‘Did you know’ series
My endeavor to share unique facts about the various places
on this wonderful planet continues…
And would like to share such queer oddities about the
people, culture, traditions and places etc in this world on the main page of
this blog, every week (am hoping to adhere to this schedule…..)
Here comes the first in the series.
Did you know #1?
Indian textiles have been long renowned for their fine
quality and exquisite craftsmanship.
Amongst these are mainly cotton and silk fabrics. Some of the
famous cotton fabrics whose names signify the history associated with them is:
Muslin: The finely woven textiles which the European traders
first encountered was the fine cotton cloth from India carried by Arab
merchants in Mosul (in present-day Iraq) So they began referring to all finely
woven textiles as muslin.
Calico: When the Portuguese first came to India in search of
spices they landed in Calicut on the Kerala coast in south-west India. The
cotton textiles which they took back to Europe, along with the spices came to
be called “calico’ (derived from Calicut) and subsequently calico became the
general name of all cotton textiles.
Chintz: It is derived from the Hindi word, chhint, a cloth
with small and colorful flowery designs. From the 1680s, there started a craze
for printed Indian cotton textiles in England and Europe mainly for their
exquisite floral designs, fine texture and relative economical price.
Bandanna (Any brightly colored and printed scarf for the
neck or head): The term is derived from the word, bandhna (in Hindi is means-
tying) and referred to a variety of brightly colored cloth produced through a
method of tying and dying.
Source: NCERT textbook, Standard VII
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm
and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek
them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
