An In Depth Analysis of the Paithani Textile Through Case Studies

This report offers an in-depth analysis of the Paithani textile, a significant handloom craft from Maharashtra, India. It delves into the textile's rich history, intricate designs, and cultural significance, tracing its evolution from ancient times to the present day. The report examines the challenges faced by the Paithani textile industry, including the impact of industrialization, globalization, and changing market trends. It further explores the revival strategies for Paithani, drawing on case studies of other Indian crafts like Ajrakh and Ikat. The study highlights the importance of collaborative models involving designers, businesses, NGOs, and artisans in creating sustainable markets and preserving cultural heritage. The report also emphasizes the need for design interventions and government support to protect and promote the art of Paithani weaving, ensuring its survival in a competitive global market. It concludes with suggestions for the revival of Paithani textile, emphasizing the need for a combined effort of local artisans, intermediaries, and heterogeneous levels to address social and economic concerns.

Running head: FASHION FUTURES
An in depth analysis of the Paithani Textile through case studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract:
India is a significantly renowned country for the strong cultural legacy in the handloom
industry. The country is considered as one of the best in the world for the considerable
amount of quality employees in employees in the hand-woven textiles with crafts dating back
as far as 3500BC and the first mill was set in 1818. India has seen many historically famous
hand-woven, printed, dyed and embellished textiles like Banarasi, Baluchari, Ikat, Jamdani,
Narayan pethi, Irkal, Kanchipuram and Paithani.
The growth of automation and mass production in the textiles industry worldwide has
led to many traditional textile crafts to decline. The country was able to observe a significant
amount of efforts from the non-governmental agencies, commercial business owners and
government in the survival and growth of India's handicraft business. Along with this, the
above mentioned parties were instrumental in searching for a sustainable market for India's
handicraft business. The timing of the above mentioned activity was significant as well as it
was observed to happen in a period when the Indian and International urban market for the
products which were developed ethically and in an eco-friendly manner. The paper involves a
study of various crafts of India with an aim to draw conclusions for the revival of Paithani
textile. It is interesting to see the history and historical development of the textile ‘Paithani'.
The textile is classified by various weaves and motifs. The complex jacquard weaving is one
of the reasons the product has not lost its identity over the years. Paithani also has a long PLC
(Product Life Cycle) of more than 2000 years. The mentioned processes include two different
case studies. The first one in the process is the Ajrakh craft case along with a precise focus on
the 4 different organizations which had significant contribution in the revitalization of the
Ajrakh. Along with this, the second one is the Ikat craft and the current market position of it.
The main objective of the evaluation of the case studies was the identification of the policies

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which were tried for the reservation of the cultural treasure and importance of the craft with
an appeal for the growing culturally divided, International and urban market.
The findings are significant in specifying that the collaborative model is the most
useful one. The model included a combination of the designers or intermediaries which has
subsections like businesses and NGOs and the artisans. In the model, the intermediaries play
the role of an interface between the two which are the market and the artisans. Along with
this, the success of the model lies in the effective collaboration of the local level, the
intermediary level and the heterogeneous level. In the local level, the decision making is
observed to be significantly influenced by the artisans. On the other hand in the intermediary
level, the organization is observed to operate. The heterogeneous level is considered as the
level in which all the issues which have the potential to affect the economic and the social
context of the craft gets addressed.
Objectives:
 The objective is to assess different problems and the arguments on the traditional
Indian craft business and along with that, the evaluation of the existing developmental
procedures with a precise focus on the literature review.
 The aim is to evaluate the mentioned case studies on the techniques of the craft
revival.
 Along with that, a significant focus of the research is to increase the knowledge of the
process of Paithani weaving with details from the material study.
 To draw conclusions for the revival of Paithani textile based on case studies.
 Apart from this, the objective of the paper is to search the communities which did not
get the help or design intervention from the government, non-government
organizations and the NGOs. Along with that, a detailed comparison of the

