Wood Carving- Banaras

Introduction:

Usage:

One of the most common places where Banaras wood carving finds expression is the home shrine. Wooden sinhasans, or thrones for deities, are intricately carved with domes, arches, elephants, and lotuses. These are not mere platforms but symbolic temples in miniature, crafted to host the divine. The sacred book stand, or rehal, carved with peacocks or curling vines, holds religious texts like the Ramayana and the Gita, elevating the act of reading into a gesture of reverence. Many homes also house small carved altars, where diyas are lit, incense is burned, and prayers are whispered every day.

The daily rituals of Banaras also depend on smaller, intimate carved objects. Wooden sindoora boxes, often shaped like lotus buds or peacocks, hold vermilion used in worship and marriage rituals. Chowkis, or low carved stools, are used to seat idols during pujas or guests during ceremonies. Havan ladles, ritual spoons, and havan kund stands carved from neem or sheesham wood are used in fire rituals, often gifted during weddings or temple inaugurations. These aren’t decorative—they’re functional, tactile, passed from one generation to the next.

Among the most distinct offerings from Banaras wood carving are wooden chappals—simple, flat sandals worn by saints, ascetics, and occasionally used in temple rituals. These are not for comfort, but for control, humility, and grounded movement. Their design, sometimes plain, sometimes ornate, reflects a spiritual way of walking through the world. In the same breath, the craft provides carved prayer bead holders, incense boxes, and bell handles—objects that feel small but carry centuries of sacred familiarity.

Outside of the sacred, carved wood finds place in domestic life. Wooden mirror frames, door nameplates, and wall hangings depicting motifs like the Om, swastika, lotus, and Shiva’s trident are part of everyday décor. Wooden torans—arch-like frames placed above doorways—are carved with fish, parrots, and other auspicious forms to welcome blessings into the home. Even functional objects like storage chests, folding stools, curtain brackets, and coat hangers are carved with fine detailing, turning the ordinary into the ornate.

Banaras also carves for the collective memory of the city. Panels depicting the ghats, Ganga Aarti scenes, or temples like Kashi Vishwanath are made as souvenirs for pilgrims and tourists. Many of these are sold in the lanes around Dashashwamedh, Assi, or Godowlia, packed into paper by artisans who know which carvings go to which parts of the world. There are also wooden replicas of the Ashoka Pillar, often polished and gifted during formal ceremonies or kept in homes as a national symbol.

Certain carved items hold a more intimate role in the cultural life of Banaras. Wooden chillums, used historically by sadhus and local smokers, are carved with spirals, gods, or mythic beasts. Walking sticks and prayer sticks carried by elderly devotees often bear carved handles shaped like birds or nagas. In wedding rituals, carved betel boxes and haldi-dani (turmeric holders) are exchanged between families, symbolising both prosperity and tradition.

In recent years, as homes modernise and tourists seek keepsakes, artisans have adapted. Carved key holders, wall clocks, coasters, lampstands, photo frames, and jewellery boxes have joined the repertoire. Some artisans now create custom objects for yoga studios, cafes, and boutiques—bringing in the old patterns of Banaras into new spaces and rhythms.

Yet even as forms shift, the essence remains. Every carved item from Banaras carries a signature of the city itself—its devotion, its density, its layered beauty. These are not just things made of wood. They are extensions of life in Kashi—practical, sacred, ancestral, and alive.

Significance:

The significance of Banaras wood carving lies not only in its visual beauty or sacred symbolism, but in its embeddedness in the rhythm of daily life, the rituals of the spirit, and the endurance of touch. The carved objects that emerge from the city’s workshops are not luxury pieces. They are often humble, ordinary, and deeply needed. That is where their true importance begins.

These objects are vital because they are used—not occasionally, but constantly, sometimes even daily. The carved rehal that holds open the pages of a holy book becomes a daily meeting place between the reader and the divine. The wooden chowki used in pujas might carry not just an idol, but also a prayer, an intention, a family’s collective breath of hope. The carved sinhasan becomes the throne on which a deity is not just placed but believed to dwell. In these moments, the object is not a passive tool. It becomes a vessel of presence.

Such carved items are vital in ceremonies that mark life’s most important transitions. A bride carries a sindoora box into her new home, given by her mother, carved with peacocks and filled with red powder. A child’s first reading of a sacred verse is guided by the slope of a carved book stand. A guru is offered wooden chappals as a symbol of humility and surrender. These moments would feel empty without these objects. They are woven into the emotional memory of Banaras families, passed down, repaired, and reused not just for function but because they are trusted and known.

On a material level, the significance deepens. Wood is a living material—it breathes, shifts with the seasons, retains warmth, and carries grain patterns like fingerprints. Unlike brass or stone, it is soft to the hand. The act of carving it leaves behind textures that are felt as much as seen. When a woman opens a carved sindoora box each morning, or when a pandit smooths the corners of a wooden ladle during havan, there is an intimacy that metal or plastic cannot offer. Wood allows for this closeness, softness, and silence.

