Durrie weaving in India has been a cottage industry for many centuries, historically in many small villages and towns of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, during late 19th and early 20th centuries, the prisoners in Indian jails worked arduously on this cottage craft creating spectacular narrative durries. These durries would have sceneries depicting village activities, natural flora and fauna. A large number of landless weavers were sustaining themselves on durrie weaving.
Floor coverings have always been an important part of the interior of home in India, the use of furniture being very limited. Weaving of durries in various designs, especially by the young Punjabi girls has been a long tradition in Punjab. This handicraft still has an undoubted importance in Punjabi art.
The art of carpet weaving was brought into the Indian subcontinent by the great Mughal Emperor Akbar in the middle of 16th century. As one of the oldest and major industries, Indian carpets are known world over for their design, colour and craftsmanship. Haryana has today emerged as a major carpet producing center, as a result of long years of research and practice. The tools that the weaver uses are simple and these have remained unchanged with time.
Fine Art
The kinds of patterns created in durries are varied. The striped durrie is the quintessential Indian feature over rug. Blue and white striped durries were known by their literal translation such as nili chithi meaning blue spot and nili pattidar meaning the simple blue stripped durrie. Uniformly repeated geometric motifs framed by simple borders as well as pictorial designs, with a woven narrative including images of flowers, birds, reptiles and people were woven in Mugal karkhanas (work shops). Farshi or floor durries were large striped and geometric, used by ordinary people, affluent traders and merchants. Tent durries carpeted outdoor marriage pavilions and large ones were often laid on the floor beneath pile carpets spread in the darbar halls of Maharajas. The largest durries are still commissioned for palace decoration and may extend over eighty feet in length and twenty-five feet in width. The colours used in durries were very bright hues earlier, but have now changed to subtle colours due to market demand. Durrie is a handy substitute to carpets made of velvet cotton material, display a multitudenal array of colors to suit all tastes from the very chic to the very casual.
Durries are familiar objects in almost every home in the villages of Haryana. Mostly hand woven in cotton and cotton/wool mixtures, in bright basic colours such as yellow, red green and blue, they are made in Panipat, Ambala and Kurri (Hissar). Punja durries with floral, geometric, bird and animal motifs are especially attractive. They are used on floors, beds and divans. Durrie fabric is also used to make colourful, practical shoulder bags. Panipat carpets are woven in wool, on traditional looms, in designs which have come down from generation to generation, with some old Persian design still being used.
The technique of durry weaving can be seen in its most primitive form in the villages of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana where girls are normally put to the task at an early age so that they can prepare rugs that will form part of their trousseau. In contrast, girls in Navalgund, a village in Karnataka that produces a small number of unusual durries, are never taught the craft lest they spread the skill outside the family after marriage. Durries come in numerous designs although the most common are stripes of different colours and geometrical designs. Sometimes animal and bird motifs are also used. Fine durries in brilliant colours made of cotton and silk have become a speciality of Salem (Tamil Nadu) while those made of jute fibre are woven in West Bengal.
