UPSC Prelims 2018 Question:

Consider the following pairs:

Sl. No.	Craft		Heritage of
1.	Puthukulli shawl	:	Tamil Nadu
2.	Sujni embroidery	:	Maharashtra
3.	Uppada Jamdani saris	:	Karnataka

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• Puthukulli shawls: The women of Toda tribe of Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu have their own distinctive style of embroidery called 'Pugul' which means flower. The embroidery is done on shawls which are worn by the men of the tribe. The shawl is called 'Poothkuli' or 'Puthukulli' and has black and red bands at the end at the gaps of six inches. The most important motif is the buffalo horns as Todas venerate the buffalo. So, pair 1 is correctly matched.

• Sujni Embroidery: The history of this craft dates back to the 18th century. People at that time utilized old materials like saris or dhotis to make quilts and other utilitarian products for newborn babies. The design of these products interprets a mother’s emotion and imagination regarding her baby. Sujni is very similar to Kantha of Bengal. Sujni is practiced in different parts of Bihar like Patna, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur. So, pair 2 is not correctly matched.
  
  

• Uppada Jamdani saris: The Jamdani sarees of Uppada Kothapalli mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh own their geographical Indication (GI) tag.  The base fabric for Jamdani is unbleached cotton yarn. Alexander the Great in 327 BC mentioned beautiful printed cotton in India, and it is said Roman emperors paid fabulous sums for the prized Indian cotton. In the 17th century, Jamdanis were custom made for the Mughal emperor and, in general, only the nobility could afford the fabric. The Maharaja of Pithapuram used it in his astanam. So, pair 3 is not correctly matched.
  
  

Therefore, option (1) is the correct answer.

Subject: History | Arts & Crafts