Beyond the ritual and domestic, carved wooden objects also act as anchors of identity and belonging. In Banaras, a carved wall panel depicting the Ganga Aarti is not a souvenir—it’s a memory, a statement of where one comes from, or what one reveres. In an increasingly digital world, where many objects are mass-produced, these wooden forms still carry the imperfections and precision of handwork, giving them emotional weight. To gift or keep a carved item is often to say: this was made with time, care, and human effort.

The significance of these objects also lies in how they hold together communities. The act of making, exchanging, gifting, and using carved items sustains a quiet economy that supports artisan families, vendors, shopkeepers, and temple workers. When someone buys a carved chappal for ritual use, or commissions a home shrine, they participate in a circle of labour, meaning, and shared livelihood that goes far beyond commerce.

Banaras wood carving matters because it holds the city’s way of seeing. It reflects an aesthetic where nothing is left plain if it can carry a story. Even the handle of a spoon, the leg of a stool, or the edge of a small box becomes an opportunity to curve a vine, place a peacock, trace a lotus. This style—dense, full, layered—is not ornamental excess. It is a reflection of Banaras itself: a city that offers more, holds more, remembers more.

So, the significance of these carved objects is not abstract. It is practical, sensory, emotional, spiritual. It sits in the curve of a box, the weight of a shrine, the coolness of a polished handle. It sits in how these objects make life feel not just functional, but held, honoured, and whole.

Myths & Legends:

Banaras is a cosmic theatre, a space where myth spills into daily life, and every stone, ghat, and street corner whispers a story. It is no surprise then that the craft of wood carving in this sacred geography has gathered around itself a constellation of myths, sacred narratives, and artisan legends that animate the wood with memory and mysticism.

One foundational myth that echoes through the lanes of Banaras is that of Lord Vishwakarma, the divine architect. Artisans, especially those from the Vishwakarma community, often trace their craft lineage directly to him. According to legend, Vishwakarma carved the first temple of Kashi Vishwanath, and the tools he used are said to have mystic power. In many woodcarving families, chisels are worshipped as embodiments of Vishwakarma during Diwali and Vishwakarma Jayanti. Some even believe that without ritual observance, tools “go blunt” or “lose their will”: a metaphor for the artisan’s disconnection from the sacred rhythm of their work.

Local legends also speak of Shiva’s blessing upon Banaras’s carvers. It is said that when the great god made Banaras his eternal abode, he desired that every temple, home, and object in the city reflect the beauty of the cosmos. To fulfill this, he called upon skilled artisans and instructed them to carve the divine geometry of the universe into everyday wood—lotuses, vines, stars, serpents, and wheels. Thus, even the simplest carved motif carries an echo of this divine instruction, making carving a spiritual act rather than just manual labour.

Another lesser-known tale speaks of a mysterious peacock box, believed to have been gifted to a priest by a woodcarver whose daughter had miraculously recovered from a deadly fever after a prayer at Kaal Bhairav temple. The box, intricately carved with concentric feathers and hidden compartments, became an object of local reverence. Though the original no longer exists, its story lives on, and carved peacock boxes remain among the most popular woodcrafts of Banaras.

Oral histories within artisan families also abound with tales of magical trees, timbers that refused to crack or splinter, pieces that revealed divine faces mid-carving, or wood that changed colour depending on the moon phase. While such accounts may not pass empirical scrutiny, they reveal the animistic, deeply reverent worldview of the craftsmen, for whom wood is not inert matter, but a living medium imbued with character and spirit.

Banaras itself, Kashi, the luminous, is a myth. To carve in this city is to join a lineage of those who translate myth into material, to shape belief into form. The legends surrounding the craft are not just background stories: they are co-creators of the object, infusing every vine, every panel, every Shiva eye with a narrative that spans generations.

History:

The history of Banaras wood carving is not a single story—it is a quiet accumulation of many carved objects, made and remade over centuries, shaped by worship, memory, necessity, and pride. Unlike large architectural histories that proclaim themselves in stone, the story of carved wood in Banaras moves in the background—along shrines, across homes, and through generations of hands.

In the oldest parts of the city—around Vishwanath Gali, Chaukhamba, and Kamachha—lie families whose ancestors carved for temples and ashrams. These artisans weren’t always considered artists in the modern sense, but they were deeply respected for what they made. Some of the earliest carved objects associated with Banaras were temple thrones, doors, and ritual furniture, made not to display craftsmanship, but to serve the gods. These objects were shaped by oral traditions, iconographic rules, and the carver’s own sense of devotion. They were built to last—thick, solid, and carefully proportioned.

As the Bhakti movement swept across north India in the medieval period, and as household worship became more intimate and widespread, the scale of carving shifted. Wooden sinhasans shrank to fit into homes. Puja boxes and chowkis became common items in even modest households. The shift from temple to home brought with it new needs and new forms, and carvers responded—not with revolution, but with adaptation. The wood they used—neem, sheesham, kadam—was chosen not just for availability, but for its scent, strength, and sacred associations.

During the Mughal and later Nawabi periods, Banaras continued to flourish as a spiritual city and an artisanal hub. While stone and metal were celebrated in palaces and public monuments, wood carving remained deeply personal, tied to the rituals and habits of daily life. Some of the most intricate work from this period survives in the form of hidden compartments in wooden boxes, finely turned chillums, and folding book stands with geometric and floral inlay—objects that quietly mirrored the cross-cultural influences of the time.

