HANDICRAFTS
RUGS & CARPETS
Carpets and blankets are almost synonymous with Himachali furnishing.
Their brilliant colours and traditional motifs can make you forget your
Persian back home! You'll be spellbound by their appearance - Garudas
(Vishnu's mount, the eagle) perched on flowering trees, dragons, swastikas
(auspicious Hindu/Buddhist emblem), flutes (symbolizing happiness) and
lotus blooms (signifying purity).
In the higher reaches of the state, hillfolk rear sheep and goats and
weave the wool and hair into traditional blankets, rugs and namdas (heavy
rugs). Namdas are made with beaten wool. In fact men spinning wool by hand
as they watch their flocks is a common sight in Himachal.
Fleecy soft blankets called gudmas are also very popular. They are made
from the wool of the Giangi sheep. They come in natural wool colours and
are finished with a red or black edging. You'll have a lot of furnishings
to choose from: thobis (floor coverings), karcha (mattresses), which are
made from goat hair, pattoo cloth (like shawls), carpets and yarn made
from soft wool.
JEWELLERY
Chunky bead-and-metal jewellery of the hill people is usually in great
demand. As with most tribal communities, the traditional attire includes
ornaments for almost all parts of the body. Markets abound with stalls
selling amulets, pendants, necklaces, daggers and rings - you'll probably
want to take everything home!
Fine jewellery is crafted out of silver and gold. The jewellers of the
once-Rajput kingdoms of Kangra,
Chamba,
Mandi and
Kullu were famous
for their enamelling skills. They mainly worked with silver and were
partial to deep blue and green enamelling. They created exquisite pieces
like elliptical anklets, solid iron-headed bangles, hair ornaments,
peepal-leaf-shaped forehead ornaments, necklaces known as chandanhaars (a
bunch of long silver chains linked by engraved or enamelled silver
plaques) 
and
pendants with motifs of the mother goddess. An old
Kangra pattern for silver
anklets is a series of birds, archaic in design, connected by silver
links. Unfortunately most of this is old jewellery and is no longer made.
You could check it out in museums like the
Kangra Art Museum in
Dharamsala,
the State Museum in
Shimla and the
Bhuri Singh Museum in
Chamba.
Of the jewellery that's made now, coin necklaces are extremely popular
with pahari women. So much so that every pahari woman dreams of owning
one. Chokers called kach (made of silver beads and triangular plaques) and
the collar-like hansali are also common. Heavy anklets, bangles and silver
bracelets (kare) - solid or filled with shellac - with clasps in the shape
of crocodile or lions heads are worn by all women. In the Tibetan
influenced Lahaul-Spiti,
ornaments are studded with semi precious stones like coral, turquoise,
amber and mother-of-pearl.
METAL CRAFT
In a land where religion rules daily life, worship is bound to be an
elaborate process. Temples are replete with pretty objects needed for
worship, all fine specimens of metalwork. The metals used mainly are
brass, copper, iron, tin and bell metal. Apart from the exquisite
statuettes enshrined, there are several metal objects like bells with
artistically designed handles, lamps, incense burners, low settees of
silver or brass, vessels and ornate musical instruments in these temples.
In fact, the common lota (a small globular pot for storing water) itself
is available in so many different forms all over the state that it's
amazing. Similar things may be used as everyday items at home. Some of the
more affluent homes possess beautifully fashioned teapots, smoking pipes,
carved panels, doorknobs and various other artefacts. Metal workers
haven't lost their magic touch; this centuries old craft is still one of
the most vital traditions of the state. 
Another metalcraft unique to Himachal is the mohra. Mohras or metal
plaques representing a deity are common in Kullu and Chamba. Most of them
represent Shiva, but masks of the mother goddess Devi and other deities
are not uncommon. These plaques are usually made of bronze, brass or
silver and consecrated by a pujari (priest) before being installed in a
temple. The head is sculpted in bold relief, while the neck and shoulders
are more summarily treated. Each village has its own mohra. Mohras have
been made in Himachal for at least 1,400 years now. They are taken out of
the temples on a palanquin in processions during religious festivals like
the grand Kullu Dussehra.
WOOD CRAFT
Forests all over the state abound in pine and deodar, besides walnut,
horse chestnut and wild black mulberry. Wood has been used to great effect
in temples and lavishly built palaces. The steep-roofed pine temples of
northern HP often bear relief figures carved on their outer walls.
Intricately carved seats, doors, windows and panels speak volumes of the
craftspersons' skill. The Bhimakali
Temple of Sarahan is a
perfect product of the kind.
