Travelling across Gujarat, from Ahmedabad, the journey changes terrains quickly into sand and the landscape on the highway is almost entirely made up of kapas fields that fly past the bus window. Occasionally these paths are dotted with colourful manjas that sing the forth coming of a time of change and relief. Bandhani printed sarees and large turbans are the indicators of the fellow travelers and their love for telling stories of their heritage.
In the quest for a tradition that is worn, The linear main market of Surendranagar embraces one with the homely Kathiawadi cuisine, along with recurring pink maanjas and large quantities of dried chilli that ushers the onlooker out towards the highway once again.
The highway is speckled with occasional establishments once you rush towards the Lakhtar road. A little far away from the industrial units of paper mill and manufacturing industries of Lakhtar, hidden away in the canopy of one of the right turns is a small village called Dedadra.
It is in the post pandemic time frame that this particular journey took place. It has been a peculiar year for everyone and the ripples felt by all are evident, but the lockdown had just been lifted and people were back on the streets with the local festival of ‘uttarayan’ just around the corner, to embrace them with a touch of normalcy.
Towards the far opposite left of the village, lives a community that has been an undeniable part of its ecosystem. The dangasiya vasahat houses a community of artisans who weave the stories of the confluence of two culture that brought together the weavers and the shepherds in a language dotted with love.
Colour and Textiles makes up the visual landscape of dangasiya vasahat in many forms, Its tangible interpretation is seen in the applications of various textile techniques within the household before they can be seen on the loom itself. Be it for decoration or solely for a functional purpose, the Dangasiyas rely on techniques like braiding, weaving, crocheting and appliqué for their natural existence. The way they use colours in katran daris, knotted doormats, khats and godhada is what makes them unique as a community of Saurashtra weavers.
A seven hundred year old textile tradition stems from this community of Saurashtra weavers. For years before the mill made cloth had captured Indian Textile markets, the Dangasiyas had had the responsibility of producing a lower garment called Tangaliya that could translate as the cultural expression of the Bharwads into cloth.
This woven textile is an epitome of great detail and patience. Dana work - an extremely laborious wool embellishment done directly on the loom while creating basket weave cloth that is sometimes supported by extra weft borders is said to be the most fascinating step of the process. This craft held a more cultural value for the Bharwads, but for the Dangasiyas it always had an underlying layer of survival because the craft was the prime bread winning occupation of the community.
The Daana work stands to be the the USP of the craft since times immemorial but what has sustained them as a community is the the range of compositions the weavers could achieve with a humble dot.
It was the translation of this skill into layouts that made the weaver connect to its audience, while achieving the same texture on both sides. The journey that these weaving hands took was also to reassure their place in a cultural ecosystem while earning their bread.
The product range produced historically took care of different phases in the lives of Bharwads. The highly ornate Ramraj was always a ceremonial piece of garment often used in wedding trousseaus. The Dhooslu was for aged, older women and was less ornate and mostly black. Another variation called the Charmalia had the use of zari in the border along with a simple head cloth called Lobadi.
The weaving community seemed to appreciate the uniqueness of the craft as they fostered their vision fro today's consumer by selling Dana work that is no longer in a lower garment but a plethora of products. They takes pride in their craft but as an occupation.
Even after claiming the craft for their own, after the Bharwads revoked their patronage before moving to a more mill-made attire, the Dana work textile sparsely made its way into the weaver’s community. The occasions that he celebrates seldom come with an appreciation for his handiwork but he preserves the cloth that connected him to his cultural ecosystem with pride and gusto.
This experience constantly kept us wrapped up in multiple questions. In our chosen research method, we tried to approach the craft from a people point of view. Instead of looking at it only as a visual language, it was interesting to understand how it was situated within the lives of the artisans and how much of their everyday life was influenced by their craft.
In our journey we wanted to find the underlying themes that made up the character of our Tangaliya cluster and reflect on how these connections help us uncover subtle details.
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