TEXTILES OF CENTRAL INDIA WITH JUDY GULA
A 16 Day Tour
27 OCTOBER – 11 NOVEMBER 2022
£3294 per person. £1061 single supplement
DELHI – BANDHAVGARH NATIONAL PARK – KHAJURAHO – CHANDERI – BHOPAL – INDORE – MAHESHWAR – MUMBAI
TOUR OVERVIEW
The traditions of Indian textile crafts are some of the oldest and most diverse in the world. They represent a unique and continuous ethos and aesthetic sensibility right through thousands of years. India has shown a remarkable ability to assimilate, remake, re-shape the incoming styles, techniques and ideas yet retain the core essence. On a 16 day tour, led by Judy Vincentz Gula, owner of Artistic Artifacts and Batik Tambal, experience the raw diversity of textiles in India whilst also having the opportunity to observe tigers in their natural habitat and visit some of the country’s most iconic sites.
ARTIST OVERVIEW – JUDY GULA
Judy Vincentz Gula, owner of Artistic Artifacts and Batik Tambal, is a published fiber and mixed media artist who loves to share her knowledge and skills in textiles and mixed media art with others. (Book Judy to teach or lecture at your quilt guild or art group)
Judy has had a passion for fiber most of her life. She began as a weaver, spinner, dyer, and a collector of all things vintage and ethnic fabrics and studied fashion design at Radford University, earning degrees in fashion design and business marketing. Judy spent fifteen years as a member of the Potomac Fiber Gallery at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, and her studio at that time was included on the James Renwick Alliance Studio Tour.
Judy now enjoys merging all that she has learned from her many interests and channeling that into her business and making mixed media art quilts as well as shop samples using the unique collection of fabrics carried at Artistic Artifacts.
ITINERARY OVERVIEW
| Day | Activity | Location | Accommodation |
| Day 1 | Arrival in India’s vibrant capital and transfer to your centrally located hotel. This evening, get to know your tour leader and the rest of the group over an included dinner in a local restaurant. | Delhi | Maidens Hotel |
| Day 2 | This morning explore the best of Old Delhi including visits to the Jama Masjid, one of Asia’s largest mosques; Chandni Chowk, Asia’s largest wholesale market; a drive past the Red Fort and a visit to the Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. Proceed to Delhi’s Craft Museum before heading back to your hotel. | Delhi | Maidens Hotel |
| Day 3 | Take the morning flight to Jabalpur and travel by road for approximately four hours until you reach Bandhavgarh National Park. The park is renowned for its high density of tigers and is also home to sloth bears, deer, leopards and jackals. | Bandhavgarh | Bandhav Vilas |
| Days 4 & 5 | Morning and afternoon exclusive jeep safaris searching for the elusive tiger with an included village walk on day 4 of the itinerary. | Bandhavgarh | Bandhav Vilas |
| Day 6 | Travel to Khajuraho by road, a journey taking approximately 6 hours. Khajuraho is considered one of India’s seven wonders and listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and the city encompasses the nation’s largest array of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, decorated with intricately detailed erotic sculptures and reliefs. | Khajuraho | Lalit Temple View |
| Day 7 | Explore the Western Group of Temples, a beautiful temple complex located in Khajuraho. Temples featured in the Western Group of Temples include Devi Manda, Varaha Mandap, Lakshman Temple, Kandariya Mahadev Temple, Mahadev Shrine and Devi Jagdambi Temple. Late afternoon you will be transferred to Khajuraho railway station to board train to Lalitpur. Upon arrival, make the 1 hour transfer by road to Chanderi. | Chanderi | MPT Kila Kothi |
| Day 8 | Visit the Chanderi village and meet and interact with the master craft persons who weave the beautiful and intricate silk fabric, particularly to produce elaborately designed saris. Dine with the villagers before returning to your hotel. | Chanderi | MPT Kila Kothi |
| Day 9 | After breakfast leave for Bhopal, a journey that should take approximately 5 hours. En route we will be making a stop at Sironj, a leading region for the production of Dhurries. The patterns of which are usually based on kiln designs, geometric traditional motifs & animal and human figures. | Bhopal | Jehan Numa Palace |
| Day 10 | This morning visit Taj-ul-Masajid, the largest mosque in India and featuring an ornate façade and flanked by octagonal marble domes minarets. Proceed to the Bhopal tribal museum before an afternoon filled with workshops. The first workshop is focussed on Gond, a form of painting from folk and tribal art that is practiced by one of the largest tribes in India. After, proceed to observe a demonstration on a specific form of embroidery using metallic threads to form a product known as a zari. | Bhopal | Jehan Numa Palace |
| Day 11 | En route to Indore, stop in Ujjain to participate in a Batik printing workshop. Batik is a combination of art, as there is a free moment of the hand while working on the patterns which are artistically done and craft, the way the whole process of waxing and designing takes place. Arrival in Indore in the early afternoon with the rest of the day at leisure. | Indore | Sheraton Grand Palace |
| Day 12 | After breakfast, drive to Maheshwar [approx. 6 Hrs] with stop en-route to visit the Bhil and Bagh village for a block printing workshop. In this printing technique the cloth used is cotton and silk cloth which are subject to treatment of a blend of corroded iron fillings, alum and Alizarin. The designs are patterned by highly skilled artisans. | Maheshwar | Ahilya Fort |
| Day 13 | After breakfast proceed to visit Rehwa society where you will see the silk weaving and manufacturing and witness Maheshwar saree weaving, later visit to houses of weavers & witness weaving, block printing and thread spinning and dyeing process. Early evening boat ride on the Narmada river followed by Aarti ceremony on the ghats. | Maheshwar | Ahilya Fort |
| Day 14 | The morning is completely free to enjoy the facilities of the hotel or for independent exploration. In the afternoon, transfer to the airport for your flight to Mumbai where upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your centrally located hotel. | Mumbai | Trident Nariman Point |
| Day 15 | Rise early to experience the beauty of Mumbai at dawn. After freshening up at your hotel and breakfast, embark upon a guided orientation tour of the city. Your last afternoon of the tour is spent at a block printing workshop, a versatile craft with no limits on the possibilities of design. | Mumbai | Trident Nariman Point |
| Day 16 | Fly home. |
by Applenet 