Woodcarving
is still a living tradition in HP. Pahari artisans use wood to make
intricate jalis, trelliswork or perforated reliefs that filter light,
transforming the interiors of a building with the play of light and shade
and balancing mass with delicacy. The carpenters of both villages and
towns make beautiful objects of everyday use like vedis (low benches),
bedlegs, cradles, bedsteads, low settees, boxes, ladles, churners, rolling
pins, wooden utensils, charkhas (spinning wheels) and hukka nari (the pipe
and body of the smoking pipe). You might like to take back something from
their range of fruit bowls, beermugs, wooden jewellery, decorative boxes
and carved images. Bamboo and willow bark is also stripped and fashioned
into sturdy trays and baskets.
STONE CRAFT
Thanks to the fair variety of stone found in this hilly region, stone
carving has been explored to the fullest in Himachal. Numerous shikhara
(spired) stone temples dot the landscape. The Lakshminarayan temples of
Chamba and the temples of Baijnath and Masrur in the Kangra Valley are
some splendid specimens of the kind. Beautifully carved memorial stone
slabs called panihars are also found in several places, especially near
temples and fountains.
Stone carvers in HP are hammering away at their blocks even today,
producing several artefacts of domestic use widely available in the
markets. These include traditional stoves (angithi), circular pots for
storing (kundi), pestle and mortar (dauri danda), mill stones (chakki) and
other things. The centres of sculpting in Himachal are concentrated mainly
in Mandi,
Chamba, Kinnaur
and the Shimla
Hills.
GARMENTS & ACCESSORIES
Himachalis simply love to dress up. Their everyday wear is so colourful
that you'd think that they were dressed up for a festive occasion. The
Gujjars (a semi-nomadic tribe) wear kurtas (long shirts) which are
delicately embroidered with circular and linear patterns. The people of
Chamba are majorly fond of all
sorts of accessories, which include bright rumals (scarves) worn by the
women, bangles and rings made of horsehair and brightly patterned grass
shoes.
Lahaul has its own
traditional footwear. People wear the most interesting socks - we bet
you've never seen anything like them before. These handknit woollen socks
are brilliantly patterned in bright and cheerful colours. Luckily for the
rest of the world, they are sold in abundance in the bazaars of
Himachal, along with gloves, mufflers and caps. The
typical Kullu topi
(cap), in shades of grey or brown and flat on the top, is rather striking
too. A band of colourful woven fabric brightens the front and the topi
looks rather neat set at a rakish angle.
LEATHER CRAFT & EMBROIDERED RUMALS
Chamba district is famous for its leather-craft and 'embroidered Rumals'.
The slippers made in Chamba are exceptionally comfortable and light. They
are made of leather and are ideal for walking or hiking in the mountains.
One can get them as plain or decorated in embroidered Lantana flowers,
leaves and designs. New and different kinds of designs are used today to
make decorative leather shoes, slippers, socks, belts, etc.
The other craft of Chamba is
its unique embroidery style. The Chamba 'Rumal' or handkerchief about 2 to
6 feet in length, is an important part of a
Chamba bride's trousseau. This
handkerchief is also known as 'Kashida'. The embroidery is same on both
sides and the threads used are silken and colorful. The cloth used, can be
cotton or silk and is usually white or cream in color. The designs are
made in running stitches with the space filled in so that the picture
appears on both sides of the handkerchief. The designs retain an almost
painting kind of an appearance and are an ideal gift from the region.
EMBROIDERY
Embroidery seems to be the favourite pastime of pahari women, their
nimble fingers busy with needle and thread on lazy afternoons. Houses in
HP are replete with beautiful pieces like rumals (scarves), coverlets,
handfans, caps, cholis (bodices), gaumukhi (prayer gloves) and such
things. The motifs are either from the traditional stock of miniature
painting, the landscape or are innovations of the women themselves. This
urge to create and live with beautiful pieces is very much a part of
pahari culture. The red and orange richly embroidered silk rumals
(scarves) of Chamba are simply
beautiful. The women of Chamba have traditionally made them for a 1000
years now. These rumals are actually small shawls meant to be used as head
coverings. They often depict scenes from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and
the Raas-lila of Radha and Krishna. The embroidery is done in silk yarn on
tussar cloth or fine cotton. The stitches are so fine that there is no
evidence of knots or loose threads. As such both sides of the rumal are
alike. The ground is usually white or cream, but the embroidery threads
(usually red and orange) are in striking contrast. A finely embroidered
rumal can take something like even a month to complete.
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