Textile Trails through India's Golden Triangle

We start our exploration of Delhi this morning, with visits to Qutb Minar and Dilli Haat.

Qutb Minar is a minaret, built between 1199 and 1220, and one of the most visited tourist spots in the city. The minaret forms part of the Qutb Complex lying at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dilli Haat is a permanent open-air food plaza and craft bazaar, designed to encourage rural India to showcase their talent, products and culture. There are many products on offer including rosewood and sandalwood carvings, camel hide footwear, fabric and drapery, gems, beads, brassware and more. A perfect introduction to what we will be seeing on the rest of our tour!

This afternoon, we return to the hotel for our first hand-stitching workshop with Carolyn.

Enjoy a full day in Delhi today, starting with a sightseeing rickshaw ride of Old Delhi. Be transported back 400 years in history, through the narrow streets and lanes of Chandni Chowk. Hear interesting stories bringing history back to life and experience local culture, colourful bazaars, street food and more.

We’ll also visit Jama Masjid, Old Delhi’s principal place of worship and the largest and most renowned mosque in India. Built in the 17th century by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan, who also built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort, it’s an elaborate structure with a massive courtyard that can hold up to 25 000 people.

Our tour continues to Khan Market, a hub of culture, cuisine and commerce. Many different types of shops can be found here, including Anokhi and FabIndia.

Founded by John and Faith Singh in 1970, Anokhi began when Jaipur’s block printing industry was at a very low ebb. Modern manufacturing processes had already marginalised handmade practices and customers were steadily diminishing. To help revitalise these age-old skills, Anokhi started working with craftspeople in and around Jaipur: block carvers and printers, dyers, embroiderers and bead workers. In the studio, designers developed small but striking clothing ranges infusing pieces with a contemporary twist for the modern-day user. Decorative soft furnishing collections followed, inspired by Jaipur’s traditional quilts and bedcovers. In 2005, Anokhi went on to found Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing in 2005, which we’ll visit during our time in Jaipur.

FabIndia is a chain store selling clothing, home decor, furnishing and fabrics handmade by rural craftspeople across India.

We’ll end the day with a visit to the National Crafts Museum. The museum is run by the Ministry of Textiles and holds over 35,000 rare and distinctive pieces, reflecting the traditions of Indian craftsmen through painting, embroidery, textiles, clay, stone and wood.

After an early breakfast, we transfer to Nizamuddin railway station to board the Gatiman Express to Agra. Home of the world-famous Taj Mahal, Agra’s attractions also extend to an array of other historical sites and has long been associated with artisan heritage.

Our time here will begin on the city’s Artisan Trail, where we’ll visit artists engaged in keeping local crafts alive including marble latticework, zardozi embroidery, stone inlay work and Persian carpet weaving.

At sunset, we’ll go to Mehtab Bagh garden, an ideal location to view the Taj Mahal across the river Yamuna. The Taj Mahal, meaning crown of the palaces, is a mausoleum commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife. The Taj Mahal was dedicated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage".

An early start this morning as we view the Taj Mahal during sunrise, a truly unforgettable experience! This time of day is the least crowded and affords a very peaceful and tranquil experience of one of the world's most romantic sites.

After returning to our hotel for breakfast, we will visit Agra Fort. This walled imperial city was founded in 1565 by Emperor Akbar and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its palaces, grand mosques and elaborate public hall are crafted from pink-red sandstone and are testament to an era when Indo-Muslim art, strongly marked by influences from Persia, was at its height.

This afternoon, we’ll enjoy our second hand-stitching workshop with Carolyn in the hotel.

Depart Agra and travel to Jaipur. En route we’ll take a guided tour of the town of Fatehpur Sikri, founded as the capital of the Moghul empire in 1571.

Fringed by the rugged Aravali Hills, Jaipur is the capital and largest city in India’s northern state of Rajasthan. The city is famed for being India’s first planned city featuring a multitude of pink terracotta buildings within the walled historic centre, earning it the nickname,’ The Pink City.

This evening we’ll visit the home of an Indian family to learn some traditional Indian and Rajasthani recipes. After the class, we’ll enjoy dinner with the family.

A full day of sightseeing in Jaipur today, starting with Amber Fort, a classic Rajasthani Fort Palace. The rugged, time-ravaged walls of the fort may not look beautiful from the outside, but the interior is a virtual paradise. Miniature paintings on the walls depict hunting and war scenes and precious stones and mirrors are embedded into the plaster.

Inside the fort, we’ll visit the Jag Mandir or the Hall of Victory and the famed Sheesh Mahal – a room with all the four walls and ceiling completely embedded with glittering mirror pieces.

We then visit the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing, located in a magnificently restored haveli or townhouse. The museum displays a varied selection of block printed textiles alongside images, tools and related objects – all chosen to provide an in-depth look into the complexity of this ancient tradition.

Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is one of Jaipur’s most recognised buildings, known for its iconic façade. Small windows, decorated with intricate latticework, create a honeycomb-like appearance. The original intention of the lattice was to allow the royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen. The cooling effect, provided by the breeze passing through the small windows, gave the palace its name.

Jaipur City Palace, a former royal residence, was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh during his reign. Built in the style of a fortified campus, the palace covers almost one-seventh the area of the city. A small portion of it is still used by the Royal family of Jaipur and part of it has been converted into a museum, where we will visit the textile section with costume and embroidery.

Our final visit of the day will be to Aari Tari embroidery. Gota Patti or Gota work is a type of Indian embroidery that originated in Rajasthan. Gota uses the applique technique where small pieces of zari ribbon are applied onto the fabric with the edges sewn down to create elaborate patterns.

Today we take an excursion to Bagru village, famous for its wooden block printing, where we’ll take a workshop with the Chippa community. Commonly known as 'Bagru prints', the design is carved on a wooden block which is used to reproduce the same design on the preferred fabric. The craftsmen, following the original tradition, clean the cloth with clay and immerse it in turmeric water to provide the cloth with the customary cream colour. Following this, various designs are embossed on the fabric, with the help of natural dyes. 

Sanganer is well known for Jain temples, textile printing and the handmade paper industry. While here, we’ll visit a handmade paper factory. The paper is made from fabric scraps and is often decorated with petals or leaves. The 200 or so employees produce 40,000 sheets a day, which is exported all over the world.

This morning, we enjoy our third and final hand-sewing workshop with Carolyn. Enjoy some free time this afternoon, relaxing in the hotel or exploring Jaipur at your leisure.