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ART AND INDUSTRY.
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B.-INDUSTRIAL ARTS, &c.
[Many separate elements have contributed towards the decorative arts of India, and Indian art has borrowed freely from Turanian, Dravidian, Greek, Sassanian, Mongol, and European sources. There are the simple archaic forms of the aborigines of the hills, the wild fantastic forms of the Indo-Chinese, the " swami" forms of the Dravidians, the primitive Aryan " beast and flower" forms of Hindostan, and the revived " knop and flower" pattern re-introduced by the Persianized Afghan and Mongol conquerors. All the details of Indian decoration, Aryan or Turanian, have a religious meaning, and have been inspired by the religious poetry, national legends, and mythological sculptures, of which they are indeed, the perfected imagery. The village system is the permanent endowment of the traditionary arts of India; and where this has passed away, community of interests has drawn together the skilled immigrants of cities into trades-unions which are rendered practically indissoluble by the bonds of caste. In this manner, separate callings such as goldsmiths, braziers, blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, weavers, and potters have been developed. The Moghal emperors maintained skilled workmen from every part of India in their palaces, and it was from the encouragement given by the great native princes and chiefs, as well as through the cultivated taste of the common people, that the sumptuary arts have been brought to such perfection. There are besides, the savage arts of the wild tribes; but all, whether savage, Brahmanical, or Mahomedan, are of one generic style, impressed upon them by the
Vedic Aryans. -See Birdwood's Industrial Arts of India.]
Aurangabad is an agricultural rather than a manufacturing district, and in olden times, the industries were domestic and suited to the wants of the cultivator. The village system was based upon the division of labour quite as much as upon hereditary caste; and
the brazier, the blacksmith, the carpenter, the weaver, the potter, and the oil-presser, were integral parts of a community as well as members of a family occupation. An advanced stage might
be found in such towns like Paitan, Jalna, Baizapur, and Nasik which possess little colonies of weavers and braziers noted for some speciality. Yet another degree higher is the case of certain arts like gold-lace making, which royal patronage ha3 fixed at some capital like Aurangabad; while the pride and display of rival kingdoms into which the Dakhan was formerly divided, gave birth to many arts of luxury, that have not been forgotten in
the decayed capitals.
The caves of the district, and especially the paintings at Ajanta, contain evidences of the high degree of excellence to which the industries had attained during the early centuries of the Christian era. [The paintings at Ajanta furnish illustrations of the state of Industrial Arts from the 3rd to the 8th century after Christ. The chiefs for example, are seated on cushions or thrones, and are dressed in a loose waist-cloth bound round the hip. They wear a high jewelled tiara or bands of beads on the brow, a-loose heavy necklace, rich armlets, light plain wristlets and other ornaments. Out of doors they are shaded by an umbrella, carry swords. Javelins, arrows. &c and wear a crown or a skull cap with pendant ear-flaps, a tight-fitting jacket and trousers, a long five-corded necklace, a handsome armlet, and heavy plain wristlets. The houses or palaces seem to have been of wood, two storeys high, with fiat, peaked, or pyramidal roofs, and the rooms divided by pillars. The state room has a blue cushion, a stuffed seat with quilted cover and pillow, or a four-footed canopied throne with lower seats, a low dais with high back, footstools, spittoons, and a floor strewn with flowers and leaves. The ladies' room contains sofas or beds like the modern cot; and the cooking rooms have stone slabs, rolling pins, dishes, water-jars, and drinking cups. The upper storey has windows with sun-shades.
The chief's wives are seated on a cushion on the husband's right, or on a cushion close by; or they are in their own room swinging or lying on couches. Some have the hair smooth in front bound by a fillet across the brow, and others wear brow or head ornaments or coronets of flowers. The dress is almost always of the thinnest gauze.
The minister has rich ornaments, and a tiara slightly lower than that of the chief's; but like the latter, is bare of clothing from the waist upwards. Many of the courtiers have jewels, but are otherwise naked above the waist; while some have cloth round the head, and have the whole body covered with blue, gray, or gold garments decorated with scrolls, stars, and ornaments. The ladies have rich jewels, and are dressed in almost transparent gauze robes.
The servants have fewer jewels and more clothing. The porters are usually clad from head to foot; other men-servants have a white cloth round the head, a white sleeved jacket, and a short red and white striped drawers; and others again have closely fitting blue clothes with a high crowned cap, or a white skull-cap and closely fitting coat. Indoors they carry water-pots on their shoulders or dishes on their heads, and anoint the chief, watch the gates, &c. Outside they bear the umbrella or standard, hold horses, and carry bundles of grass or leaves on a pole. Many of the men-servants appear to be dwarfs, and are grotesquely dressed. The women-servants have the hair smooth, bound in fillets, or curled and covered with a cloth. Some of them hive embroidered dresses cut and sown to fit the body; others wear a bodice and striped kirtle, or a striped blue loin cloth and short kirtle; and others have a flowered bodice with limbs tattooed or draped in tight-fitting drawers, or a dark bodice with white flowers and striped blue and black petticoat, or a peaked head-dress and a sort of sack. The women attendants hold the fly-flap and umbrella, present dishes of flowers and sweet-meats, offer salvers, carry vessels and chop-sticks and hold bracelets or jewel caskets. In the ladies' room, they pour water over their mistress's head, chafe her feet and carry bags or basons; and sometimes, with a stick in the hand and fully dressed, they watch at the gate.
The soldiers in the early pictures are all infantry, and the men have their heads either uncovered or tightly wrapped in cloth, and except for a small necklace and armlet, the bodies are bare to the waist. The weapons consist of axes, spears, and staves. The later pictures contain mounted troops, archers, spearmen, and foot soldiers, dressed in small or striped waist-cloth, with long trains, and wearing abundant hair tied by a ribbon. The weapons are straight and long curved Nepalese swords, spears, bows and arrows, clubs and the discus. Some of the men carry standards with oval discs at the top of the shafts.
Although-no craftsmen or traders are represented, the dress and ornaments prove that the goldsmiths, weavers, and embroiderers were skilful workmen. The bracelets differ little from the bracelets of the present day. Palanquins are represented, and carts are drawn by men. There is a sculpture of a two-horse chariot, besides paintings of three horses yoked abreast, and of a large car with four people inside. Ships are shown with high peaked bows and sterns, and three masts, each with a lug or lateen sail and an out-flying jib. They are high in the hull, and have three oblong holes, with out-rigged oars for steering on either side of the stern and on one side of the bow. One ship carries pieces of coral, and others have mounted horses and elephants.
The husbandmen had horses, cows, oxen, and goats; and grew plantains, betel-vine, mangoes, and grapes or custard-apples. Flowers were in great demand for offerings, and as ornaments for the hair.
The chief out-door amusement was hunting; and within doors, the people listened to music, and watched dancing girls and snake-charmers. The men played on the flute, the drum, the conch, and the trumpet; and the women on the guitar and cymbals. The dancing girls dressed much as they do now in flowing coloured robes, and the snake-charmers carried about cobras in small flat baskets. Liquor-drinking seems to have been a not uncommon amusement, for besides the Persian drinking scene, there are several groups of revellers both in the paintings-and sculptures-See Kandesh Gazetteer.] The Musalman invaders of the Dakhan introduced numerous
communities of artisans from Agra, Delhi, Gujarat and Ahmadabad; and Mahomed Tughlik planted several colonies of them at Daulatalal. The Moghal emperors also brought bands of craftsmen
who settled in the Dakhan and established various new industries.
The manufactures of the district flourished best in the 17th
century when Aurangabad was the Moghal capital of the Dakhan. After Aurangzib's death, the industries began to decline. This was partly due to the transfer of the capital to Haidarabad; but there were also other sources of decay, such as the loss of patronage from native courts for articles of indigenous production, the competition of foreign goods, and the double Customs' duty levied, first on the raw material imported, and then on the manufactured article exported. Paitan, Baizapur, and Jalna have suffered equally with Aurangabad on this account, and many of the manufacturers have either emigrated into British territory, or have taken to other occupations. In Hamilton's Gazetteer, the population of Aurangabad in 1825 is reported to have been about 60,000; but since that time the numbers have been gradually diminishing, particularly among goldsmiths, weavers, 'tailors, and Borahs.