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differences in the practices of those communities with the ones having the design
interventions and the help is also considered as one of the main objectives.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................5
Chapter 1: Indian craft post and pre independence....................................................................5
The dilemma between traditional crafts, new technologies and Western tastes:...................5
Post-independence: India’s search for a lost identity:............................................................7
Chapter 2: Authenticity and ethnicity of a craft:........................................................................9
Chapter 3: Fourth Industrial Revolution:.................................................................................13
Methodology:...........................................................................................................................22
Literature review:.....................................................................................................................32
Case Studies:............................................................................................................................40
Revival of Ajhrakh craft:.....................................................................................................40
Revival of Ikat:.....................................................................................................................42
Revival Suggestions:................................................................................................................44
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................45
References:...............................................................................................................................48

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Introduction:
As it has been stated before the Paithani craft is a craft from the region of
Maharashtra, and these clothes are specially woven in the region. The work is labour
intensive and the designs are intricate enough to engage a large number of labours for each of
the pieces of the clothes that is woven. It is seen that the clothes are worn in a particular
region usually reflects the kind of culture that exists in that particular region. This particular
style of clothing has intricate designs and gorgeous look, this especially reflects the lavish
lifestyle of the owner of the cloth (Deepshikha and Nath 2018). However it was seen that
with passing days the particular style of clothing was getting lost due to the high cost of the
products because of a large number of labours involved in manufacturing the individual units
of clothes. The urbanisation and modernisation of apparel moreover popularised the western
form of clothing which made the traditional forms of clothes to become obsolete. The clothes
that were produced by the craftsmen had reasons to be costlier than normal clothes, as these
were exclusively made, lavishly crafted and manufactured in a way that it could be worn by
several generations down the line. However the general people who were the largest market
segment for clothes business preferred cheaper clothes (Bhatia, R. and Desai 2013). Apart
from the reason of high costing, presently there are not enough number of people who are
skilled enough to produce these clothes, and when there is a lack of properly skilled
craftsmen who can produce these clothes there is of course decline in the number of Paithani
dresses and Sarees are produced.
The particular kind of craft is almost 2000 years old and since then it has continued to
exist because of the skilled labours who has continued to carry the craft till date and now it is
in the verge of decline and the administration is taking required actions to revive the art. The
ancient form of craftsmanship usually depicted various incidents of the Bhakti period as the

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region of Paithan was one of the religious centers. The Paithani craft especially saw a decline
during the period of the British Raj. Before that the Muslin aggression also had many effects
on the art form. There were about 500 families practicing the particular art form in the region
who had their own discipline and lifestyle that centred on the production of this particular
kind of clothing. The work is very tedious and slow and needs a lot of concentration and time
to be completed, therefore less and less number of people are showing interest in continuing
the art form and because people are leaving the manufacturing of this craft it is resulting in a
decline of the Paithani craft as a whole. Presently again the craft is developed so that it is not
lost with time. The government is giving special attention to the craftsmen so that they don't
have to leave the profession and look elsewhere for their living and earning.
Chapter 1: Indian craft post and pre independence
The primary subject of the thesis is the Indian handwoven silk textile Paithani. The
concerned chapter produces an assessment of both the literature and the research on the topic
of the scope of traditional crafts in India for Paithani. Along with that, the chapter also
specifies the journey of it during the highly influential globalisation, industrialization and the
significantly fluctuating trends of the market.
The dilemma between traditional crafts, new technologies and Western tastes:
"If it is to assume that the craftsmen of the country were able to align their designs in
accordance with the suitability of the different markets from the time they initiated trading
the products, then it will be justified to comment that the combination of this activity and the
mixture of the influences took place at least in the 1st century AD. During that time it is
reported that the woven cotton was first traded to Alexandria (Yacopino, 1977). On the other
hand the fabrics which were discovered in between 8th and 15th century at the site of al-
Fustat which is the name of the Old Cairo and was also known as Fostat was assumed to have

