorated with bells and
finery, houses are painted in cheerful colours, people wear elaborate,
heavily embellished dresses and jewellery. Crafts men here have a
knowledge of art honed over centuries and stone, clay, leather, wood,
ivory, lac, glass, brass, silver, gold and textiles are given the most
exquisite forms. Some of the popular crafts are :
Jewellery
Jewellery is a part of everyday life in Rajasthan, the tribal women wear
up to five kilos of silver jewellery in the course of an ordinary day, men
also wear traditional ornaments such as chokers and earrings. The more
famous traditional designs include rakhri, bala, bajuband, gajra, gokhru,
jod, etc. Rajasthan is a hub of jewellery designers and craftsmen,
precious and semi precious stones are also popular here and many are
inlaid in the jewellery itself, the most popular are - emeralds, daimonds,
pearls, garnet and agate. Meenakari is the art of enamelling on gold and
silver, a craft that the bazaars of Jaipur are famous for. Bangles of
every hue and colour are another mainstay of Rajasthan's markets.
Ivory
Ivory is considered auspicious in Rajasthan and it is not uncommon to see
women wearing ivory bangles all the way up to their elbows. Rajasthan has
its main ivory carving centers at Udaipur, Bharatpur and Jaipur from where
ivory carvers once churned out exquisite creations for the royalty. The
Bikaner Palace in fact is more famous for its artistic ivory inlaid doors
than the palace itself. Miniature paintings are also executed on ivory.
Carved ivory artefacts can be purchased in and around Jaipur but the
export of ivory in any form from India is strictly prohibited.
Textiles
Rajasthan is famous for its textiles, they come in an attractive range of
hand - block prints, tie and dye and embroidered fabrics with mirror work.
The art of Khari or over printing in gold is also practiced here. The
bandhni or tie & dye work comes from Sikar, Jodhpur, Udaipur. The fine
weave of the Kota-doria sarees are sought all over India for summer wear.
Gold and silver khari printing, ajrakh, appliqued and embroidered
textiles, are some more specialties of this textile industry.
Of late, Rajasthani's carpet and durrie industry has been revitalized and
the products refashioned to suit the tastes of modern buyers, redesigned
into upholstery and bed spreads they are finding many takers.
Blue Pottery
Blue pottery, introduced in India by the Mughals, soon became a favourite
of the maharajas of Jaipur, many a cool marble hall in Rambagh Palace has
as its centrepiece a bubbling fountain lined with refreshing blue tiles.
This art still thrives in the city and a piece of blue pottery is
something you wouldn't want to leave Jaipur without.
Teracotta is found almost everywhere in India, but in Rajasthan it sports
an individual style, here even the commonplace Teracotta is decorated with
mirrors, gota and paint. Molela in Rajasthan excels in sculpted terracotta
plaques and icons of Rajput heroes and Hindu deities
Leather-ware, much of Rajasthan including Jaipur has a thriving leather
industry and Camel leather is also commonly used. Some of the more famous
leather products include jooties (embroidered shoes), handbags, purses,
wallets, and many other gift items.
Miniature paintings of Rajasthan have a fascinating and unique style all
their own. Influenced heavily by the surrounding this medieval art form
usually depicts the hills and valleys, deserts, places and forts, gardens,
court scenes, religious processions and those highlighting scenes from the
life of Lord Krishna. The most famous schools of miniature paintings
include the Mewar school, the Bundi-Kota kalam, the Jaipur, Bikaner,
Kishengarh and Marwar schools
