Hyderbadi handicrafts take you through a journey of discovery into centuries old traditions. It’s the sacred place to find the secrets of Hyderbad’s most beautiful works of art like custom jewelry; exquisite pottery; Persian weaving (himroo, mashroo, jamavar, paithani ikat); embroidery, Kalamkari & block printing; Bidri work; bamboo basket and chick blind making, black metal craft, silver Filigree; drawing & painting; and more.
Pearls creations
Right from the time of the Nizams who were famous for their patronage of pearls, Hyderabad is fondly referred to as the city of pearls.
Customized Pearls sets: This signature tour is a visit to a workshop where craftsmen make customized Pearl jewelry – necklaces, chokers, ear-rings, studs, bangles, bracelet, pendants, rings, etc. You can see how different colors, types and sizes of Pearls are selected for each of the jewelry pieces, how they are polished, holes drilled, how the beads are stringed, crimped, the common knots, reaming, customized, etc.
Precious look
Traditional Hyderabadi jewelry is inspired from the Nizam’s jewelry collection, which is world famous for its richness and style. It is mainly made of uncut diamonds and precious gemstones.
Precious stones setting: This signature tour is a visit to a workshop where craftsmen make customized jewelry made of precious stones – diamonds, rubies, sapphires, amethyst, emeralds and more. Vibrant gemstones in various color bring the earrings, bangles, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and rings to life. Some of the traditional Hyderabadi jewelry is karn phool (earrings), chand baali (earrings), saathlada (‘saath’ meaning seven and ‘lada’ means strands), jugni (necklace made from 2 to 3 strings of pearls and ends in an exquisite pendant studded with precious gem stones).
Potter's wheel
Try your hands at making pots of your imagination.
This signature tour gives you a glimpse of the process of making beautiful clay pots of various sizes and shapes. Pottery goes throughout the year. Between February and June, the potters thrive on the demand for pots and barrels used for water storage. In the rainy season, flower pots are in demand. You can also indulge in this craft.
Textile
This signature tour is a visit to a weaving workshop, to see different types of weaving; also see embroidery work; 'Kalamkari' designs; and block printing.
Weaving
India has literally hundreds of different regional weaves, each with its own unique motifs, techniques, and look, that deserve to be re-discovered and worn. This visit to a modest workshop set up in Hyderabad decades ago, which specializes in the nearly-extinct weaving techniques of himroo (fabric made of silk and cotton), mashroo (brocaded cloth that has cotton on the inner side and silk on the outer side), jamavar (an art from the land of Kashmir), and paithani weaves (ancient technique of tapestry where multiple threads of different colors along with gold and silver threads are weaved together to form a fascinating piece of silk) alongside ikat (making patterns by tying and dyeing the yarn prior to weaving), and kalamkari (hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile).
Embroidery
Get to see craftsmen work on all kinds of zari (thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver) embroidery works on sarees, suits, sharara, wedding dresses, made on order.
Block printing
A form of dying and coloring a fabric using wooden blocks. India is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of block printed fabric in the world. Block printing craftsmen use wooden or metal blocks to create beautiful designs. You can see the process and also try your hand at block printing.
Metal craft
This signature tour is a visit to various workshops where beautiful metal artifacts are made.
Bidri work
Bidri art is a 500 year old metal handicraft in which the basic material is an alloy of zinc and copper. The design is etched on this material to be later lined with silver, to give it that royal look.
Webisode of Bidri Artwork with GottaDoIndia in Nov'18
Black metal craft
The black metal crafts of Hyderabad are amongst the most popular Indian crafts, because of their resemblance to bronze statues. The product range includes replicas of ancient Indian antiques and sculptures, statues of Gods and Goddesses, and many other home decor items such as wall plates, flower vases and animal figures.
Silver Filigree
A delicate kind of silver metalwork, made with tiny beads and/or twisted threads, soldered together or to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs.
Bamboo craft
Bamboo basket and chick blind making: This signature tour is a visit to a colony of weavers and craftsmen involved in bamboo basket and chick blind making. Bamboo has some unique properties that makes it one of the primary plants used for basket weaving. You can also experience the everyday life of the craftsmen.
Banjara tribal craft
Banjara mirror work: This signature tour is a visit to a Banjara tribal colony, get a glimpse of their handicraft (mirror embroidery work), and click pictures with them in their traditional attire. The Banjara (also called Gor, Lambani, Vanjara and Gormati) are a community usually described as nomadic people spread out all over India, but their population is concentrated in a few states in India including Telangana.
Colorful strokes
Meet a painter / artist.
This signature tour is a visit to a center for arts, with various forms of visual art; with paintings in various media including unconventional mediums or surfaces like glass, acrylic, Indian inks, oil pastels, ceramic cones etc. and glass name plates. You can also try your hand at drawing, sketching, and painting.