The principal workers in metal are goldsmiths, coppersmiths, braziers, and blacksmiths. [For the number of goldsmiths and other artisans, see statement of occupations given in Chapter on Inhabitants, page 241.] The goldsmiths include some skilled workmen from Gujarat and Northern India. The wages vary according to the workmanship required, but in ordinary cases, a rupee is charged per tola of gold, and half an anna per tola of silver,
Almost all the kinds of Indian jewelry, comprising nose-rings, earrings, armlets, necklaces, bracelets, zones, head ornaments, ankle ornaments, &c. are to be seen in the district. The wild tribes hammer silver into brooches, armlets, and necklets; and twist gold and silver in imitation of knotted grass. The chopped forms of jewelry are from Ahmadabad, and are made of gold lamps, either solid or hollow, in the form of cubes and octahedrons strung together on red silk; the nail-headed earrings are from Surat, and the hammered repousse work from Kachb. The Mahrattas wear the graceful head ornaments called kitak, nig, chandani, phal, and mohr; and have an armlet of a peculiar shape, caused by giving the ornament a bend, by which it more firmly grasps the arm. The dancing girls wear a sort of rich stomacher, with two hemispherical cups of gold to cover the breasts. Gold pendants, often gemmed, are worn across the brow of females, and those who cannot afford the whole, frequently ornament the front part of the " head band," with imitations of it in spangles and paint. A waist-belt of gold, silver, or precious stones is used by males to gird up the dhoti; and a silver belt is also worn by Lingaiat and Komti females. The Mahomedans have ornaments peculiar to themselves in the Moghal style, [The jewellers' and goldsmiths' art in India is of the highest antiquity; and the forms of Indian jewelry, as well as of gold and silver plate, and the chasings and embossments decorating them, have come down in an unbroken tradition from the epics. The ancient sculptures and cave paintings also prove that in its forms. Hindu jewelry has remained unaltered during the last two thousand years. Water vessels or lotas, dishes, bowls, candle-sticks, images of gods, temple bells, sacrificial spoons, censors, and other sacred and domestic utensils in brass and copper are made everywhere, and of the same patterns as are found in representations of them in the oldest Buddhist sculptures and paintings.
The principal articles of jewelry worn in the district consist of gold and silver neck-chains called mala, chandrahar, tulsi, sari, hasli, chawuldani, jungtik, putli-ka-har, kuntputti, satlara, tussi, vajnrti or vaduk, galsar, chaukrian, champa-kali, and jugnu. The necklaces of glass beads or pearls are called laccha and soymunia, the latter being worn by Gujarati and Marwari females, The armlets consist of bazuband, pattri, karra, wake or dundoli; and the ankle ornaments are paizeb, toda, kada, baidi, and panyaL The bracelet are paonchi, kangan, tanpli, goti, and dori; while those called chur are of glass, lakh, crystal, beads, pearls, ivory, &c. The waist-belt for females is called kamarpatta, and that for males kardonu. the head ornaments are ehander, rakri, and chowri, with kadgi in front and chanderkor behind; also kaykutti or belpan, ragadi, muth, phal, baina, and bori. The earrings are bugdi, kaunp, pathay, jhumer, toti-jhumks, hulkha, karanphul and jhumka, chand balian, udraj, phul-balian, goshwars, banli, and subzay. The nose-rings are called nath; the finger-rings angoti: and the toe-rings jorwa, veroda, and bichwa.] Sword-belts
made of silver and gold thread, and having silver clasps, are worn by
all the non-military classes. The belts of the nobility are made of
much costlier materials, and are frequently embroidered with precious
stones of great value. The manufactures in silver consist of a great
variety of small articles such as attardans, pandans, gloridans,
suparidans of hexagonal or octagonal shape, plates and trays for
holding flowers, gulabpash for rose-water, candelabras, and lotas
of different designs. Most of these are only made to order, and are
decorated with engravings of leaves or flowers.
The copper wares consist of domestic utensils, jewel caskets, inkstands, &c.; and the brass wares of sweet-meat boxes, spice boxes, rings, lamps, idols, chains, &c. Ahmadabad, Nasik, and Berar have a reputation for brass and copper vessels for domestic and ceremonial use, and for images, religious emblems, hand-lamps, candle-sticks, drinking cups, bells, and fountains. In every large town, great quantities of the commoner brass and copper articles of domestic use are made for local consumption. The copper vessels are bought up by Borahs, who frequently export them by Ahmadnagar and Barsi to Haidarabad. The
vessels are either gilded or plated before they are used, and this occupation is followed by Mamalchis who are Khattris by caste. The utensils are sold according to their weight, size, and quality, copper usually selling at Rs. 2 and brass at Rs. 1½ per seer. The charge for plating is Rs. 3 per tola of gold and Re. 1 per tola of silver used, the gold and silver being supplied to the workman. Besides the ordinary house-pots and caps, the braziers make very graceful and finely cut brass screens. The beautiful hammered and perforated metal work seen on the gates of the makbara to Rabia Daurani at Aurangabad, and of the tombs to the Mahomedan saints at Roza, &c. are notable examples of the metal work of the natives of Gujarat.
The rough articles of iron required for agricultural purposes, are turned out by
the village blacksmith, who is supplied by the cultivator with iron for the
implements required. Some of the lohars in the larger villages make iron
articles for domestic use, such as images, knives, shoes for horses, spoons,
large and small hammers, hatchets, spears, and daggers.
The arms manufactured possess a high degree of artistic excellence, and the best maker of lance and spear heads, shikar knives, and other sporting appurtenances is the famous Bodraj of Aurangabad, so well kuown to pig-stickers and sportsmen. Some fine specimens of daggers, such as the double-edged kind called katahr, are made at Burhanpur. The goldsmiths of Kachh are very skilful in decorating arms in silver and parcel gilt and gold; and both fire-arms and swords are often damascened in gold and covered with precious stones, or have elaborate work cut and hammered upon them. Damascening in iron called kuft work is also practised. The city of Aurangabad contains 4 or 5 sword-outters' houses, employing about 20 people. The business is confined to ornamenting blades and handles, and making scabbards. The handles are of iron, and before being gilt, are made very smooth, and then finely hatched with a knife called chirni. and afterwards with another sloped knife called tanki. The gold of is next applied, and is fixed on by pressure. The instrument ' for burnishing is of steel, and is called mora. The armourers'
art represents spears; damascened, sculptured, and jewelled swords; shields, daggers, matchlocks, and armours with damascened breastplates, gauntlets, and greaves. The blade of the tulwar is sometimes marvellously watered and engraved, or is sculptured in high relief with hunting scenes, or shaped along the edge with teeth or notches like a saw. [The arms of ancient India are pourtrayed in the paintings of Ajanta, and have already been described. Those of the present day are in several groups, and belong to the aboriginal and non-Aryan tribes, to the Dravidiun races, the Mahrattas and Mahomedans of the Dakhan, and the Afghans, Persians, and Abyssinians. Mr. Egerton considers that Aryan art predominates over Turanian in Indian arms; and he divides the former into the Hindi and the Iranic or Persian, and the latter into the, Dravidian, Tibetan, and Indo-Chiuese. The weapons found in the district include several kinds of tulwars or swords, such as the surai, pata, batai, nimcha, asil, misri, abassi, fuming, kirich, and the short broad scimitar called taigha. The Pathan swords are curved, and are longer and heavier than those of the Arabs. The daggers consist of the jambia, katahr, khunjur, bank, bichwa, maru, churs, sikkin, sanani, safdara, karoli, and pesh-khabz. The spears comprise the bullum and burchi. The eta is a long steel spike, fixed on the head of a wooden shaft about 4 feet long, and surrounded with little brass bells and feathers, so that only a small portion of the spike is visible. This weapon is carried by a servant in the train of nobles. The sang is a javelin, and the gupti is a sort of poniard concealed in a walking stick. The guns are the ordinary matchlock or bandukh, and the blunderbuss; and the pistols are called tufung-cha. The armoury of the true Arab consists of the matchlock, sword, jambia, sikkin, a pair of light iron or steel pincers called chimta, the ball pouch, and the horn-shaped powder flask. The Maulads or Dakhani Arabs wear a pistol in addition; and the principal weapon of the Pathans is the katahr. The gun of the latter is usually a blunderbuss. The Sikhs wear steel quoits in their puggries, and they and the Rohillas use the pesh-khabz. All the armed classes, but especially the Rohillas, wear circular shields made of rhinoceros hide or well tanned leather. The shields are about 2 feet in diameter, and are embossed with brass or iron knobs. The wandering tribes of the jungles are very expert in the manufacture and use of bows and arrows which are called tir kaman.]
