XV

HANDICRAFTS AND MANUFACTURES

~Handicrafts.~--The chief handicrafts of the province are those of the
weaver, the shoemaker, the carpenter, the potter, and the worker in
brass and copper. The figures of the 1911 census for each craft
including dependents were: weavers 883,000; shoemakers 540,000;
carpenters 381,000; potters and brickmakers 349,000; metalworkers
240,000. The figures for weavers include a few working in factories. The
hand-spun cotton-cloth is a coarse strong fabric known as "_khaddar_"
with a single warp and weft. "_Khes_" is a better article with a double
warp and weft. "_Susi_" is a smooth cloth with coloured stripes used for
women's trousers. A superior kind of checked "_khes_" known as
"_gabrun_" is made at Ludhiana. The native process of weaving is slow
and the weavers are very poor. The Salvation Army is trying to introduce
an improved hand loom. Fine "_lungis_" or turbans of cotton with silk
borders are made at Ludhiana, Multan, Peshawar, and elsewhere. Effective
cotton printing is carried on by very primitive methods at Kot Kamalia
and Lahore. Ludhiana and Lahore turn out cotton _daris_ or rugs. Coarse
woollen blankets or _lois_ are woven at various places, and coloured
felts or _namdas_ are made at Ludhiana, Khushab, and Peshawar. Excellent
imitations of Persian carpets are woven at Amritsar, and the Srinagar
carpets do credit to the Kashmiris' artistic taste. The best of the
Amritsar carpets are made of _pashm_, the fine underwool of the Tibetan
sheep, and _pashmina_ is also used as a material for _choghas_
(dressing-gowns), etc. Coarse woollen cloth or _pattu_ is woven in the
Kangra hills for local use. At Multan useful rugs are made whose fabric
is a mixture of cotton and wool. More artistic are the Biluch rugs made
by the Biluch women with geometrical patterns. These are excellent in
colouring. They are rather difficult to procure as they are not made for
sale. The weaving of China silk is a common industry in Amritsar,
Bahawalpur, Multan, and other places. The _phulkari_ or silk embroidery
of the village maidens of Hissar and other districts of the Eastern
Panjab, and the more elaborate gold and silver wire embroideries of the
Delhi _bazars_, are excellent. The most artistic product of the plains
is the ivory carving of Delhi. As a wood-carver the Panjabi is not to be
compared with the Kashmiri. His work is best fitted for doorways and the
bow windows or _bokharchas_ commonly seen in