The colonial period brought both disruption and visibility. British officers and visitors, fascinated by Banaras’s “exotic” energy, began commissioning carved objects as souvenirs. The humble ritual box was now made as a keepsake. The rehal, once found only in ashrams, was adapted as a decorative stand for Victorian Bibles or guestbooks. Artisans were encouraged—sometimes forced—to make for exhibition and export. This brought wider recognition, but also shifted some attention away from sacred function toward visual appeal. In this period, Banaras carving became part of a larger network of crafts that fed museums, fairs, and shops across the empire.

In independent India, especially in the decades following the 1950s, the craft found its footing again through national institutions. Craft councils, state emporiums, and government exhibitions brought visibility and occasional income. Yet, while awards and showcases celebrated the craft, the deeper ecology of patronage continued to shift. Mass-produced religious items, changing tastes, and cheaper alternatives pushed carved wood to the side in many homes. Even so, artisans kept working—carving bookstands for local sadhus, chillums for ash-smeared saints, and chowkis for new brides.

Today, the craft survives not because it is protected, but because it is needed. The history of Banaras wood carving is written into the everyday—into the rehal still used by a grandmother each morning, into the old peacock box that holds sindoor, into the wooden chappals laid at the feet of a saint’s statue. These objects do not survive in museums—they survive because people still use them, still recognise their value, still want to pass them on.

To understand the history of Banaras wood carving is to trace the movement of these objects through time: from temple sanctums to living rooms, from gifts to inheritances, from artisan tools to sacred offerings. It is not a history of interruption, but of endurance—quiet, carved, and carried.

Design:

The design language of Banaras wood carving is a visual expression of the city’s cultural grammar: floral, mythological, spiritual, and deeply ornamental. It reflects a harmony between form and function, faith and flourish, manifesting in objects that are at once practical, symbolic, and aesthetic. Unlike minimalist schools of design, the Banaras style celebrates intricacy, abundance, and detail, drawing from a vast iconographic and architectural vocabulary.

Motifs and Inspirations

The motifs used in Banaras wood carving are drawn from a wide range of religious, natural, and cultural sources. At the core lies a pantheon of sacred symbols:

• Floral scrolls, lotus blooms, creepers, and vines dominate most compositions, both as frames and as filler. The lotus, in particular, is not just a design element but a symbol of purity, divinity, and awakening, aligning with the city’s spiritual ethos.
• Peacocks, with their curving forms and feathers rendered in fine, repetitive detail, are a favourite motif. In Hindu lore, the peacock is associated with Kartikeya and Saraswati, making it both martial and scholarly.
• Geometric grids, mandalas, and concentric circles often form the structural layout of the design, anchoring the organic within the ordered.
• Mythological scenes, though less frequent due to the demands of deep relief carving, do appear, most often Shiva in Nataraja form, Ganga emerging from his locks, or scenes from the Ramayana or Mahabharata.

Stylistic Features

Banaras wood carving is typically done in low to medium relief, allowing for delicate surface patterns without compromising the integrity of the wood. The style is characterised by:

• Dense patterning with minimal empty space: Surfaces are often completely filled with motifs, a technique known as bhara hua kaam (“full work”).
• Symmetry and rhythm: Designs follow mirrored symmetry, especially in panels, door frames, or boxes, creating a visual rhythm that mimics the balance found in classical music or architecture.
• Layering of textures: Artisans create depth by varying the density and depth of the carving. Central motifs are often raised, while borders and backgrounds are engraved more shallowly.
• Integration of architecture: Many designs mimic or directly reproduce elements from Banarasi temples, pillars, niches, domes, and ghats, turning household items into miniature reflections of the sacred city.

Materials and Finishes

Though many varieties of wood are used, the most traditional include:

• Sheesham (Indian Rosewood) – prized for its strength, grain, and polish.
• Kadam and Mango wood – used for their softness and affordability.
• Neem and Haldu (Yellowwood) – chosen for smaller objects, often painted or lacquered.

The finish ranges from raw matte to high polish using natural waxes or oils. Some pieces are lacquered in gold or red, especially those used in festive or wedding contexts. A newer trend includes combining carving with brass inlay or mirror work, particularly in furniture or wall panels meant for upscale markets.

Contemporary Adaptations

Today, Banaras wood carving is expanding into urban and global design spaces, leading to both refinement and simplification. Traditional boxes and idols are now complemented by:

• Jewellery organizers, coasters, trays, and wall décor
• Laser-etched hybrid designs mixing hand and machine processes
• Sculptural souvenirs for spiritual tourism, such as “Banaras ghats in wood”

While purists may lament the dilution of design complexity in mass-produced items, these shifts also reflect a creative evolution, an attempt to keep the form alive by meeting new needs and tastes.