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the origins in Maharashtra. This has a significant amount of similarities with the one known
as traditional Paithani in terms of the patterns of it. The requirement of the Egyptian market
was the probable reason behind the differences in it. The fabrics which had a considerable
amount of similarities with the Fostat and which was going to be traded from Maharashtra to
South East Asia is observed to be comparatively sophisticated. This was used to be preserved
as ceremonial cloths (Barnes et al., 2002). The usage of the technique of different application
of printing depending on the cloth's final use was observed in the middle age trade.
Apart from that, the evidence suggests that the practice of the recent European market
has the adaptation of the designs whereas the evidence for the same in cases of the Indian
artisans for the ancient markets was significantly less. The goods of India was not suitable for
the western nations to inspire of the significant amount of admiration that the Europeans had
over the skills and methods which were used in the Indian arts and crafts. Head in 1988 was
observed to comment that the western society and the nations are able to shape and fashion
India in accordance to their needs and requirements. The main reason behind the initiation of
this process was the formation of the East India Company (Watson, 1979 p. 118). The clothes
were adapted in such a manner that they look like the western flora in order to make sure that
they are more suitable for the western markets. In the later part with the introduction of the
oriental designs into the fashion, the motifs were observed to change for the reflection of
Indian Kalga and Buti (King, 2005 p. 57). This was the process which ensured that in spite of
the admiration of the English patrons of the arts and crafts like John Ruskin or William
Morris for the Indian craftsmanship and designs, the adaption of the Indian design in
accordance to the English fashions was much needed. The continuation of the adaption till
today is significantly evident with the growth of ethnic fashion in Britain.
It was observed that considerable amount of dilemmas emerged among the desire for
conservation and value ‘traditional' crafts during the period of British Colonial Rule and the

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height of Industrial Revolution following the great exhibition of 1851 (McGowan, 2009). The
dilemmas had the base on an idealised view of the craft communities of the village which
were on the verge of becoming extinct. Along with that, the dilemma significantly included
the British efforts for the adaption and the development of these traditional craft skills to the
modern technologies.
This was having the base on the criticism of being too conservative. Along with that,
the incapability of successful adaption to the modern world and preferring the old habits were
also observed to be the base. The impact of the western and elite colonial society was
considered as the reason behind the destruction of India's traditional crafts and the way of life
(Birdwood, 1880; Coomarasawamy, 1909). Birdwood in the 19th century was able to argue
that the native Indian gentleman and the ladies should ignore any sort of clothing or
ornaments other than the native manufacturer and design (Birdwood, 1880 p. 244).
On the other hand, Mohandas Gandhi was able to protest against the mass-produced
European cloths which have had the symbol of English political domination and the
economic exploitation (Bean, 1989 p. 364). Similar to Birdwood, Gandhi also had the same
belief that the symbols or meanings of cloths is the indicator of the individual's status,
political belief, social stratification (Bean, 1989). The women's age and the marital status are
observed to be highlighted by the variations in the patterns and the colour combination of the
Paithani (Roland, 2007 p. 32).
Post-independence: India’s search for a lost identity:
The handicraft industry of India was significantly supported by the Indian government
in the post-independence period with the introduction of the national building project
(Venkatesan, 2009). The founding prime minister of the nation Jawaharlal Nehru and the
Sarabhai family inaugurated the Calico museum in the year 1949 which had great

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significance for the Indian textile and the crafts. Along with that, the formation of the All
India Handicrafts board in the year 1952 was a significant step for the development of the
crafts and textile industry of the nation. For the rehabilitation, marketing and production of
the Indian crafts, the Indian cooperative union and the All Indian Handicrafts Board has a
significantly influential personality in the form of Kamaldevi Chattopadhay. She had a
significant amount of devotion towards the Indian handicrafts and her book was a notable
proof of the fact. She was one of the very few who considered the Indian craft as a
significantly important part of the strong cultural heritage of the country (Chattopadhyay,
1976).
It was observed that the new production methods which were able to suit the modern
trends and the design development was the major roles in the craft revivalists (Bhavani,
1968). The tradition of the Paithani has the representation in the weaving and the motifs of it.
Hence according to the policy of the revivalists in the form of Bhavani, the adaption in the
Paithani was significantly dependent on the traditional motifs and the design patterns.
The main concern in the contradiction between the craft revival initiatives and the
manufacturing and global agenda of the national government is the competition and the
possibility of it to the marginalisation and even in the complete decrement of the artisan
industries of the local territory (Scrase, 2003). Kak (2003), was able to hit the absolute spot
with his thoughts that the government have no idea of what to do with the artisans and the
people have significantly inherited the colonial mentality which gained them the habit of
behaving like the objects of policy. The conversion of the raw cotton in to marketable
products even with the introduction of the considerable number of craft outlets was due to
only one reason and that was the strict government control on the sales and prices of the
products of the textile so that the common men be able to buy them and it satisfies the wages
(Mustafa, 2010). The revival and prompting of the traditional embroideries and the

