History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c20.s5.1

v1.c20.s5.1

The particulars given above reveal that the people in ancient India and even those of the pre-historic Age were using different kinds of dyes, mordants and pigments to colour textiles and to paint potteries, surfaces of wall, pictures etc. Most of the colouring substances were obtained from vegetable products and also from minerals which were easily available in and around their own settlements or villages and sometimes obtained from other regions. People knew the use of mordants also to fix the dyes on cloth especially cotton. During the Tantric period metals were also used as pigments to coat or paint surfaces like that of pillars and walls. The above accounts strongly testify to the fact that India was not lagging behind in her technological activities. Dyeing and painting developed in ancient India as a rural technology. Eventhough the country was not industrialised as it is today, but still cottage industries, particularly those related to dyes, pigments and paints flourished and each region followed its own technique depending upon the availability of colouring substances, geographical and climatic conditions.