Over time, the design vocabulary of Banaras wood carving has proven remarkably adaptable. While rooted in sacred geometry and floral density, the craft has gradually expanded to meet new aesthetic sensibilities. Artisans today respond not only to ritual needs but also to changing tastes, urban interiors, and global markets. Tourists walking through Godowlia or Assi often express interest in lighter, minimalist pieces, which has led to the creation of simpler jali patterns, compact motifs, and hybrid objects like carved coasters, lampshades, and wall décor. Many artisans now customize their work based on direct interaction with customers, especially during exhibitions and mela circuits, where feedback, admiration, and even casual requests spark design changes. The line between tradition and trend is porous here—a new form can emerge from an old motif, and modern demands are often met with deep-rooted forms dressed in fresh proportions. This quiet flexibility is part of why the craft remains relevant: it listens, adapts, and still holds on to what matters.

Challenges:

The Banaras wood carving tradition, despite its aesthetic richness and cultural gravitas, finds itself at a critical juncture, facing a complex matrix of economic, environmental, generational, and structural challenges. These obstacles don’t merely threaten the profitability of the craft; they endanger its very continuity as a living, breathing tradition.

1. Decline of Patronage and Sacred Commissioning

Historically, wood carving in Banaras thrived under a network of temple patrons, priestly orders, and merchant families who commissioned elaborate religious artefacts and domestic ritual objects. Today, this patronage model has waned, replaced by consumer markets that often value speed and price over ritual precision or artistic subtlety. The once-regular orders for custom carved doors, sinhasans (thrones for deities), and personal shrines have dwindled as mass-produced metal and fiber idols dominate marketplaces.

2. Rise of Mass-Production and Machine Work

Perhaps the most visible challenge is the influx of machine-assisted carving and laser-etched wood products: cheaper, faster, and easily replicated. This form of production has flooded both local and tourist markets with low-cost items that mimic hand-carved aesthetics without honouring its depth.

This trend has created a dilemma: artisans are under pressure to produce faster, often compromising detail and quality, or risk being priced out. Some workshops have partially mechanised their processes to survive, while others refuse, leading to a generational rift between innovation and authenticity.

3. Devaluation of Labour and Artisan Identity

Skilled carvers, despite their expertise, often face meagre wages, delayed payments, and exploitative middlemen. Many of them work on commission without contracts, and their names are rarely known beyond the shop fronts that sell their work. This invisibility affects pride, morale, and continuity, particularly among younger artisans who are turning to more secure, salaried professions like driving, security, or retail.

Moreover, many carvers are caste-marginalised or economically vulnerable, and lack the institutional support or bargaining power to assert their value in formal craft markets or government policymaking.

4. Material Scarcity and Rising Costs

Good quality Sheesham, Kadam, and Neem wood, once locally available, is now subject to forest regulations, increased prices, and supply chain uncertainties. Artisans often resort to working with lower-quality wood or plywood, which affects both the quality and durability of the carving.

Tools, especially fine chisels and files, have become more expensive and harder to source, especially for carvers who are not part of larger workshops.

5. Lack of Institutional Support and Market Visibility

While the craft enjoys occasional limelight during exhibitions or cultural festivals, there is no sustained institutional platform for Banaras wood carving comparable to the support received by Banarasi textiles or Moradabad metalwork.

• Design innovation hubs, artisan cooperatives, or sustained marketing campaigns are nearly absent.
• There is limited presence in luxury or designer spaces, and few channels that connect the artisan directly with the customer, particularly in global e-commerce markets.

6. Declining Intergenerational Transmission

The carving tradition has long depended on oral knowledge, family apprenticeship, and workshop-based learning. Today, this chain is fraying. Younger generations are often uninterested or discouraged by the precarious earnings, long hours, and lack of social recognition.

Even those who do learn often do so part-time, supplementing it with other jobs or digital gigs. This shift has led to a loss of nuanced design memory, traditional proportions, and carving techniques, many of which are not written down or digitized.

7. Tourism-Driven Commodification

While tourism has opened new markets, it has also reduced the craft to souvenir status. Instead of viewing the carved object as an artefact of devotion or heritage, it is often treated as décor, leading to standardisation, simplification, and often cultural decontextualisation. Workshops near key tourist zones (like Dashashwamedh Ghat or Assi) now churn out quick pieces with minimal carving, focused more on visibility than craft quality.

Introduction Process:

Craft in Banaras is not a singular tradition but a collection of intricate, often interlinked processes. While the city is globally known for its Banarasi silk weaving, it is also a significant center for wood carving, metalwork, toy-making, and other artisanal crafts. In wood carving, for instance, the process starts with the selection of sheesham, mango, or kadam wood, followed by seasoning, hand sketching, and carving with fine tools. The motifs are often inspired by religious themes, floral patterns, and architectural elements, reflecting the city’s deep connection to temple culture and sacred iconography. The craft processes in Banaras are labor-intensive, skill-based, and largely manual, with each stage—from design to finish—carried out by specialized artisans. These processes are deeply embedded in the socio-religious life of the city, sustained by both local traditions and temple economies, as well as the demand from pilgrims and tourists.

Raw Materials:

The foundation of Banaras wood carving lies in the careful selection of wood, not all timbers are considered suitable for carving, especially when the end use is ritual or religious. The most commonly used woods include:

• Sheesham (Dalbergia sissoo): The preferred choice for fine carving due to its dense grain, strength, and natural polish. It is widely used for deity panels, sinhasans, and durable items.
• Neem (Azadirachta indica): Valued both for its sacred associations and termite resistance. Often used for idols, altars, or puja furniture.
• Kadam (Neolamarckia cadamba) and Haldu (Adina cordifolia): Softer woods used for intricate detailing, decorative panels, and gift items.
• Mango wood: More affordable and used for export-focused or tourist-oriented products.

