ARTS AND CRAFTS OF KARNATAKA

CRAFTS OF KARNATAKA
• WOOD CARVING –
KALABURGI(GULBARGA) NORTH
KARNATAKA
• Carved wood was used extensively in religious
and secular architecture in Karnataka, since
days of yore. Processional chariots attached to
temples, carved out of wood, were decorated
with exquisite wood sculptures of deities.
• This craft is still practiced in temple towns of
Karnataka. Large dwellings are embellished
with finely carved pillars, decorative doors,
door-frames, brackets and panels.
• Kalaburgi (Gulbarga) in North Karnataka is still
the production centre for these objects.
• Teak cradles, with panels depicting scenes from
the Mahabharata and Ramayana, painted with
eco – friendly vegetable dyes, is a craft still
practised in Kalghatgi in Dharwar District.
• Gokak, in Belagavi District is well known for
its wooden fruits and vegetables painted in
natural hues and Sirsi in Uttar Kannada, for
its turned wood animals and birds. Mysuru
and Bengaluru specialize in carved rosewood.
Furniture, mantapas, shrines for worship at
homes, are in demand.
SANDALWOOD CARVING
• Sandalwood, srigandha, is a precious wood because of its distinctive fragrance, restricted availability and high price.
• It also has religious significance, because of its use in in rituals of worship.
• Gudigars, hereditary crafts persons, in the districts of Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada, carve exquisite figurines of
gods and goddesses from the soft wood.
• Photo frames, paper knives, jewellery caskets and garlands made from sandalwood shavings are popular gift items.
• Shivani teak wood, that resembles sandalwood in colour but not in fragrance and much less expensive, is being widely
used as a substitute.
• Wood Inlay
• Wood inlay, primarily in rosewood, is a distinctive
craft of Karnataka.
• Wood inlay is the process of decorating the
surface of wood, by setting in pieces of material
such as ivory, bone, plastic, or wood of different
colours.
• Items of furniture like dining and living rooms
sets, decorative doors and wall plaques of
pastoral scenes and landscapes, are made by craft
communities mainly in Mysuru and Bengaluru.
• Wood Lac Turnery
• Channapatna, a town 56 kms. from Bengaluru, is the main production
centre for lacquered wooden toys. It flourished under the royal
patronage of Tipu Sultan, Ruler of Mysore in the 18th century.
• Toys are the signature craft product of this area, made from the close-
grained hale wood. The oil- free characteristic of the wood, makes it
easy for the products to be turned on a lathe. They are later decorated
with bright hued lacquer.
• The use of vegetable-dyed lacquer makes it eco-friendly and safe for
children. Educational toys, door curtains, jewellery and other household
and lifestyle accessories are also being made in the area.
• Bronze Metal Casting
• Bronze Casting using the cire perdue or lost
wax process is used to make religious idols in
bronze (an alloy of copper, brass and tin ),
meant for use in temples and household
shrines.
• The icons are crafted in accordance with the
measurements and principles of the Shilpa
Shastras, treatises on iconography. Bhuta
masks, used in ritual performances, are also
cast in bronze metal. The temple town of Udupi
and Nagamangala in Mandya district are
important production centres.
• Sheet Metal Embossing
• Designs are embossed on sheets of brass.
Temple accessories like mukhavadas and
kavachas, coverings of face and bodies of
temple deities, prabhavalis, aura for
deities, utsavavahanas, processional
mounts like Garuda and Hanuman and
kiritas, crowns for deities are traditional
products made in this craft form.
Decorative panels are also made for use in
homes.
• Bidri Metal Work - bidriware
• Bidar, in North Karnataka is a well known centre for the
Bidri metal craft, that owes its origin to the Bahmani
rulers, who brought it down from Persia over four
centuries ago, under whose rule it flourished.

• Molten liquid of an alloy made of zinc and copper is

poured into a mould, over which designs are etched.
Silver wire is hammered into the grooves, after which the
product is immersed into a liquid which contains a
blackish soil from the Bidar Fort, that gives the lustrous
black and silver look. Finely crafted Omar Khayyam wine
jugs, goblets, vases, boxes, bowls, plates, ashtrays, pen
holders, buttons, letter openers and bangles, embellished
with floral and geometric designs are popular gift items.
• Natural Fibre Crafts
• Grass, Reeds, Leaves and Plant Stem Fibres are gaining popularity,
as eco- friendly raw material for crafts in Karnataka.
• Handicrafts from banana stem fibre, has become a leading natural
fibre craft in the State. Production centres in Mandya & Hiriyur in
Chitradurga District and Anegundi in Koppal District, run mainly
by NGOs, are making products like table mats, bags, blinds, file
covers, stationery and mats for floor coverings. Other natural
fibres used are kora grass, kauna grass, sisal and jute. (Vijapura is
a main jute craft centre, making school satchels, shopping bags
and designer bags.) Donnes, bowls and cups fashioned out of
areca nut palm leaves made in Sirsi, Uttar Kannada and
Mangaluru are widely used as disposable utensils.
• The core of the shola plant is used to make pith craft; delicate
products, like hair ornaments with pith jasmines, garlands and
wedding decorations are made in Udupi and Kundapur in Dakshin
Kannada.
• Cane, betha and bamboo, bidiru, are the two most commonly-used
materials in daily life in Karnataka. Artisans from the Koraga
communities in Dakshin Kannada and Kodagu and Soliga tribals
from B.R. Hills, fashion products like baskets, that serve as
receptacles for agricultural products. Cane and bamboo are used
in construction of dwelling houses and fences and in recent times,
in making of light and eco-friendly furniture.
• Puppetry
• In Karnataka, gombeyatta or puppetry, has existed in villages since
ancient times, entertaining rural folk with episodes from mythology
and the epics.
• The main puppet forms are string, rod and leather. Sutradata
gombeyatta, is the string puppet form, where the puppeteer
manipulates the wooden puppets ,through strings attached to a rod.

