Most Indian crafts are village-scale and family-taught. Buying at source, or from a recognised cooperative, is the difference between a souvenir and a livelihood.
Textiles
Banarasi silk
Varanasi brocade with metallic zari.
Kanchipuram silk
Tamil Nadu; heavy woven borders.
Pashmina
Kashmir; fine goat wool, hand-spun.
Chikankari
Lucknow white-on-white embroidery.
Bandhani
Gujarat and Rajasthan tie-dye.
Patola
Patan double ikat, woven from both sides.
Pochampally ikat
Telangana resist-dyed yarn.
Phulkari
Punjab floral darning stitch.
Kantha
Bengal running-stitch quilting.
Chanderi
Madhya Pradesh sheer cotton-silk.
Muga silk
Assam's golden wild silk.
Kalamkari
Andhra pen-drawn and block-printed cloth.
Painting traditions
Madhubani
Bihar; line-filled ritual painting.
Pattachitra
Odisha and Bengal cloth scrolls.
Warli
Maharashtra; white figures on earth ground.
Gond
Madhya Pradesh; dotted and dashed fill.
Phad
Rajasthan narrative scrolls.
Tanjore
Tamil Nadu; gold-leaf panels.
Miniature
Rajasthan and Pahari courts.
Cheriyal
Telangana scrolls and masks.
Metal, wood & stone
Bidriware
Karnataka; silver inlay in blackened alloy.
Dhokra
Lost-wax brass casting, central and east India.
Channapatna toys
Karnataka lacquered wood.
Kondapalli toys
Andhra softwood figures.
Kashmiri walnut carving
Deep relief in local walnut.
Moradabad brass
Uttar Pradesh metalware.
Agra marble inlay
Pietra dura in semi-precious stone.
Clay & glass
Jaipur blue pottery
Low-fired, glazed in cobalt.
Bankura terracotta
Bengal horses and temple tiles.
Aranmula metal mirrors
Kerala; polished alloy, not glass.
Craft villages
Kutch, Gujarat
Raghurajpur, Odisha
Channapatna, Karnataka
Nirona, Gujarat