Batik: Ancient Art of Painting in Wax

Thu, 02 Jan 2003 19:03:30 +0000

A routine college day. We had to go for textile practicals after lunch. Going for any class post lunch was a pain. All we wanted to do was sleep. But, that remained a dream since we were always packed with classes after lunch. Lazily, I dragged myself to the textile laboratory.

“Today we are going to learn the technique of batik but first let me brief you about it,” said the teacher.

I was already bored. First theory and then the practical. What more could one ask for! Who wanted to know about a technique of dyeing with the strange name batik, anyway? Then I put aside these thoughts and decided to listen. After all, I would have to attempt it myself in a while.

This One is For your Eyes Only

Wed, 08 Aug 2001 10:01:00 +0000

Any mention of the word ‘zari’ may remind you of the heavily embroidered Banaras silk sarees that your mother, sister or aunts may have. Embroidering silk sarees with zari, or golden and silver wrapping on silk threads, is an old and well known art in India.

A sari with zari work is a dream come true for most Indian women.

This One is For your Eyes Only [Illustration by Kusum Chamoli]

But if you mention zari to “eye doctor” or optometrist Dr Mohan Ram, he will probably remember a patient’s retina. For this optometrist from the LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, has pioneered a new, cheap and efficient method of testing the retina. No prizes for guessing what the replacement is – it’s the good old zari! A report on Dr Mohan Ram’s path breaking achievement was published in ‘The Hindu’ newspaper recently.

Textile Art on Pitara Kids Network

Batik: Ancient Art of Painting in Wax

This One is For your Eyes Only