Textiles

One of the greatest and most profound expressions of colour in India is in its textiles, an intricate number of forms and styles have evolved over a millennia.

Colour has played a significant role in Indian culture for more than 3,000 years.  Early visitors to India where overwhelmed by the nature of the colours they encountered in the fabrics, partly because there are more than 300 dye plants that are indigenous to the subcontinent.

Colour is used in a vivid, kaleidoscopic way.  It takes special meaning in Indian society, from bright pink to celebrate life in the spring festival of Huli, the iridescent rainbow of colours as millions of fireworks explode in Diwali, the festival of lights, through to saffron, the colour of religious asceticism.  The town of Jodhpur in Rajasthan is painted blue to echo the colour of the blue god Krishna.

In Hindi the word raga means both mood and dye.  Colours are a projection of the mood evoked by changing seasons.  Yellow for instance is the colour of spring.