The musical instruments are sometimes of gold or silver, but more
commonly they are of brass, and are made in the chief towns. The sitars [Indian musical instruments are remarkable for the beauty and variety of their forms, which the ancient sculptures and paintings of Ajanta show, have remained unchanged for the last two thousand years. The principal instruments consist of the fiddle, tunbora, sitar, saurang, sing, shahnai, manjira, dhol, mirdung. tubla, nuggara, and daff.] of the city of Aurangabad are manufactured by two
houses, and are sold at the rate of Rs. 4 each. The hire for labour is about a rupee for 5 days.
Wood-carving for architectural purposes is practised with more or less success in every village; and the beams, pillars, brackets, door-posts, and doors of houses are all carvod. In former times the carpenters of Paitan were in great demand, and their workmanship, as may be seen in the elaborately carved fronts of wooden houses, was of a very high order. The art has declined somewhat, but very fair work is still turned out. In regard to furniture, sandal-wood is the most auspicious of timbers employed, especially when mounted with gold and jewels; but ivory is even more highly prized, particularly for bed-steads. The gods are everywhere represented in wood, and combs
are carved in wood or ivory. Inlay work is of tin wire, sandal-wood, ebony, ivory and staghorn. Sandal-wood carving is applied to the same articles as inlaid work. [Wood-carving is as old as cave architecture and the carved idols in which it probably originated. The bed-steads o£ the sculptures represent those of the ancient Egyptians and the modern " charpai" or frame of netted rope supported on 4 feet. Chairs have been always familiar as the thrones of kings, and in old sculptures, are seen of the same form as the hour-glass shaped morahs or stools.- See Dr. Birdwood's Industrial Arts of India.] The wages of a carpenter amount to about 12 annas a day; but the village carpenters who do all the rough work required by the cultivators are paid in grain.
Glass bangles, beads, bottles, looking glasses, and figures of peacocks, &c, are made at Jalna and Bokardan; but the industry is not a prosperous one, at least in regard to glass bangles, large quantities of which arc imported through Kandesh and Gujarat, and are found to be much superior to those locally made. There are about a dozen proprietors of lac bangle works in Aurangabad. They obtain their lac from Amraoti, and tin foil from Bombay. A workman can make 100 bangles in a day, which he sells for 8 annas to the dealer, who again retails them for a pice a pair. The workman's wages are 9 pice a day. The colored tin-foil is prepared by a person called panni-wala as follows;-A quantity of " gunda biroza" is melted in a vessel over a fire, and according to
the color required, the panni-wala mixes verdigris for green lac for red, and haldi for yellow. The substance is poured on a cloth and tied up in a bag, and the foil to be colored is laid flat on a heated anvil. The bag containing the " gunda biroza" is pressed across the surface, and as the biroza melts, it affords a varnished coating. The colored foils sell for 100 leaves per rupee. Glass and earthen bangles made at Jalna are colored by tho Manihars and sold by the hundred. The glass is purchased from Ahmadnagar and other villages in British territory. Yellow and striped armlets called golias, worn between the elbow and shoulder, are also manufactured. Variegated lac marbles and lacquered walking sticks are made everywhere, and so are lacquered wooden bangles, wooden toys, and other lacquered wares. The higher class of lac work, applied to furniture and house decoration, is centred in the larger towns. Beautiful lac ornaments for women are worked at Ellichpur; and a sort of lacquer ware is made in the Dakhan, in which the ground is painted transparent green on tin foil, and the subjects, generally mythological, are laid on this shining back ground in the brightest of opaque colors. Imitation jewelry and cheap trinkets are made in great abundance; and bracelets, necklaces, and chains arc prepared from a sort of perfumed composition, and also from various seeds. The manufacture of mock ornaments for idols is a very prosperous industry in most large towns, and the great occasion for
their sale is the birthday of Krishna.
Pictorial painting, of a rude kind, is commonly practised, and is produced in large quantities on the occasions of the annual festivals of the different gods. Painting on talc is often Been; and a great deal of mica is worked for painting and for the ornamentation of the beautiful tazzias. The Chittaris are general painters, and decorate walls with figures of men and animals, flowers, foliage, lines, geometrical figures, &c. They are paid at the rate of 12 annas a day. [The Ajanta cave frescoes are a sufficient proof of the aptitude of the natives for painting. They are quite equal in merit to the paintings of the same age in Europe.]
The inhabitants of the district chiefly wear cotton clothing which is imported from Berar, &c., and cotton goods form but a trifling item of the industry, but the poorer classes use the coarse materials of local manufacture. The weavers judge of the quality of raw cotton, by observing the tendency of the fibres to expand on the application of moisture, and the samples which swell the least are considered the best suited for fine thread.
The seeds are removed
from the raw cotton by women, who use a small gin called girka, consisting of two cylinders fixed in a rectangular frame, and furnished with a handle by which the instrument is worked.
A woman
can clean 1½ seers of cotton in a day, and is paid 1¼ annas. The cleaned cotton is beaten out by the " pinjara" or " nadaf," who uses an instrument called daonki, and strikes it with the mastha. The pinjara
can beat out 5 seers of cotton in a day, but the average work seldom exceeds 3
seers.
The cotton is ready for spinning, and is pressed between two flat boards and
enveloped
in some soft skin to preserve it from dust, &c. Cotton-spinning is an occupation generally followed by women during leisure hours; and the finest threads are spun in the morning before sunrise, but when this is not practicable, the process is carried on in a dark room, kept damp by sprinkling water about the floor. After a sufficient quantity has been collected round the shank of the spindle, the thread is steeped into water and wound upon a reel. The thread is once more steeped into water, then dried, rubbed over with a little size, rolled on a large reel, and kept ready for the loom.
The kind of thread used for garments worn next to the skin is kept light and open in texture, but the others contain some rice water and a small quantity of lime.
The garments are dyed in the thread, and the colors are thoroughly fast. Blue
is a favorite color, but dark green, and crimson, and purple are common enough,
with blue and
green in combination with red and yellow. The decorations consist of borders handsomely wrought in silk, or in silk and gold. The finer kinds of cotton stuff are made at Paitan, Jalna, Aurangabad, Baizapur and other places in the district, and also at Nasik,
Ahmadnagar, and Kandesh. Fair turbans and other cloths for male and female apparel are woven at Ellichpur and Balapur in Berar. Printing in gold and silver leaf on cotton cloth and silk is very-common among the Gujaratis. Another mode of decorating silk or cotton is by knotting, and in the " phul-wadi" or flower-garden, many colors are used. Patterns in broad and narrow stripes, as in the turban cloth called " dandarus," are similarly made. The great distinction between the Gujaratis and Mahrattas is in the decoration of their cotton goods, as the purely Mahratta people seldom wear
printed cotton goods, while the Gujaratis prefer them to all others. [See Manufactures of Western India in the Bombay Administration Report, 1872-73. Also Dr. Forbes Watson's Textile Manufactures and Costumes of the People of India.] The only printed stuffs worn by the Mahrattas are ornamented with metal leaf. Muslins of all kinds are made in the district, such as fine muslins, plain muslins, checkered muslins, and gold and silver printed muslins. The desired pattern is stamped on the cloth with glue, and the gold and silver leaves are then laid on. When dry, the portions that are not glued to the cloth are rubbed off. Gold is also sprinkled in the form of dust, on the pattern previously prepared with size; and some muslins, especially for turbans, have mica dust mixed with the size, in order to give them a glistening appearance. The plain calicoes, bleached and unbleached, are also woven. The calicoes with colored thread comprise, 1 susis or striped cloths of brilliant hues, and 2 kesis,
checks and tartans for skirts and petticoats. Khadi cloths, chopals, and dhotis
are made in every village. The jail manufactures consist of towels, napkins,
and some coarse cotton carpets. Excellent carpets are made at Ellichpur, Akot
and Balapur in Berar. Tape is made for the net-work of char-pals, &c. It is
coarse but durable, and is sold by weight.
The saris woven in the district are from 4 to 8 yards long and from 1¼ to ½ yards broad. The weavers are Salis and Koshtis, and six rupees worth of cotton thread suffice for eight saris, which occupy
4 persons for 15 days. The prices range from one rupee upwards, according to the size and texture of the cloth. Some of the saris are made of cotton and silk, and others have borders of gold thread in broad or narrow stripes with silk or muslin between; while kalla-battu is sometimes worked with a needle throughout the garment in the form of flowers, leaves, &c.
