Textile

Indian textile traditions are reputed all over the world and admired for their beauty, texture and durability. India has a diverse and rich textile tradition. The origin of Indian textiles can be traced to the Indus valley civilization. The people of this civilization used homespun cotton for weaving their garments. India had numerous trade links with the outside world and Indian textiles were popular in the ancient world. Indian silk was popular in Rome in the early centuries of the Christian era. Hoards of fragments of cotton material originating from Gujarat have been found in the Egyptian tombs at Fostat, belonging to 5th century A.D.

The most ancient of Indian texts and scriptures, like Rigveda, the Ramayana and Mahabharata talk of the finesse of Indian textiles. The ancient sculptures too bear testimony to India’s rich textile traditions. Paintings depict figures in fine, delicate and decorated fabric. Cotton, Muslin, silk and other Indian textiles were some of the most traded products from India. Each Indian region has its own textile – characterizing it in terms of designs, weaving patterns and techniques, colors and texture. Read below the details of various Indian textile traditions .