• Salakki Gombeatta is a rod-stick puppet play, that had distinct

origins in the temples of Magadi and Ramnagara.
• The leather puppets are made from translucent goat skin and
painted with vegetable dyes and used in a shadow play.
• The two varieties of leather puppets are Chikka Togalu Gombeyaata,
the small leather puppet play and Dodda Togalu Gombeyaata, the life
size or large leather puppet play of Bagepalli of Chikkaballapur
District.
• Weaving:
• Weaving, another famous craft in Karnataka and also a household craft of Karnataka. Here the
craftsmen weave very colorful cotton sarees in dark earthy colors and use chocolate colors to mark the
saree borders. Generally, these sarees are in mat design with white and yellow colors. The Pallu based
sarees weave in cotton or silk yarn. Karnataka is famous for Ilkal Saris, which made with bright colors
like red, Peacock blue and parrot green.
• Molakalmuru
• Molkalmuru in Chitradurga District is considered the silk capital of Karnataka.
• The distinguishing features of the Molakalmuru saree, that is woven in pure silk, is its rich
zari-pallu, end piece and contrasting broad zari borders woven in the korvai, interlocking
technique. Designs are inspired by nature and stylized birds, mainly parrots. Animals, fruits
and flowers and geometric patterns are part of its design palette.
• Ilkal
• llkal, a town in the Bagalakot District of Northern
Karnataka, bordering the state of Maharashtra, is
home to the Ilkal saree.
• Migration of weavers from Maharashtra and
patronage from the chieftains of Ballari, led to the
growth of this industry. Ilkal sarees are woven in
cotton, cotton silk , pure silk and art silk in rich
colours, like black, navy blue, bottle green, peacock
blue and mustard.
• The signature feature of the Ilkal saree is the pallu,
seragu, or end piece; made of red silk with patterns in
white. Various styles of spokes decorate the seragu
named after their shapes, like kotikammli or fort
ramparts, toputenne or jowar shape and rampa or
mountain range.
• The seragu and body of the saree are joined by a
technique called kondi or locking. Designs on the
borders of the Ilkal saree are distinct; gadidadi,
railway track, rudraksa, holy seed, and viraspet. lkal
sarees are traditionally worn with, blouses made from
khannas, brocade like material woven in Guledgad, a
neighbouring town
• Cotton Sarees
• Cotton sarees are in high demand in Karnataka.
Udupi cottons with checked body and designed
borders, are woven in Udupi and Mangaluru.
• Haleangadi is well known for its Udupi style sarees
as well as for the weaving of the panipanche, a
short dhoti worn by Brahmins, when performing
pooja. Yakshagana Kase, the red, orange and black
checked cotton textile worn by the Yakshagana
theatre actors, is woven in this region.
• Cotton sarees in rich hues of forest green,
turquoise blue and maroon as well as garments
are produced in Dharwar, Hubballi, Belagavi,
Gadag, and Sulebhavi. Dupattas, dhotis, shirting
material, towels and bed sheets are also woven in
these areas.
• Khadi cotton textiles
• The entire manufacture and supply of the National Flag of India in the country, is in Hubballi , in Northern
Karnataka, under the aegis of the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha.
• Khadi sarees, dhotis, towels and handkerchiefs, garlands as well as made ups, like caps and kurtas are
made in Belagavi, Hubballi, and Gadag in Northern Karnataka as also in in Sagar in Shivamogga District.
• Kasuti Embroidery
• In Karnataka, as in other parts of India, life cycle rituals like
childbirth, marriage and festivals, are occasions for
presenting new garments.
• In Karnataka clothes for infants, like bonnets are patterned
with kasuti embroidery. An important part of a bride’s
trousseau is a couple of sarees embroidered with kasuti, and
embroidered blouses.
• One such saree is the Chandrakali, an indigo-black and red
Ilkal silk, dyed in vegetable and mineral colours and
adorned with exquisite kasuti embroidery, that is given to a
bride on the occasion of the Sankranti festival. The main
clusters for kasuti are in Dharwar and Hubballi Districts.
• Durries
• Navalgund Durries, also known as
jamakhanas, are floor coverings woven
in cotton, with striking patterns and
vivid colours.
• Navalgund is a town located 38 kms.
from Hubballi. Navalgund or
Navilgund in Kannada means “hill of
peacocks” and the motif of the peacock
finds expression in the durries, set
within geometric patterns.
• Druggets, are artistic durries made in
different sizes in Mysuru, Bengaluru
and Belagavi.
• Kamblis, or blankets made of pure
wool by the Kuruba shepherd
community, are woven in Challakere in
Chitradurga District,
Chikknayakanahalli, Tumkuru,
Sowdatti and Belagavi.
• Ivory Carving

• One of the popular arts and crafts of Bangalore, infact the whole of Karnataka, is ivory carving. The
articles carved out of ivory mainly have the images of Gods and Goddesses as their theme.
Pottery art
• The village Khanpur, Belgeum District is well
known for Pottery.
• Here the craft men skilled in Pottery making,
especially pottery in the district is famous for
doing the large size of Jars and containers, use to
store the food items in the houses.
• Almost the craftsmen use local clay to make
Pottery and craw beautiful designs on the pots.
• “Pottery town is over 100 years old. Most of the
families here had come during the reign of the
Mysore king,”
• But now, there are only 15-20 shops left, which
are also on the verge of shutting down.