The turban cloths are from 15 to 30 yards long, and from 1 to 2 feet broad. They are of various degrees of fineness, and are made of cotton, but silk is also used. The prevailing color is white, then red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and occasionally black, the darker colors being relieved by embroidery. The cost of a turban decorated with kallabattu is as follows:-
|
Rs. |
a. |
P. | One tola of kallabattu |
2 |
0 |
0 | Cotton thread and dyeing |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Application of oil-cake to thread | 0 |
4 |
0 | Cleaning cotton thread |
0 |
1 |
0 | Gum |
0 |
1 |
0 | |
Total Rs. |
4 |
6 |
0 |
The selling price is 5 Rs., and the time occupied in weaving the turban 5 days. In some turbans, the ends are ornamented with a colored stripe, while others have kallabattu instead, or stripes of similar material running longitudinally.
Dupatas are about six yards long and ¾ yard broad, and sell for about a rupee.
Dhotis are of two sizes, one 3 yards by 1 yard, and the other 5 yards by 1½ yards. They are always colored white, and are bordered in the length with dark red. A coarse kind of dhoti is largely manufactured for the poorer classes.
Scarfs or
lungis are woven in pairs, with a fag between to allow of their being separated. The two ends are bordered with gold or colored thread, and the length is from 3½ to 6 yards, and breadth 1½ to 2 yards.
Kamarbands are worn by the well-to-do, and are from 5 to 6 yards long, and a foot to a foot and a half broad. The color is usually white,
and the ends are often ornamented.
Rumals are from 2 to 3½ yards
square, and are either of pure cotton, or of silk and cotton. The cotton rumals are frequently stamped or embroidered with a gold or silver border. Some rumals have a colored ground, and a silk and gold border. The price of each of the foregoing articles, when made of cotton, does not ordinarily exceed one rupee.
The pure silk fabrics called " pataos" are woven at Jalna, Paitan, and Aurangabad; and Bombay is the main source of supply for the raw silk, which is reeled, sorted, spun, warped, dyed, dressed and woven. In the process of silk-winding, a hank of raw-silk is placed upon a large reel 9 feet long, 3 feet high, and provided with a sloping central spindle, the lower end of which works in a pivot on the ground, and the upper part turns within a socket in a piece of wood projecting from the wall. The workman sits on the ground and winds the silk from off the larger to a smaller reel, by turning the latter smartly round with one hand, and working the large reel with the other hand assisted by the toes, in a contrary direction. When the skein is wound off, the silk is transferred to bobbins, and is then fixed on the winding machine which is composed of three separate portions,-a wheel and endless band, a rack frame in which the bobbins are placed, and a long cylinder for winding. The threads are again transferred to a long winding roller 1½ feet in diameter, made of light framework, and having eighteen sides. [See Dr. Bradley's Statistical Report of Aurangabad.]
The
pataos" are striped, checked, and figured, the longitudinal ends being bordered with representations of flowers, leaves, sprigs, birds, &c, in colored silk, and the rest of the fabric having bands of yellow, red, green, and white, running longitudinally and sometimes transversely. Gold lace is not used, and the weavers are called " patwis.'' Silk is also woven at Ellichpur, Akola, and other large towns in Berar. It is not lawful for Mahomedans to wear pure silk, and hence the well-known fabrics called Mashru and Himru, with a cotton warp and woof of soft silk, in a spotted or striped pattern, having the lustre of satin. Sufi has no satiny lustre, but looks like glazed calico.
The city of Aurangabad contains about 35 manufactories of Mashru, the proprietors of which are Gujaratis. The owners of Himru works are Borahs, and the weavers are Mahomedans and Khattris. The silk is purchased at Rs. 25 a seer, which will make two pieces of Mashru 61/2 yards long, and from 3/4 to 1 yard broad. The weaver is paid from 1 1/2 to 4 Rs. a piece, and the selling price is from 13 to 45 Rs. The details of expenditure for an average specimen are as follows:-
|
Rs. |
a. |
P |
Raw silk ½ seer |
12 |
8 |
0 |
Reeling |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Sorting |
1 |
12 |
0 |
Washing |
0 |
6 |
0 |
Dyeing |
0 |
8 |
0 |
Dressing |
0 |
6 |
0 |
Weaving |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Cotton threads |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Glazing |
0 |
3 |
0 |
Total Rs. |
19 |
11 |
0 |
The Mashru after being woven, is washed in rhita (sapindus emarginatus) and sweet lemon, which gives the fabric a kind of slow but the real gloss is given with a substance called kundi or kalaf which is applied just before the article is sold. Mashru is also manufactured at Paitan and Baizapur. It is generally used by native ladies for under garments.
Himru is similar in most respects to Mashru, and is made into tunics and vests. A piece of Himru 6 yards long and 1 yard broad costs Rs. 40, and 3 persons work at it for a period of two months. The details of expenditure are as follows:-
|
Rs. |
a. |
P. |
Cost of silk and dyeing charges |
21 |
0 |
0 |
Cost of cotton thread and dyeing |
4 |
0 |
0 |
Wages for weaving |
12 |
0 |
0 |
Total Rs. |
37 |
0 |
0 |
Mashru and Himru are very durable, wash well, and besides being made into female trousers, skirts, Ac, are used as coverings to beds, pillows, &c.
Gold and silver thread called " kallabattu" is of local manufacture,
and is sold in skeins to the weavers of fabrics. It is prepared by
twisting badla or flattened gold or silver wire round silk thread, and
the place where the wire is made is called "paota." There is only
one establishment of the kind in the city of Aurangabad, and another in Paitan; bat in former times there were several, paotas in the city,
and also at Jalna., Paitan, and Baizapur. At the present day, the
gold lace works in Jalna furnish employment to 22 individuals, and
the silk and cotton goods to 430 persons. A considerable amount of
silk goods is manufactured at Baizapiir, where there are 125 looms
and 10 winding machines, besides 50 looms for cotton saris with
silk borders. There are about 60 looms at Paitan, in the possession
of 50 proprietors, of whom 40 possess kallabattu works, and also
manufacture saris, pitambars, turbans, and rumals. The "paota"
at Aurangabad belongs to a sonar, who employs 10 workmen under him. The gold and silver wire makers are called " tarkash," and
commence their work with a silver bar or login, about 7 inches long
and weighing 40 tolas,. which they coat thickly with gold leaf.
This bar is made sufficiently thin by hammering, and is then passed through
a succession of gradually diminishing holes drilled in a steel plate
called parti. In this manner the bar is extended to 220 yards in
length, and has the thickness of soda-water wire. A pair of nippers
called jumba is used to draw the wire over a pully; and a ring is
passed through the handle, to which a strong chain is attached and
fastened to a windlass worked by the hands and feet. The chain and
wire wind round the roller of the windlass, and are then wound on
to a small reel called fulka. This operation has to be repeated about
40 times before the requisite thickness is attained, and the wire is
placed in hot ashes in a pan to restore its ductility. The workmen are paid 9 mashas of silver, distributed as follows;-
To gilding the silver bar | 2 | mashas. | To hammering
silver bar | 3 | mashas. | Two persons to draw the bar | 3 | mashas. | Person in charge of the fire | 1 |
masha. | |
Total | 9 | mashas. |
The makers of kallabattu and lace often visit the " paota" in order to get their gold and silver made into wire, for which they pay 16 mashas for every pasa of silver given; and two men can draw 5 pasas in one day. The pasa or coil of wire is handed over to the taniah or fine wire drawer, who again passes it through successive holes, till each tola of the p6sa is lengthened out to about 800 yards, and the wire becomes as fine as the hair of the head. The holes in the draw-plate
are made with great exactness, and for this purpose, a fine steel-pointed awl is employed for drilling the aperture, while the workman is provided with a light hammer, with which, aided by a small anvil fixed on the draw-bench, he narrows the holes when abraded by friction. The draw-bench is a low four-legged stool, provided with a small horizontal drum wheel, round which the wire passes from a bobbin on a spindle at the farther end. A steel draw-plate is fixed between these two points, and a handle fastened to the upper part of the drum moves it round. The taniah is usually a Brahman, Musalman, Gujarati, or Mahratta, and is occupied about a month in drawing out a pasa for which he is paid 9 Rs. The wire is now fit for brocade or kamkhab work; but if required for kallabattu, it has to undergo the operation of flattening, and is then termed " badla." This work is performed by the chappariah, who fixes 6 or 8 bobbins of gold wire, on spindles on a frame. The wire is slightly heated and passed between two sticks over the polished surface of a steel anvil, where it receives a slight blow from a small hammer, whose face is also highly polished. The chappariah is paid 8 Rs. for every 2½ pasas,
and is occupied for about a month with his work.
