Textile
Textiles have been produced in India since antiquity. However, very few of the old textiles still exist. One reason is that cloth has long been regarded solely as an article of consumption, rather than as an art form, and designs are lost through everyday wear and tear. The Indian village of now bears little resemblance to its predecessor of about four thousand years ago. Yet the bulk of early styles of costumes, such as embroidered, painted, dyed and printed textiles, may be described as genuine traditional art in the original sense of the term. As time went on, however, the cultural isolation of most of the villages decreased in proportion to their growing contacts with nearby towns, and consequently with the culture of the great temple complexes and the royal courts which represented the then prevailing phase of Indian high art. Practically no aspect of village culture or tribal life remained untouched as cultural exchanges and reciprocal influences took place. Indian textile and costume designs can be innovatively used today by interchanging motifs and their ornamentations for serving the world of fashion and also increasing awareness about our rich cultural heritage.