The wood is often sourced from regional suppliers or forest contractors, and in some cases, directly from family-run sawmills located in rural Uttar Pradesh or adjacent districts. Artisans often test each plank for grain direction, dryness, and tone, only well-seasoned, crack-free wood is selected for fine work.

Due to rising restrictions on forest wood and its increasing cost, some artisans have also begun experimenting with plywood or composite woods for basic items, though these are considered inferior for high-value or religious carvings.

Tools & Tech:

Banaras wood carving thrives on a blend of handcrafted finesse and selective mechanical support, with most artisans still relying on a repertoire of traditional, handheld tools passed down through generations. Each tool plays a distinct role in shaping, detailing, and finishing the product, and is often selected based on the type of wood, motif complexity, and object scale.

Here are the principal tools and their roles in the carving process:

1. Batali: The Batali is a fundamental chisel-like tool used in tandem with lathe machines for grooving. Variants like: Chaursi (square-cut blade) and Golki (rounded blade) are used to add linear grooves, circular impressions, and textured embellishments, especially on symmetrical objects like sinhasans, boxes, and wooden balustrades. These are typically held at different angles while the piece rotates on a lathe.
2. Prakal: The Prakal, a compass-like tool, is used for drawing circles and measuring internal or external dimensions. It ensures precision in repetitive forms, especially while planning radial patterns or aligning concentric motifs.
3. Reti or Dhara: These are filing tools, used for both rough smoothing and final detailing. A coarse Reti helps in levelling out uneven cuts, while a finer Dhara is used after carving to clean edges, remove chisel marks, and prepare the surface for finishing.
4. Rookhan: The Rookhan is a heavier tool used for bulk carving and shape extraction. Available in various widths, it is ideal for removing excess wood, defining outlines, and carving out deep recesses or backgrounds. It forms the backbone of early-stage motif formation.
5. Plaas: The Plaas, similar to a plier, is used to bend, grip, and manipulate smaller components, especially in multi-part objects, like frames with joints, hinges, or metal-fitted elements.
6. Khas Khas: A lesser-known but essential tool, the Khas Khas is a wooden straightener and buffer. Artisans glide it across straight edges, borders, and frames to even out the wood and maintain design uniformity, especially along structural lines.
7. Pech Kas (Screwdriver): Used both in assembly and detailing, the Pech Kas (screwdriver) plays two roles. In mechanical contexts, it is used to tighten screws in products like wall-hanging panels, folding furniture, or items with concealed hinges. On lathe machines, it helps create spiral lines, sharp grooves, and decorative rims, especially on rotating forms.
8. Burna or Iklangi: The Burna, also known as Iklangi, is a narrow, pointed tool used for piercing holes, hollowing out spaces, or marking reference points. It is particularly useful for detailed objects that involve carved trays or jali work, boxes with hinges or compartments, and temple panels needing light and shadow play.
9. Electric Hand Wood Carving Chisel: These days, artisans also use electric hand chisels — power-assisted tools designed for precision and ease in wood carving. They allow for faster, smoother detailing with significantly less manual effort.
10. Surface Grinding Tool: In addition to traditional tools for surface smoothing, artisans now use hand grinders, especially for working on larger surfaces, ensuring efficiency and a more uniform finish.

Rituals:

In Banaras, the carving of wood is inseparable from ritual. Especially for religious artefacts, the process begins with a small ceremony of intention, which may include:

• Sprinkling the wood with Ganga jal (holy water from the Ganges)
• Offering incense or flowers to the wood block and the tools
• Chanting mantras to Lord Vishwakarma or Lord Shiva, depending on the artisan’s lineage

When the item being carved is a deity or temple object, the artisan may fast, wear clean clothes, or refrain from speaking unnecessarily while working. In some cases, the carving of a deity’s eyes is left for the final day, completed in silence after a moment of prayer, a symbolic act of breathing life into form.

Even secular items often follow an unspoken code of reverence, particularly in how wood is handled, stored, and discarded.

process:

The crafting of a wood-carved object typically follows these multi-stage, embodied processes:

a. Preparation

The raw wood is inspected for cracks, knots, and warping. It is then cut and sanded to remove outer roughness and bring it to working shape. A basic outline or sketch is either drawn directly on the wood or transferred using tracing techniques or block templates.

b. Rough Carving (Motif Blocking)

Using flat chisels and gouges, the artisan removes the background surface, raising the desired motif into relief. At this stage, the figure or design takes form in broad contours, revealing the primary depth levels.

c. Intermediate Carving (Forming)

This is the most time-consuming and crucial stage, where fine details like curves, folds, facial features, plumage, and ornaments are carved out. Artisans must maintain symmetry, balance, and fluidity, often relying on memory, proportion, and decades of hand-skill rather than mechanical precision.

d. Fine Detailing and Finishing

Using miniature chisels, scrapers, and files, the carving is refined. Background elements are cleared; edges are sharpened. For decorative pieces, border patterns like meanders, floral scrolls, or jali work are added. Smoothening is done using cloth, sandpaper, or natural stones.

e. Polishing and Staining

The final object is polished with a mix of beeswax, linseed oil, or natural resin. Some items are stained or lacquered for a deeper hue and shine, while religious items are left raw or simply waxed. Occasionally, gold paint or coloured lacquer is added for embellishment.

f. Quality Check and Blessing (for Sacred Items)

For religious objects, the finished piece may be blessed in a local temple, or simply prayed over by the artisan’s family before delivery. A cloth wrap and fresh flowers may accompany delivery to temples or devotees.