The flattened wire called " badla" is twisted round silk thread to
form " kallabattu," the proportions used being 40 tolas of badla to 12 tolas of silk.
The silk thread is wound on a long spindle, provided with a hook at the top, and loaded at the bottom: the end of the badla is attached to the silk thread, and the winder which is supended from the ceiling, is rapidly twisted. As the silk thread revolves, the badla is carefully adjusted in its progress down so that it neither overlaps nor exposes the silk within; and the gold thread or kallabattu thus prepared, is wound upon another winder. [For the process described, sec Dr. Bradley's Statistical Report of Aurangabad.] This work is performed by a Battiah, who is engaged for about a month in twisting one pasa of badla into kallabattu, and is paid one rupee to every seven tolas of badla. There are six kallabattu manufactories in Aurangabad, all of which are owned by Gujaratis.
Gold and silver wire is worked into all the more costly loom-made
garments and piece goods, either on the borders only, or in stripes
throughout, or in diapered figures. Silk and even cotton cloths are thus interwoven, the wire being either round, flat (badla), or twisted round silk (kallabattu). In the manufacture of gold or silver
lace for the ornamental edgings of saris, the plain wire forms the warp to a woof of cotton or silk thread. The city of Aurangabad contains 16 or 17 houses in which lace is prepared, and the work is in the hands of Gujaratis and Borahs. The broad and narrow kinds of gold and silver lace are called nakki, gota, and kinari. About 30 tolas of badla and 6 tolas of silk arc used in making the better kinds of lace, having a breadth of from 3 to 4 fingers; and the work is performed in 10 days by a man, who is paid Rs. 3. The ordinary kinds are paid for at the rate of 9 annas to every 17 tolas of lace; and the time occupied is 5 days. The men employed are Khattris and Salis; and the selling price of
lace varies from Us. 1½ to Rs. 3 per tola, according to the quantity and quality of the silk used. A piece of ''kor'' lace, 34 yards in length, contains 14 tolas of kallabattu and 15 tolas of silk, the kallabattu being woven longitudinally, and the silk transversely. In the " ganga jamni" lace, the borders are striped with silver kallabattu, the centre contains gold kallabattu, and the remainder is worked with silk.
The term " tissues" is restricted to cloths of gold and silver, while kamkhabs are the highly ornamented gold or silver wrought silk brocades.
The texture of some of them, which are used by the wealthier classes for veils, head-dresses, bridal robes, and saris, is
almost as fine as muslin. There are also rich brocades, of shining dyes and stiff with gold, such as chand-tora, mazchar, dupchan, halimtarakshi, bulbulchasm, and murgala.
[The art of weaving gold "brocades and flimsy muslins is older than the code of Manu. The earliest sculptures represent women both in richly embroidered brocaded robes, and in very fine muslin. In the Ajanta cave paintings, the women's robes are blue, which is still a favourite color. No conventional ornament is probably more ancient than the colored stripes and patterns on Indian cotton cloths and carpets. In the kamkhabs or silk brocades, the ornamental designs betray conflicting influences. Fine weaving probably passed from India to Assyria and Egypt. Prom the earliest times, gold was interwoven with cotton in India, Egypt, Chaldea, Assyria, Babylonia, and Phoenicia, first in flat strips, and then in wire or twisted round thread; and the ancient form of its use is still practised all over India. Kamkhab is older than the use of silk, and its tradition al descent is through the looms of Babylon, Tyre, and Alexandria, from designs and technical methods which probably originated in India, and were known by the Hindus in the time of the code of Manu and before the epics. The manufacture of colored silks was originally introduced into India form China. It is evident the Saracens largely influenced the designs of silk ornamentations. The forms of embroidery have remained unchanged form the earliest period of Indian history, but their sumptuous gold scroll ornamentations is in design distinctly of Italian 16th century origin. The great demand in ancient times for embroidered work, was for the hanging and veils of temples; and the art originated with the women who wove these veils of the temples of Egypt, India, Babylonia and Phoenicia.
The manufacture of pile carpets wag probably introduced by the Saracens, and it is from Persia that the Saracens must have derived the art. Velvet probably, and certainly felt originated in Central Asia.-See Birdwood's Industrial Arte of India.] The stuff called soneri is simple cloth of gold, and ruperi is made in the same way with silver. Kamkhabs are generally 3 yards in length and 1 yard in breadth, and are of different qualities. They are made to order, and but little is kept in stock, the demand for them being received From the nobles and well-to-do of Haidara'bad.
The
kamkhab made at Paitan and Aurangabad was once celebrated throughout the Dakhan, and very costly pieces were manufactured. For example, the "Persian Ambassador who arrived on a mission to the Kutab Shahi king of Golkonda in 1603, and remained at the court till 1609, took with him, among other presents, a piece of kamkhab, the manufacture of which had occupied the looms of Paitan for five years. Pieces are still manufactured at a cost of Rs. 1,000
each, but this is only on a special order, and the ordinary' kamkhabs are sold from 100 to 200 Rs. each. The work is chiefly carried on in the ground-floor rooms of houses, and two men and a boy can weave a piece in about two months. The cost is as follows :-
|
Rs |
a. |
P. |
Value of silk |
11 |
0 |
0 |
Value of kallabattu |
75 |
0 |
0 |
Cost of weaving |
12 |
8 |
0 |
Cost of dyeing |
2 | 8 |
0 |
Total Rs. |
101 | 0 |
0 |
Sometimes
cotton is introduced as the woof, in which case the prime cost will be 91 Rs. 8 an. There are 7 proprietors of kamkhab works in the city of Aurangabad, and they possess 20 looms, distributed as follows:-Gujaratis 4 looms, Borahs 6 looms, other Musalmaus 10 looms. Tissues with, genuine gold and silver are not so extensively manufactured as those with an alloy, and in the latter case, cotton thread colored green, red, pink, or yellow Is substituted for silk. The following is the detail of cost:-
|
|
Rs. |
a. |
p. |
Value of cotton |
1 |
0 | 0 |
Value of kallabattu |
22 |
12 |
0 |
Cost of weaving |
4 |
8 |
0 |
Cost of dyeing |
0 |
8 |
0 |
Total Rs. |
28 |
12 |
0 |
If silk is introduced as the woof, the cost will be Rs. 38-4-0.
The manufacture of task or brocade employs about 50 workmen in Aurangabad; and each loom requires 2 men and a boy, the out-turn of work being 7 tolas per day. To weave brocade, an inverted heddle called naksh is hung above the warp, immediately behind the heddles, the other ends of the cords being fastened to a horizontal band running below the warp. The naksh strings have loops where they cross the warp, through which certain of the warp threads are passed, and the instrument is worked from above by a
boy seated on a bench over the weaver's head. The boy holds a bar of wood, and by giving it a twist, draws up the cords attached to the threads of the warp; while the weaver at the head of the loom, adds variety to his design, by working silks of divers colors with the woof along with threads of silver and gold. A simple length of tash is called tat, and is of two breadths, but both are equal in length. A tat 30 yards long and a yard broad, takes 15 days to make, and weighs 100 tolas. The other size is but half a yard broad, weighs 50 tolas, and is made in 8 days. The workmen are paid 2 annas a tola, and the selling price is 2¼ Rs. per tola. Very handsome brocades are made at Aurangabad, Baizapur, and Paitan, and are used for trimming dresses, caps, &c.
Mandils are head-dresses wrought with kallabattu and cotton thread. They are worked by Momins, and are 40 cubits long and 9 inches wide. The kallabattu is woven lengthwise in stripes of different breadths, but generally, in the form of a stripe 3 fingers wide, running in the centre of a dark red-colored cotton fabric, with two other bands, each 1½ fingers wide, on either side. The cost of two different kinds of mandils is as follows:-
|
Superior |
Inferior. |
|
Rs. |
a. |
P. |
|
Rs |
a. |
p. |
Value of kallabattu |
25 |
0 |
0 |
|
6 |
8 |
0 |
Value of cotton thread |
2 |
8 |
0 |
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
Cost of dyeing |
0 |
8 |
0 |
|
0 |
8 |
0 |
Cost of weaving. |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
Total Rs. |
80 |
0 |
0 |
Rs. |
10 |
0 |
0 |
Karchob work consists of embroidery on cotton, silk, muslins, or velveteens intended for dresses, shawls, &c. The embroiderers are called " zardi", and the designs consist of representations of stars, leaves, sprigs of flowers, &c. The cloth is stretched on a wooden frame, and the patterns are worked in with a needle, the design having been previously traced on the cloth by a Chattri. Badla is also used in embroidery, with beads, spangles, copper filings called " gokru," peacock's feathers, and beetles' wings. The green beetles
are procured from Kandesh at 8 annas per thousand, and muslins are very handsomely embroidered with them at Aurangabad and Paitan. Caps, kas-kas fans, mats, and velvet slippers are treated in the same way. Spangles are made of thin gold or silver wire twisted round a thin iron rod in the form of a screw, and cut into rings. These rings are flattened under a hammer, and constitute the spangles commonly met with, having a hole in the centre and a cut to the side. Gold spangles for ornamenting the forehead are much used by Hindu women. There are about 20 karchob workmen in Aurangabad, and the value of the articles turned out varies according to the design
of the work and the materials used. The price of a lace cap for example ranges from Rs. 6 to Its. 200.
