Toran Making
In Chandlodia of Ahmedabad the artisan works with the available materials such as saree borders, beads etc. in the area under the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation at the Ahmedabad district of the state of Gujarat.
Generally in olden days the Traditional door hangings were prepared of mango leaves that were mostly hung during the auspicious occasions that are adorned on the door ways at the homes. The traditional door hangings are generally referred to as torans hung on the top of the doors that usually symbolizes the welcome indication at the entrance of the doors.
Torans are used to decorate the door ways at the homes, the main entrance of the homes. It is said the main idea behind is to attract the goddess of wealth Lakshmi that is usually decorated with the decorative accessories. As these are first substance that welcomes all the guests to enhance with charm of the main entrance with a friendly welcome and a pleasant look.
Torans are usually referred in Hinduism as torana which generally means to pass of a scared or esteem respect at the gateways that are usually decorated with marigolds and mango leaves tied on the door mostly on the occasions of festivals and weddings.
The same is done on the fabric where it is made to the leaf forms with mostly of green, yellow and red. In some with mirror work and embroideries of various communities impact on it. With size measuring of the main entrance door and the width of it. Toran’s are decorated with some meaning such as flowers (fertility), medallions (creation), peacocks (happiness) and Lakshmi (goddess of wealth). Some of the embroidery techniques found in the Kutch and Saurashtra are as follows Jat, Matuwas, Ahir, Kanbis, Mochi, Lohanas, Khavada and Mahajan.
It is said in about 20th century nearly all homes of Gujarat had decorative embroidered hangings that brought cheer and grace on the doorways and walls with some with purely hand embroidery works. Crafts are the integral part of imagination of forms of utility, decoration, ornamentation and aesthetics along with it the human quality of handwork with varieties of creativity adorn to create, decorate and to be in use of the daily life.
The Craftsmen make very vibrant, stunning work of folk craftsmanship with ethnic pieces around. In this part of India guests are considered close to God, therefore the entrance is ornamented with colorful decoration. Some of the torans are seen with complex stitching such as herringbone, satin, cross, stem, chain, fishbone and applique works. They can be made with cotton, silk, netted beadwork, mirror pieces with varieties available on the day to day life. Gujarat located at the northwest region of India is very famous for its intricate and varied styles of embroidery on the toran’s.
