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A
slender strip of earth overgrown with trackless wood and thick
foliage in the south-west extremity of Assam is TRIPURA- the tiny
home of nearly three million people. Here there is nothing exotic or
splendorous that may stir your eyes. But here in this ancient land,
beneath the sylvan shadows, from time immemorial, there have been
remarkable experiments in traditional art and the crafts that earned
the lofty admiration of time-honored connoisseurs like Huen Tsang,
Travernier, Ab-Ul-Fazal and even the great poet Rabindranath Tagore.
The art of weaving occupies a very sacred place in the traditional
life of Tripura. In fact in our tribal society no right or ritual is
sanctioned unless it is preceded by an worship of 'Riha' the
hand-woven breast cover of the family elders. The ancient
folk-lorries and fables of Tripura galore with innumerable examples
of glorification of the art of weaving in the tribal society. We
come across starting stories where a king marries an ordinary
village damsel for her unique depiction of an intricate design in
weaving, or another king pronouncing a royal decree of punishment
upon a defiant community which prohibiting them from using any
bright color in their weaving apparels.
In the ups and downs of socio-political history, Tripura witnessed
drastic changes in its demographic character, but the nimble fingers
of our weavers continued with tradition and finesse. Nature has
endowed the people of this land with a very high sense of aesthetic
beauty which enabled their skillful hands to translate the vision in
various forms of art in conformity with the unique aesthetic
equilibrium of the nature, in all the details of sense, color,
perception forms and even rhythm.
Today, Tripura Handloom represents a unique harmonious blend of
three traditions- Tribal, Bengalee and Manipuri weaving.
Tribal Fabrics :
The Tribal fabrics of Tripura are well known for their elegant
design, bold color combination and lasting texture. The Tribal
motifs skillfully depicted through stylized decorative designs are
really in great demand. Modern made-up in tribal fabrics is very
attractive indeed.
Manipuri Fabrics :
The Manipuri community of Tripura specializes in certain traditional
items of distinct heritage. Today, they represent a synthesized
tradition quite distinct from the handloom of Manipur. They produce
colorful bedspread Lysingphee and elegant furnishing fabrics with
Typical Manipuri designs.
Bengalee fabrics :
With aforesaid two traditions of Handloom in Tripura, the third
blending force is the one represented by Bengalee weavers who
migrated erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh). They have in many
ways rejuvenated and supplemented handloom tradition of this land
with greater Bengal weaving heritage. This has resulted into a wide
variety of common use products like silk and cotton sharis, lungis,
Shirting's, jute carpets, bedspreads and colorful furnishing
fabrics.
In Tripura, weavers of all communities have shown a remarkable
courage of conviction in freely adopting motifs and techniques from
each others' tradition with a view to enriching their own.
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