The " pitambars" are chiefly manufactured at Paitan and Aurangaba'd, and are either of silk throughout, or are brocaded. They are generally of two colors, one in front, and the other at the back. A very superior yellow pitambar is made at Paitan and Yeola; and fine silks with borders of silver and gold are woven at Yeola and Nasik.
[The gold wrought cotton tissues and brocaded silks of Burhanpur, and the richly embroidered apparel of Nagpur and Bhandora are also famous. Burhanpur was the depot of trade between Malwa and the Dukhan, but is now a declining city. The manufacturers of the Bhandora district are said to have come originally from Burhanpur and Paitan.
The turban cloths of Paitan are either plain or ornamented with kallabattu. They are from 60 to 70 yards long and half a yard broad, and vary in price from Rs. 5 to Rs. 60. There are two kinds of saris, one called sahi of pure silk priced from
Rs. 25 to Rs. 500 each, and the other of silk and cotton and sold from Rs. 3 to Bs. 25. The " chandrakala" sari is made at Kuldabad, and is 18 cubits long by 2½ to2¾ cubits broad. Its price is from 4 to 12 Rs. Elegant dupatas, composed of a mixture of cotton and silk, and having very pretty devices of flowers and other patterns woven with gold and silver thread, are produced at Paitan. They sometimes cost as much as Rs. 1,000 each. Expensive rumals are likewise woven at Paitan, of cotton and kallabattu. Only one workman is employed in a turban loom, and is paid at 3 annas a day. The looms for sahi, pitambar, and dupata require two workmen, who draw 4 to 8 annas each per day; while a rumal loom cequires three workmen, who receive 3 to 8 annas a day. There are four hands employed in the "paota" at Paitan for the manufacture of kallabattu,--the Sonar or "lagdakari" paid 1 anna per tola of silver, the tiniah paid 4 annas the chappariah paid 1½ annas, and the Battiah paid 4 annas.] The zanana pitambars are brocaded,
and are 16 to 17 cubits long and 2½ to 2¾ cubits broad. About 1/5th or 1/6th of the garment has kallabattu for the woof, with silk for the warp; and the two longitudinal ends have kallabattu to a depth of 1 to 3 inches. The brocaded part of the garment is termed paitani," and is intended to cover the head and upper part of the body. The selling price of the zanana pitambar is from Us. 75 to Rs. 500 per piece. The pitambars worn by males are 10 or 12 cubits long, by 2 to 2½ cubits broad, and are generally of pure silk, but a few kinds have narrow stripes of kallabattu interwoven, longitudinally. They sell from Rs. 25 to Rs. 500 each.
Gorgeous gold embroidered velvets called " makhmal" are made at Aurangabad. They are used for costly canopies of state, umbrellas of dignity, elephant cloths, horse cloths,
state housings, and caparisons generally.
The only woollen manufactures consist of coarse black blankets called " kamhals," which are made in every village by the dhangars.
One workman can make in a month, two kamhals, which he sells for about a rupee each. The " pinjaras" or cotton-beaters, make " namdahs" or water-proof coverings of wool. They purchase the wool from dhangars at 5 or 6 seers per rupee, and the material is cleaned, beaten out, spread evenly on a piece of cloth or smooth ground, and sprinkled over with alsi
flour and water. Another layer of wool is placed on this, and the whole well
pressed with rollers and allowed to dry.
Each namdah takes about a seer of wool, and is sold for
4 annas. One workman can make two namdahs in a day. The jinghars are the chief buyers of namdahs which they use for native saddles.
The manufacture of tat or ganni is in the hands of Laminas, who
purchase the san fibre (crolalaria juncea) from Dhers and Kunbis at Rs. 1½ per maund. The san is spun into twine on an instrument called ghagra, and is soaked with water for three days, being well washed and beaten with sticks each day. The twine is next woven into lat on a loom called magh, which is generally 14 yards long, and a span and quarter wide, being the size of tat required for a
ganai bag carrying 1½ maunds. The piece is completed in five days, and sold for 3 Rs. Gannis for bullock saddles require pieces of tat 7½ yards long and 1 yard broad. The saddle, which is called darki-wokra, is padded with bits of blanket, cotton, &c, and is fixed on to the bullock by a strap of tat called palar. The darkiwokra is made in two days, and costs 1¼ Rs., and the patar costs 2 annas. Tag
is also used as a matting to floors, &c.
The san fibre is sold at 1½ Rs. per
maund, and is made into ropes, twine, &c. Ambidi (hibiscus can- nabimts) is not so generally cultivated for its fibre as the san plant. Ambadi tag is prepared by steeping the plants in water for about twelve days, and then removing the bark. The fibres are next beaten out with thick sticks and dried. Ambadi lag is considered inferior to san tag, and is sold at 1 Re. a maund. It is used for cart ropes and for agricultural purposes.
Several descriptions of native paper are made at Kagaspura, a
small village near Daulatabad. The work is principally carried on during the cold weather, and the materials used, consist of remnants of tat-patti and ganni bags, which are cut into pieces about an inch square, and subjected to a pounding under the " deikli" for a whole night. In the morning the beaten shreds are carried to a tank, and all dust and dirt removed by washing. This is performed by placing the pulp in a long cloth which has two ends made fast around the loins of two men, who enter the tank and commence stirring the shreds about in the cloth. The pulp is returned to the " deikli," where a maund of lime is added to three maunds of shred, and the whole is again pounded for eight days, and then left to settle for a week. After repeating this alternate, operation of pounding and settling, the mass is thoroughly washed to detach every particle of lime, and ½ maund each of soda and soap is next added to every three maunds of pulp. Another pounding is given, and the pulp is spread out to dry for several days, after which it is reduced to powder and mixed with an equal quantity of soap. It has to undergo a further process of pounding and drying, which extends over a fortnight, and is then
thrown into small chunam cisterns, 5 feet square and 3 feel deep, filled with water, and kept there until sufficiently softened. It is now ready for conversion into paper, and the workman sits alongside the cistern, provided with a square frame, across which is stretched a
finely constructed bambu chick. The frame is dipped vertically into the cistern containing the water which holds the pulp in solution, and the lower part is gradually inclined upwards until the surface is reached, when the pulp to form a sheet of paper is carefully adjusted, strained, and removed, and the same process is repeated. The sheets are hung along the walls of the workroom to dry, and are then taken down and glazed, by rubbing a polished stone across the surface of each sheet. A quick workman will turn out from 200 to 300 sheets of coarse paper per diem. Some of the different kinds of paper made at Kagaspura are as follows:- 1. Nizam Shahi, made from pieces of old ganni and tat; dimensions 2 spans square; price of 10 quires, superior quality 4 Rs. 1 an., inferior quality 3 Rs. 2 ans. 2. Mohredar ; dimensions 2 spans 2 fingers long, 1¾ spans broad; price superior quality 4 Rs. 5 ans., inferior quality 2 Rs. 13 ans. 6 pies. 3. Shahishta Khani; made from rejected rags and old paper; size 3 spans long, 2 spans 8 fingers broad: price superior quality 9 Rs. 12 ans. 6 pies, inferior quality 4 Rs. 14 ans. 4. Bahadur Khani; size 3 spans long, 2 spans 4 fingers broad; price superior quality 14 Rs. 8 ans., inferior quality 4 Rs. 12 ans. 5. Sharbati Ahban Shaln; size 2¾ spans long, 2½ spans broad; price superior quality 2. Rs. 14 ans., inferior quality 1 Re. 14 ans. 6 pies. Nine men are employed on each variety, and the quality of the paper depends on the length of time and care bestowed in the preparation of the materials. The Nizam Shahi and Mohredar take six months to prepare 1,500 quires; Shahishta Khani and Bahadur Khani require a year each for the preparation of 600 quires of the former and 300 quires of the latter; and the Sharbati Ahban Khani takes only one month for every 2,000 quires.
