Paper Crafts

¤ An Age-Old Art

The paper making industry in the Kagazi Mohulla area of Sanganer (Around Jaipur) uses up the waste cotton and silk rags from the block printing industry.

The artists in the village are used to enthusiastic visitors and their questions, so those interested in the craft are welcome to ask the craftspersons all about it.
The craftspersons are the descendents of those who, for generations, have been making paper for the Mughals and Rajputs.
Then came the British, and with them the age of mill-made paper. Thus the craft received a big blow in the 18^th century. But the dedicated craftspersons of Sanganer stuck to their artistic profession in spite of dire poverty.


¤ Expertise Artisans

Salim Kagazi happens to be of one such family whose Handmade Paper and Board Industries on Gramudyog Road is a flourishing concern. A. L. Paper House is another big name for paper and paper products. So get yourself loads of this handmade paper, for you'll never get anything like them anywhere.


¤ The Crafts Made Out of Paper

There’s a lot you can do with paper and Delhiites have been doing it for a long period of time.

Kites : You might have seen kites but there’s a whole lot more on offer. Starting with kites then, you can find them in the patang (kite) market in Lal Kuan bazaar in Old Delhi. These colourful, feather-light kites come in all shapes and sizes – and so they should, after all, flying kites is an important national pastime.

Tazia : is the next most popular paper craft. A commemorative paper structure, it consists of coloured bits of paper pasted on a bamboo frame and carried in the Moharram procession (mourning to mark the martyrdom of the Prophet’s son). Tazias are used for a happy purpose too during the Phoolwalon ki Sair held every September.

Effigy-making : Another papercraft that takes a lot of doing is effigy-making. Effigy-makers have it really good when the Hindu festival of Dusshera comes round. Huge effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkarna and Meghnad (the three bad guys from epic Ramayana) are laboriously erected and then burnt on Dusshera to uphold the victory of truth and justice.