Waste:

The carving process generates substantial wood dust, chips, and offcuts, especially from larger objects or multi-layered panels. While larger remnants are reused for smaller items or filler panels, fine dust is often swept out and discarded.

Unfortunately, most artisan homes and workshops lack formal waste management systems, leading to open-air burning or dumping. This creates air and respiratory hazards, especially in densely populated areas where carving is done indoors.

Some carvers now attempt to upcycle waste wood into keychains, fridge magnets, or decorative fillers, especially for tourist sales. However, these efforts remain unorganised and artisanal, with little institutional guidance on eco-friendly practices or sustainable design interventions.

Cluster Name: Banaras

Introduction:

History:

Mark Twain once said, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together".
Known in different eras as Avimukta, Varanasi and Kashi, meaning “where the supreme light shines”, this great north Indian center of Shiva worship has had more than 3000 years of continuous habitation.
To the Hindus, the Ganges is a sacred river and any town or city on its bank is believed to be auspicious. But Varanasi has a special sanctity, for it is believed, this is where Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati stood when time started ticking for the first time. The place also has an intimate connection with a host of legendary figures and mythical characters, who are said to have actually lived here. Varanasi has found place in the Buddhist scriptures as well as the great Hindu epic of Mahabharata. The holy epic poem Shri Ramcharitmanas by Goswami Tulsidas was also written here. All this makes Varanasi a significantly holy place.
Varanasi has been a symbol of Hindu renaissance. Knowledge, philosophy, culture, devotion to Gods, Indian arts and crafts have all flourished here for centuries. Also a pilgrimage place for Jains, Varanasi is believed to be the birthplace of Parsvanath, the twenty-third Tirthankar.
Historians have now ascertained that the Aryans first settled in the middle Ganges valley and by the second millennium BC, Varanasi became the nucleus of Aryan religion and philosophy. The city also flourished as a commercial and industrial center famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, ivory works, perfumery and sculptures.
From 1194, Varanasi went into a destructive phase for three centuries under the Muslim rule. The temples were destroyed and the scholars had to leave. In the 16th century, with the tolerant emperor Akbar's accession to the Mughal throne, some religious respite was restored to the city.
In the 6th century BC, Varanasi became the capital of the kingdom of Kashi. During this time Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath, just 10 km away from Varanasi. Being a center of religious, educational, cultural and artistic activities, Kashi drew many learned men from around the world; the celebrated Chinese traveler Hsüan Tsang, is one of them, who visited India around AD 635.
All that disappeared again in the late 17th century when the tyrannical Mughal ruler Aurangzeb came to power.
Skanda Purana by Kasikanda mentions the Kashi temple of Varanasi as Shiva's abode. It has withstood the onslaught of various invasions by Muslim rulers. The present temple was rebuilt by Rani Ahalya Bai Holkar, the ruler of Indore, in 1776. Then in 1835, the Sikh ruler of Lahore, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had its 15.5 m high spire plated in gold. Since then it is also known as the Golden Temple.
The 18th century again brought back the lost glory to Varanasi. It became an independent kingdom, with Ramnagar as its capital, when the British declared it a new Indian state in 1910. After India's independence in 1947, Varanasi became part of the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The land of Varanasi (Kashi) has been the ultimate pilgrimage spot for Hindus for ages. Often referred to as Benares, Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world.
Ayurveda is said to be originated at Varanasi and is believed to be the basis of modern medical sciences such as Plastic surgery, Cataract and Calculus operations. Maharshi Patanjali, the preceptor of Ayurveda and Yoga, was also affiliated with Varanasi, the holy city. Varanasi is also famous for its trade and commerce, especially for the finest silks and gold and silver brocades, since the early days.
In Hindu Kashi, it is said there are thirty-three hundred million shrines and a half a million images of the deities. Since a pilgrim would need all the years of his or her life to visit each of these shrines, it is considered wise to come to the holy city and never again leave. While this enormous number of shrines is perhaps a trifle exaggerated, Kashi does indeed have many hundreds of beautiful temples. Some of these temples are named after the great tirthas, or pilgrimage centers, in other parts of India - Rameshvaram, Dwarka, Puri, and Kanchipuram, for example - and it is said that merely by visiting Kashi one automatically gains the benefit of visiting all other sacred places. Most pilgrims make only short visits of days or weeks to Kashi, while others come to spend their remaining years in the holy city. Those who come to live in Kashi with the intention of dying there are called jivan muktas meaning those who 'are liberated while still alive'.