The earthenware articles consist of the usual unglazed pots, chattis, thalis, sarahis, lotas, chillams, &c. The clay used is a greyish loam
called panari, mixed with horse dung and ashes, in the proportion of one basket of the former and half a basket of the latter, to four baskets of clay. The horizontal fly-wheel is two or three feet in diameter and of the simplest and rudest kind. It is loaded heavily with clay round the rim, and put in motion by a stick placed in the hollow of the circumference and turned round with great force. The clay to be moulded is heaped on the centre of the wheel, and as it revolves, is fashioned under the potter's hand to the required form. The vessels are carried off to be dried and baked as fast as they are thrown from the wheel, and any polishing is performed by rubbing the baked articles with a pebble. There is a great demand for water pots, cooking pots, frying pans, and dishes. The Hindus have a prejudice against using an earthen vessel twice, and generally destroy it after the first pollution. Large quantities of clay idols are also daily worshipped and then thrown away. The potter's field is just outside the village, and two or three stacks of pots and pans are always before the wheel. The verandah of the potter's hut is full of smaller wares, consisting of painted images of
the gods, and epic heroes. The potter belongs to the village establishment, and is allowed to make bricks and tiles, for which he is paid exclusive of his fees. [The potter's art is of the highest antiquity, and unglazed vessels have been in use from the time before Manu. The forms shown on ancient Buddhist and Hindu sculpture, and in the Buddhist paintings of Ajanta, are identical with those still everywhere thrown out from the village hand-wheels. The use of encaustic tiles came down from the times of Babylon and Egypt, but fell into comparative disuse till the rise of the Saracens and the conquests of Changiz Khan. The walls of mosques were ornamented with colored tiles in India about the time of the Moghal conquest of Persia; and the designs have been influenced by Persian examples and the Persian tradition of the ancient art of Nineveh and Babylon. The glazed tiles vary in style, from the plain turquoise blue of the earlier Pathans (1193-1254 A. D.) to the elaborately designed and many
colored tiles of the latter part of the Moghal period. Local varieties wore also developed as the Mahomedans extended their dominion. The "minar" at Daulatibad is encircled at equal distances from summit to basement, with bands of blue tiles of a diamond shape. Many of the tiles have been destroyed, but those that are left still retain much of their brilliancy of color. The Bombay School of Art has made some green and blue pottery, and two original varieties have been developed, the designs in one having been adapted from the Ajanta cave paintings, and from the mythological painting in the hazaars.- See Birdwood's Industrial Arts of India.] Neatly colored clay toys in imitation of dogs, cats,
fruit, Ac, are made at Jalna; while Aurangabad. contains 65 persons who are employed in making glazed earthenware. There are also two houses in which platters, cups, and huka bowls are painted with colored lac to resemble China. The hereditary right to manufacture pipes for conveying water, was for a long time enjoyed by a family who paid an annual tax to government for this privilege.
The hides of buffaloes, bullocks, goats, and sheep are tanned by being softened in water for a few days, and then cleaned. The hair is removed with an instrument called sip, and the skins are transferred to vats called kands, where they are treated with quick-lime, in the proportion of one or two seers to each hide. They are next immersed in a tanning solution of babul, tharoda, or other suitable tree. Each skin is formed into a sack and filled with this solution, in which state it is kept suspended for 3 or 4 days. The hides are then taken down, stretched out, fixed to the ground with wooden pegs, and well dried. They are now converted into leather, and are sold at the rate of 8 ans. to Rs. 6 each hide. The Dhors or tanners make leather bags called mhotes, pakhals, dhols, and mashaks; besides whips for bullocks, and thopras or leather bags for feeding horses and cattle. When the leather is intended for shoes, it is usually steeped for a day or two, in a mixture of red powder, karad oil, and lime, before being worked. Shoes and slippers are made by Chamhars, who frequently ornament them with red silk. Superior slippers are made from very soft and flexible sheep skin, worked with gold and silver thread, &c. The Chamhars also manufacture country harness, saddles, scabbards, leather belts, and cases for guns. The scabbards are made from soft wood, and are covered over with red or black leather, or with green or scarlet velveteen decorated with kallabattu, &c. The Jinghars make the country saddles called khogir from " namdahs" or thick
woollen pads, 1½ yards long and ¾ yard broad. Throe namdahs are worked together to form a khogir, and are covered over with a red cloth called kurva. The lining is of coarse white cloth called padam. The khogir is worked over with colored thread in some fancy design, and is padded in front and back in the shape of a raised crescent. It is made in 2½ days, and costs from Rs. 4½ to Rs. 6.
The manufacture of jaggery takes place in the months of January and February, when the cultivator expresses the juice of the sugarcane on the field, and boils it to a thick consistency called tab. The mil! or press is of very simple construction. A pit is dug 10 feet long' by 5 feet broad and 4 feet deep, and a broad-mouthed earthen pot is introduced. A thick broad beam is placed transversely on the ground by the side of this pot and near the centre of the pit, and to the two ends are fixed two other beams rising perpendicularly against the sides of the pit. The tops of these beams are connected by a horizontal beam, and in the centre are two solid vertical cylinders, made from babul wood. The heads of the cylinders are cut in the shape of endless screws, whose spiral grooves and ridges, four in number, interfold with each other on being put in motion. The height of these rollers is 5 feet,-the head of the screw being one-third of the whole, and the diameter is 2½ feet. Below the screw head, the surface is scored with narrow channels to obtain a firmer hold of the cane and allow the juice to escape better. Two men sit in the pit, one on a plank placed over the receiver to introduce the sugarcane, and the other opposite him to remove the refuse. The juice is received in a shallow gutter surrounding the mill, and passes by an underground channel into the receiver. It is next boiled rapidly for 4½ hours, and the impurities as they rise to the surface are skimmed off. When sufficiently thickened, the rab is poured into a shallow circular hollow formed in the floor of the mill, and is stirred and raked about to cool and granulate. It is then poured into small circular pits made in the ground, round the sides of which a coarse cloth has been passed, so that when perfectly
hardened, the cloth is pulled up with the jaggery. Each cake is about 18 seers in weight. When the substance is sold as rab, it is in the state of honey, and is poured into large earthen jars holding 4 maunds each. An acre of land cultivated with sugarcane yields 30 maunds of jaggery; and 16 men are employed in the various occupations of harvesting, removing top shoots, pealing off the skin, cutting into pieces, and working the press. The Kumhars extract an inferior kind of jaggery from the refuse that has been thrown away. A few years ago there were several jaggery factories in Jalna and the surrounding villages, but most of them have been closed on account of the recent famine.
In making sugar, the " halvai" or refiner fills a closely wattled
bambu basket, 5 feet high and 20 feet in circumference, capable of holding about 40 pallas of rab. The basket stands upon horizontal poles sunk in the floor, into which pass the drainings from the basket called " kaki." This process occupies 15 days, and the raw sugar is broken up and formed into a pap with the following mixture:-5 seers salt, 2 seers soda, 1½ seers cuttings of lanka-sij {euphorbia lirucalli), 1 seer cuttings of munsa-sij (euphorbia ligularia), and 1 seer ashes of plantain tree. The mixture is boiled for a day in 2 maunds of water, then strained, mingled with the raw sugar, and allowed to drain for 10 days. The same process is repeated, but the several ingredients are diminished as follows: 1 seer salt, 1 seer soda, 1½ seers cuttings of lanka-sij, 1 seer cuttings of munsa-sij, 1 seer plantain ashes, and 20 seers water. Five days are now sufficient to drain the mass, after which the surface is covered to a depth of four fingers with the vallisneria verticillata plant. This covering is removed every third day until the process is finished, and about 20 seers of sugar are found encrusted on the surface of the plants at each removal. This process of refining occupies about 90 days, and the next operation is that of clarifying. One maund of the prepared sugar is dissolved into a thick syrup, by adding 3 seers of water and boiling gradually, and then adding 14 more seers of water with
2 seers of milk. The impurities are carefully removed as they rise to the surface, and the clarified sugar is gently evaporated and left to crystallize in the sun. The crystals are now finely crushed, and in this state sent to the market, where it is sold as white sugar. It is very sweet, and of a very fair white color. Forty pallas of rab yield, on an average, 40 maunds of sugar, 60 maunds of kaki and 20 maunds of waste.