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empowerment of the ru7ral craftswoman of Kutch were significantly triggered by the entry of
Shrujan, the first NGO which was able to enter the Kutch and worked with the embroidery
groups even after the severe drought in the year 1969 (Shrujan, 2010 p. 2). Ritu Kumar who
was considered as the doyenne of Indian fashion also tried to revive the weaving and craft
traditions in her boutique for the designer clothing (Dwyer, 2006) in the year 1969. Similarly,
Abraham and Thakore were also observed to follow the same philosophy in 1992 (Ghose,
2010).
Chapter 2: Authenticity and ethnicity of a craft:
The definition of the term "Authentic" states something to be entirely in accordance
with the fact, established, dependable, responsible and authorised as well. This is considered
to be a genuine and original article in opposition to something copied (Oxford English
Dictionary, 2012). In the context of the traditional clothing, inherited craft like Paithani
which is having its roots in the history of the industry, the terms like the established,
dependable, responsible and authorised are all having the application in accordance to the
evidence of the oral history. The list also includes the books and the fragments of the ancient
textile industry. On the other hand, it can also be stated that as this is yet to have any strong
confirmation of being a fact, hence it will be significantly wrong to label Paithani as
authentic. The crafts' age and the surrounding history is the main building block for the
authenticity of the crafts.
With the significant amount of concern over the genuineness and the replication in
the craft and textile industry, the antique dealers and the collectors are observed to have a
considerable amount of debate on the authenticity and the origin of the cultural artefacts. The
major point of the debate is the objects which were made with the materials having
significant durabilities like stone, metal or wood along with the definition between the real

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thing and its value (Hook, 2011). The fragile nature of the textile is a major reason behind its
durability of merely two centuries and that is significantly difficult in cases of the traditional
Paithani which for many is considered as the livelihood.
The confirmation of the 26 authenticities of the artefact or craft object which were
situated in the museum context was acknowledged by Marketing professor Bergadaa and
anthropologist Venkatesan (Bergadaa, 2008 p. 7; Venkatesan, 2009 p. 134). The thought for
the conservation of the crafts and the progress of it with the introduction of the
industrialisation was significantly promoted by the Indian textile collection at the Victoria
and Albert Museum. There was a hope of long-term inheritance instead of the short span of
the exhibitions in the article of King (2005). The proof of the fact that the collections were
able to demonstrate long inheritance was the textiles such as the ajrakh printed cloths from
Sindh in the museums of the Victoria and the Albert in the 19th century.
"Life as it was" (Ballengee-Morris, 2002) was the description of the appeal of the
craft's history and the story in the form of the romantic ideal of the primitive culture and that
was before the degradations of the industrialised society (Murray, 2009). In order to describe
the primordial ideal, the statement of Greenhalgh in the year 1997 will be significant where it
was stated that "The work of rural craftsmen was believed to have evolved ‘naturally' as the
direct and honest expansion of simple functional requirements and solid virtues. This
vernacular tradition was constructed as something static and timeless, in contrast to the
dynamic and progressive modern world".
On the other hand, Hendrickson in the year 1996, who was used to do the analysis of
the marketing of the Mayan exports in the US mail order catalogues, was observed to put
strong emphasis on the power that images and the stories which had the potential to illustrate
the background of the materials of the craft products. The addition of the value and the