1. A village street
2.
3. A cooking stove is built in a corner of the courtyard.
4.
5.
6.
7. Mandana art has been passed down over the centuries by mothers teaching their daughters to paint. They paint religious symbols as well a variety of animals, trees, and flowers highlighted with dots and dashes. Peacocks are often painted on the exterior walls.
8.
9. Mandana floor patterns are painted on the pavement outside homes
10. Some people now live in brick houses. The cement exteriors, however, do not provide a canvas for the Mandana art in the way that traditional houses do.
11. Many of the women in Sherpur work at the Dastkar women's co-operative across the road. Dastkar aims at improving the economic status of craftspeople and supporting traditional crafts.
12. The women are skilled at sewing and embroidery. They enjoy working in the open air when the weather permits.
13. This picture shows some of the items sold at the shop, such as handbags, decorations and household linen.
14. The village is next to Ranthambore National Park, a famous tiger reserve. The park covers an area of 400 sq km of dry decidious forest. Many visitors to the reserve buy local crafts at the co-operative.
15. A rare sight
|