Kashi is also traditionally called Mahashamshana, 'the great cremation ground'. Hindus believe that cremation at the holy city insures moksha, or 'final liberation of the soul from the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth'.
A city like no other in the world, Varanasi has outstanding universal value, in that its architectural heritage is linked strongly, since centuries, to the living cultural and religious traditions of three of the major religions of the world- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism for whom the city is the most important religious pilgrimage destination. There are few cities in the world of greater antiquity and none have so uninterruptedly maintained their ancient celebrity and distinction.
Religious rituals, beliefs and traditional worship are still practised. It was in Banaras that Buddhism was first promulgated and in Banaras that Hinduism has had her home. The city has thus given vigour and support to the two religions that to this day spiritually govern half the world. Ancient meditative practises and studies are still pursued here. From the ceremony of shaving off the hair of the new-born (tonsure) to the immersion of ashes, the city still witnesses the rituals and sacraments that existed in the Vedic period. Varanasi is also considered to be a veritable jungle of fairs and festivals with respect to variety, distinction, time, sacred sites, performers, overseers and side-shows. The popular saying that 13 festivals happen in 7 days of a week, express this richness. "Every day is a great festival in Banaras" so says tradition.

Geography:

Banaras is located in the middle Ganges valley of North India, in the Eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, along the left crescent-shaped bank of the Ganges, averaging between 15 metres and 21 metres above the river. It has the headquarters of Banaras district. The "Varanasi Urban Agglomeration" an agglomeration of seven urban sub-units covers an area of 112.26 km2. The urban agglomeration is stretched between 82° 56'E ' 83° 03'E and 25° 14'N  25° 23.5'N.

Being located in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of North India, the land is very fertile because low level floods in the Ganges continually replenish the soil. Varanasi is often said to be located between two confluences: one of the Ganges and Varuna, and other of the Ganges and Assi, although the latter has always been a rivulet rather than a river. The distance between the two confluences is around 4 kilometres and religious Hindus regard a round trip between these two places "a Pancha-kroshi Yatra (a 8 kms journey) ending with a visit to a Sakshi Vinayak Temple " as a holy ritual.

Environment:

Today, a crowded, bustling, noisy, dirty city, Banaras was in antiquity an area of gently rolling hills, lush forests, and natural springs bordered by the magical waters of the river Ganges. A favored hermitage site for many of India's most venerated sages - Guatama Buddha and Mahavira, Kabir and Tulsi Das, Shankaracharaya, Ramanuja and Patanjali all meditated here - Banaras has been and continues to be one of the most visited holy places on the planet.
Varanasi experiences a humid subtropical climate with large variations between summer and winter temperatures. The dry summer starts in April and lasts until June, followed by the monsoon season from July to October. The temperature ranges between 22 and 46°C in summers. Winters in Varanasi see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights. Cold waves from the Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the winter from December to February and temperatures below 5°C are not uncommon. The average annual rainfall is 1,110 mm. Fog is common in the winters, while hot dry winds, called loo, blow in the summers. In recent years, the water level of the Ganges has decreased significantly; upstream dams, unregulated water extraction, and dwindling glacial sources due to global warming may be to blame.

Infrastructure:

Varanasi is well-connected by air, rail and road. One of the major factors in Varanasi's sustained existence as an inhabited city is its role as an established transportation hub between cities.
Varanasi Junction, commonly known as Varanasi Cantt Railway Station, is the city's largest train station; more than 3.6 lakh passengers and 240 trains pass through each day.
Varanasi lies along National Highway 2, which connects it to Kolkata, Kanpur, Agra and Delhi. National Highway 29 connects Varanasi to Gorakhpur via Ghazipur to the northeast. National Highway 56 connects Varanasi to Lucknow via Jaunpur and Sultanpur, to the northwest. National Highway 7, the longest National Highway in India, is the most important road connecting Varanasi to southern India, passing through the cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore, Salem, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.[48] Auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are the most widely available forms of public transport in old city. In the outer regions of the city, buses are common, and taxis are available.
Varanasi is served by Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, which is approximately 26 km (16 mi) from the city centre in Babatpur.
Due to the high population density and increasing number of tourists, the state government and international NGOs and institutions have expressed grave concern for the pollution and pressures on infrastructure in the city, mainly the sewage, sanitation and drainage components. Between 1985 and 1990, the Ganga Action Plan saw a Rs. 430.5 million renovation of five sewage pumping stations along the ghats and the installation of sewage treatment plants. The sewage problem is exacerbated by the role of the Ganges in bathing and in river traffic, which is very difficult to control. Varanasi's water supply and sewage system is maintained by Jal Nigam, a subsidiary of Nagar Nigam. Power supply is by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited.
The city grew as a place for Authentic Ayurveda and Panchkarma treatment. Many Ayurvedic centres are here. It has several hospitals, Varanasi Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Heritage Hospital, Varanasi, Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, Rajkiya Hospital, Mata Anand Mai Hospital, Ram Krishna Mission Hospital, Marwari Hospital, and a Cancer Institute. The largest is Varanasi Hospital, established in 1964 by Dr. Baijnath Prasad.[60] The hospital, which in 2012 had 66 beds, serves Varanasi and surrounding districts and states, many of which rely on it for surgery. Although the hospital suffers from a lack of funding, it has facilities such as X-ray, Ultrasonography, Echocardiography and a Pathology Lab.

