Description:
Sanganer is a town situated 16 km south of Jaipur, the capital of Indian state of Rajasthan. It is famous for textile printing, handmade paper industry, and for Jain temples. Sanganer prints are one of its own kinds, for the reason that patterns in bright colours are always printed on white backgrounds.
Textile printing is the process of applying colour to fabric in definite patterns or designs. In properly printed fabrics the colour is bonded with the fibre, so as to resist washing and friction. Textile printing is related to dyeing but in dyeing properly the whole fabric is uniformly covered with one colour, whereas in printing one or more colours are applied to it in certain parts only, and in sharply defined patterns.
In printing, wooden blocks, stencils, engraved plates, rollers, or silkscreens can be used to place colours on the fabric. Colourants used in printing contain dyes thickened to prevent the colour from spreading by capillary attraction beyond the limits of the pattern or design.
The art, science, and technology of papermaking addresses the methods, equipment, and materials used to make paper and cardboard, these being used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes and useful products. Today almost all paper is manufactured using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a specialized craft and a medium for artistic expression.
In papermaking, a dilute suspension consisting mostly of separate cellulose fibres in water is drained through a sieve-like screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibres is laid down. Water is further removed from this sheet by pressing, sometimes aided by suction or vacuum, or heating. Once dry, a generally flat, uniform and strong sheet of paper is achieved.
Before the invention and current widespread adoption of automated machinery, all paper was made by hand, formed or laid one sheet at a time by specialized laborers. Even today those who make paper by hand use tools and technologies quite similar to those existing hundreds of years ago, as originally developed in China and Asia, or those further modified in Europe. Handmade paper is still appreciated for its distinctive uniqueness and the skilled craft involved in making each sheet, in contrast with the higher degree of uniformity and perfection at lower prices achieved among industrial products.
Sanganer is a famous pilgrimage town for the Jain community because of a very ancient Jain temple made of red stone. The ancient Shri Digamber Jain temple of Sanganer is 16 km from Jaipur. In this temple the principal deity is the Lord Adinath (Rishabh Dev); The ancient Shri Digambara Jain temple of Sanganer has fine carvings that are comparable to the Dilwara Temples of Mount Abu that are built in many phases. The last phase of this temple was completed in the 10th century A.D., according to inscription of V.S. 1011 in one of the Toranas. It has sky-high shikharas and the inner sanctum is a stone shrine with sky-high eight shikharas (pinnacles).
In the midst of underground portion, there is located an ancient small temple guarded by the Yaksha. The sacred temple has seven underground floors which are kept closed due to old religious beliefs and visitors are not allowed to see them. It is said[by whom?] that only a Balyati ascetic Digambara saint can enter in it and able to bring out the idols of this underground temple for a limited period, which is declared and decided previously. The idols thus brought out for viewing (Darshan) of devotees, must be placed back within auspicious signs. The temple came in light when Muni Sudhasagar Ji, a disciple of Acharya Vidyasagar Ji visited the underground floors. He brought valuable, never seen before, Jain Murti made of precious stones from the underground floors in the presence of more than five lac Jain disciples.