The principal dyes are, kusum from the karad flower (carthamus tinclorius), nil from the leaves of the indigo (indigofera. linctoria), and a red dye from the suranji (morinda citrifolia). Lac is also used as a dye, and so are the pounded roots of certain shrubs, and the bark of the mango and babul.
Kusum.
The kusum dye is prepared by Hatkars, who purchase the karad flower at Rs. 7 a maund, and dry them. They are next pounded, placed in a cloth, and suspended to a triangle formed with four long sticks fixed in the ground and tied together at the top. Water is poured over the cloth, and the first straining which is yellow, is thrown away. The powdered flowers are then mixed with an alkali (khar), obtained from the ashes of the plantain, and water is again thrown over the cloth. The straining produces a dark purple dye which may be used for turbans; but more commonly it is mixed with lemon juice in the proportion of 100 limes to 10 seers of color, when it yields a beautiful red dye called gulavar. A green color is produced by mixing indigo and lime juice; but kusum
is most prized for its yellow color, obtained by mixing turmeric, alum, and the
juice of limes. The process for any particular dye occupies two days, and
different shades of colors are given, according to the number of times the cloth
is immersed in the dye.
In regard
to nil or indigo, the greater portion of it is imported, but small quantities of a coarse description are sometimes manufactured. For this purpose, vats consisting of two ponds attached to one another, but on different levels, are built near pools or wells of water. The higher pond has an outlet leading into the lower, and this again has
two outlets, one above the other, besides two vessels buried inside the pond flush with the floor. The leaves of the indigo plant are placed in the upper pond and soaked in water for a day. The water is stirred, and assumes a yellow color, when it is let into the second pond and mixed with a decoction of the bark of the jamun. (eugenia jambolana). After being allowed to settle for 8 hours, the water is gradually let out, first by the upper outlet, and then through the lower one which is on a level with the floor of the pond. The sediment which has collected in the two vessels buried in the pond is removed, and suspended in a cloth in the same manner as was described for the kusum
flower, till the water gradually strains off. The bundle is placed for a day in
a heap of ashes, so that the remaining water may be absorbed, after which the
indigo is removed into another cloth, which is spread over a heap of ashes. The
indigo is then made into little diamond-shaped cakes, exposed to the sun for
some days, and is ready for use.
In preparing threads for the suranji dye, the skeins are washed and immersed for
a couple of hours in a cold decoction of gall-nut, then dried and steeped in a solution of alum, and then dried again and placed for a couple of hours in a boiling decoction of dhaypul. The dried roots of the suranji, either cut in small pieces or pounded, are thrown into the decoction; and after a couple of hours, the threads are taken out dyed of a beautiful dark red color. A lighter dye is obtained by mixing an alkali (khar) and lime. The suranji dye is seldom extracted in the district, as the roots are generally exported to Bombay.
Oil is pressed from the seeds of the til, karad, alsi, and karela, either separately o.r together. The mill called ghanna is made from the wood of the tamarind or babul, and consists of a large mortar 3 cubits high, of which 2 cubits are buried in the ground. The pestle is knobbed at one end and slightly curved; and a hole below in the side of the mortar allows the oil to pass off into a receiver. A wooden framework is fitted loosely round the mortar and projects in the
form of a shaft in line with the pestle, to which it is also attached; and the mill is worked round from the other end of the shaft, by one or two bullocks. The cost of a mill is from Rs, 30 to Rs. 40, and the carpenter receives a daily allowance of ¼ seer of oil, to keep it in repair. The mill is worked twice a day, and each operation lasts six hours. Oil pressed from the seeds of the karad, ambadi, and bhoi-mung, in the proportion of 6 seers of karad to 2 seers of each of the others, is largely used for burning in lamps and for culinary purposes. It is sold for Rs. 2-12 ans. per maund; but when pressed separately, karad oil sells for Rs. 2-4 ans., ambadi for Re. 1-4, ans. and bhoi-mung for Rs. 6-4 ans. per maund. Oil for export is filled in dhabbas made of leather.
The distillation of liquor from the flowers of the mauha tree (bassia latifolia) is carried on by kalhals in almost all the principal towns of the district. The flowers are purchased at Rs. 5 a maund from the proprietors of trees, and the still used is of very simple construction. A raised platform has a large narrow-mouthed copper vessel called banda, upon an ordinary earthen fireplace. An inverted earthen pot termed matka, has its mouth a little smaller than and fitting into the mouth of the banda. The matha has a small hole at the bottom, which from its inverted position, is now at the top. Over this again is placed a copper utensil called sharpose, which is 1 foot in diameter and 2 feet in height, and has the rim turned up. The sharpose is well plastered with clay to the malka, so that no steam may escape. The flowers of the mauha are steeped in water for 3 days, and after they have fermented, are boiled with water in the bottom vessel of the still. The steam which rises through the hole of the matka into the sharpose, is cooled by a jet of water thrown on the top of the sharpose, from a bambu spout attached to an adjoining vessel that is placed on a higher level than the still. The water is carried away by another bambu spout attached to the upturned rim of the sharpose; and in this manner the fumes of the mauha are condensed. The liquor
which forms within the sharpose, drips through a bambu tube fixed to the side, and passes into an earthen or copper receiver placed at one end of the platform. Four pailis (6 seers) of mauha flower are distilled each time in five doles of water, and the process occupies 3 days. The out-turn amounts to 8 or 9 quarts of liquor, which is sold at one rupee a bottle for the superior quality distilled during the first two hours. The remainder is disposed of at 3 bottles for the rupee. The best kinds of country liquor made in the district are from Bokardan, and from the village of Mitmita between Aurangabad and Daulatabad.
Attar is extracted from the rose, jasmine, keura, (pandanus
odoratissimus), khas-khas and rausa grass, champa and other flowers, ambergris, and a kind of odoriferous clay. The process is the same as in the distillation of liquor, but sandal-wood oil is placed in the lower sharpose, and combines with the fumes of the flowers which rise from the boiler. Attar is exported to various places in the Nizam's dominions and British territory, and its price varies from Rs. 2 to 24 per tola. The chambeli-ka-tei is prepared by spreading sesamum seeds strewn over with chambeli or jasmine flowers on a sheet of cloth, and covering them with another sheet. They are allowed to remain in thi3 manner for 2 or 3 days, till the fragrance of the chambeli has been imported to the seeds, when the latter are collected and pressed in the ghanna or oil-mill by the telis.
The curing of tobacco is described in the chapter on agriculture. This narcotic is principally used for smoking, or is taken in the form of snuff. The preparation called gudaku is smoked by Mahomedans. It is composed of equal parts of tobacco and gur or jaggery, with a little plantain skin, spices, &c. The price is from 2 to 3 seers per rupee.
Bhang is made by the Halvais from the dried leaves of the ganja or hemp (cannabis sativa), which is prepared in the form of a sweetmeat. A seer of ganja, well boiled and ground to powder, is mixed
with a seer of ghee, a seer and half of sugar, and some spices; and the ingredients are well kneaded, formed into a flat cake, and baked. The confection when ready is sold at 2 seers for the rupee. Ganja is also smoked by the people.
Saltpetre is obtained by the Mangs, who collect the earth about. villages and walls that are impregnated with saline matter, and pour water over them. The water which flows down is received into shallow cisterns or nitre beds, where the efflorescence accumulates and is removed in the cold weather. The crude saltpetre is lixiviated by being mixed with water, and then strained, boiled, and allowed to cool and form into crystals. The saltpetre thus produced is sold at 3 seers for the rupee, and is employed by the Mangs for the manufacture of the common gunpowder used for blasting rocks.
The following ingredients are required in the manufacture:-4 seers charcoal
obtained from the sendh (euphorbia tirucalli), arrat (acacia pennata), or the roots of the thurvat (cassia auriculata); 3 seers
saltpetre; and ¼ seer sulphur. These are ground together in a mill with a little water, and allowed to dry, and then sold as gunpowder at 1½ seers for the rupee. The better kind of gunpowder is manufactured by Rohillas and Arabs, and the saltpetre used is boiled a second time, and sold at 2 seers for the rupee. The charcoal is from the khair (acacia catechu), and the process is as follows:-A seer of saltpetre is boiled in water, and a quarter seer of unground charcoal is added to it. The mass is kept boiling until all the saltpetre has been absorbed by the charcoal, which is then taken down, cooled, ground into a fine powder with ¼ seer of sulpher, and dried.
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