• Two craft forms that are unique to Telangana were recently granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the GI registry in Chennai.

About Adilabad Dokra

• The uniqueness of this art form is that no two sculptures are the same, as they are not made out of a pre-designed cast.
• The craftsmen of this art form belong to the Woj community, commonly referred to as Wojaris or Ohjas in the rural areas of Telangana. There are roughly 100 odd families in Adilabad district who are involved in the art form. They use brass as their main material and an ancient casting technique called ‘cire perdue’.
• As part of this technique, the craftsmen use clay and design a model of the sculpture that they want to create. They wrap the clay with wax threads before baking the mould, so that the wax melts away and the molten metal is poured into the mould.
• The common items made by the craftsmen include small idols and statues of tribal deities, jewellery, bells, small-scale animal sculptures and others.
• About Warangal durries
• In this style of durries, weavers create beautiful patterns and dye them using vegetable colours, which are washed in flowing water after the printing process.
• Warangal district became a renowned hub for weaving these rugs due to the availability of cotton, which is grown by farmers in the area.

About Geographical indicators:

• GI(Geographical Indications) are signs used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that place of origin.
• Agricultural products typically have qualities that derive from their place of production and are influenced by specific local factors, such as climate and soil. They may also highlight specific qualities of a product, which are due to human factors that can be found in the place of origin of the products, such as specific manufacturing skills and traditions.
• A geographical indication points to a specific place or region of production that determines the characteristic qualities of the product that originates therein. It is important that the product derives its qualities and reputation from that place.
• Place of origin may be a village or town, a region or a country. It is an exclusive right given to a particular community hence the benefits of its registration are shared by the all members of the community.
• Keeping in view the large diversity of traditional products spread all over the country, the registration under GI will be very important in future growth of the tribes / communities / skilled artisans associated in developing such products.