Madhya Pradesh is located at the center of India and art and craft traditions here also reflect the feelings of the center of heart of the craftsmen. The materials that are used may have changed over the years and the articles that are produced may be on a wider utilitarian range, but a long heritage of tradition continues to add a highly distinctive, individualistic touch to the crafts of Madhya Pradesh. Thousands of craftsmen practice hand printing, generally with vegetable dyes at a string of hand printing centers- Jawad, Bhairongarh, Mandsaur, Umedpura, Burhanpur, Bhopal, Indore, Gotampura, Sohawal and Tarapur.

Garments, bedspreads, tablecloths and curtain material are produced at Umedpura and Tarapur in nandana prints. The prints were once in vogue amongst the villagers of the Nimar plain. From Bhairongarh came printed quilt covers, lungis, odhanis, jajams (floor coverings), bedspreads, and tablecloths. Tie and dye chunaries are the speciality of Tarapur and Mandsaur.

Textile weaving in Madhya Pradesh is as refined as the hand printing craft. Soft, subtle shades in delicate weaves come off the looms in Chanderi, near Gwalior. Here, silk is used as the warp and cotton for the weft to produce the famous Chanderi saris. Some saris have gold checks and these combined with the traditional rich gold border along with two gold bands on the pallav, give each sari a special touch.

are woven at Maheshwar. The Maheshwari craftsmen have perfected the art of weaving a wide variety of checks. Madhya Pradesh's craftsmen are equally adept at producing tassar silk handloom fabrics.

Textile weaving in Madhya Pradesh is as refined as the hand printing craft. Soft, subtle shades in delicate weaves come off the looms in Chanderi, near Gwalior. Here, silk is used as the warp and cotton for the weft to produce the famous Chanderi saris. Some saris have gold checks and these combined with the traditional rich gold border along with two gold bands on the pallav, give each sari a special touch.

are woven at Maheshwar. The Maheshwari craftsmen have perfected the art of weaving a wide variety of checks. Madhya Pradesh's craftsmen are equally adept at producing tassar silk handloom fabrics.

Skilled craftsmanship is also on display in a variety of zari-embroidered articles. There are zari wall hangings, handbags, saris and splendid brocade borders. Even though the number of zari workers-mostly women-has dwindled in recent years, Bhopal still remains an important center for this specialized embroidery.

Carpet Weaving

In the princely fort city of Gwalior the carpet weaving made a late debut in 1902. The fine quality of weaving in imaginative designs soon earned Gwalior's carpet industry an excellent reputation. Today, more than a thousand looms are in operation in and around the city.