Architecture:

The architecture of Banaras (Varanasi) is a reflection of its ancient spiritual heritage and rich cultural history. As one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, Banaras offers a unique urban landscape where religion, art, and everyday life merge seamlessly. The ghats along the Ganges River, particularly Dashashwamedh, Manikarnika, and Assi — are the most iconic architectural features, built as a series of steps leading to the sacred river. These ghats are flanked by a variety of temples, shrines, palatial havelis, and ashrams, often constructed in a blend of Rajput, Mughal, and Maratha styles, adorned with intricate carvings, stone latticework, and towering shikharas.

Winding through the heart of the city are narrow, labyrinthine lanes lined with centuries-old houses made of local sandstone, featuring carved wooden balconies, courtyards, and jharokhas (overhanging enclosed windows). Many of these homes serve as both residence and workspace for artisans, priests, and traders. The sacredness of space is deeply embedded in the city’s structure,  temples are often tucked into corners, courtyards, and even along walls. Although few standing structures date back before the 16th century — due to waves of destruction by invading armies from the 11th century onward — the spirit of Banaras endured. Qutb-ud-din Aibak's forces alone were said to have destroyed more than a thousand temples in 1194. Over the centuries, the city’s architecture evolved, influenced by rulers, pilgrims, and craftsmen from across regions. Yet one thing remains unchanged — Banaras has never lost its "ras" (essence); no matter how much it transforms, it always remains Banaras.

Culture:

Varanasi has an own culture of fine art and literature. Renowned Indian writers have lived in the city: Kabir, Ravidas and Tulsidas, who wrote much of his Ram Charit Manas here, Kulluka Bhatt, who wrote the best known commentary of Manusmá⊃1;›ti here in the 15th century, and Bharatendu Harishchandra. Vaishnavism and Shaivism have co-existed in Varanasi harmoniously. With a number of temples, Mrs. Annie Besant chose Varanasi as the home for her 'Theosophical Society' and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, to institute 'Banares Hindu University, the biggest University in Asia.
Varanasi has also been a great center of learning for ages. Varanasi is associated with promotion of spiritualism, mysticism, Sanskrit, yoga and Hindi language and honored authors such as the ever-famous novelist Prem Chand and Tulsi Das, the famous saint-poet who wrote Ram Charit Manas. Aptly called as the cultural capital of India, Varanasi has provided the right platform for all cultural activities to flourish. Many exponents of dance and music have come from Varanasi. Ravi Shankar, the internationally renowned Sitar maestro and Ustad Bismillah Khan, (the famous Shehnai player) are all sons of the blessed city or have lived here for major part of their lives.
On Mahashivaratri (February) – which is dedicated to Shiva – a procession of Shiva proceeds from the Mahamrityunjaya Temple to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
Dhrupad Mela is a five-day musical festival devoted to dhrupad style held at Tulsi Ghat in February–March.
The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple celebrates Hanuman Jayanti (March–April), the birthday of Hanuman with great fervour.
Bharat Milap celebrates the meeting of Rama and his younger brother Bharata after the return of the former after 14 years of exile.
Krishna standing on serpent Kaliya during Nag Nathaiya festival in Varanasi
Nag Nathaiya, celebrated on the fourth lunar day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartik (October–November), that commemorates the victory of the God Krishna over the serpent Kaliya.
Ganga Mahotsav is a five-day music festival organized by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department, held in November–December culminating a day before Kartik Poornima (Dev Deepawali).
On Kartik Poornima also called the Ganges festival, the Ganges is venerated by arti offered by thousands of pilgrims who release lighted lamps to float in the river from the ghats.
Annually Jashne-Eid Miladunnabi is celebrated on the day of Barawafat in huge numbers by Muslims in a huge rally coming from all the parts of the city and meeting up at Beniya Bagh.

People:

Hindus believe that one who is graced to die on the land of Varanasi would attain salvation and freedom from the cycle of birth and re-birth. People of Benaras are known for being the exponents of literature, music, Vedic philosophy, arts, crafts and architecture. Socio-economic aspects of the city are highly influenced by the Ganges and on most of the Hindu festivals people can be seen using the bathing Ghats (river fronts) even before daybreak as an important part of their rituals. In Varanasi, the atmosphere is relaxed in general and we can see people chewing the famous 'paan' and chatting in a laid-back manner. That does not keep Varanasi behind, as is evident from the growing modern industries in the city. Varanasi is also the most ancient seat of education in India (Sarva Vidya ki Rajdhani) and Benaras Hindu University is still famous throughout the world for its scholars. The city is also a seat for Sanskrit and one can still see the Guru-Shishya tradition being followed here at certain places.
Several social and religious customs co-exist in the city and the caste system is still prevalent here. People wear 'Gamcha' (a cotton towel), as they go bathing in Ganga and drink Thandai (a coolant with milk as its base), which have become a part of the cultural identity of traditional ways of Varanasi. Music, drama and entertainment have found a place in the lives of the people. Its dance traditions and vocal and instrumental music is highly developed and one can catch the glimpses of folk drama in the 'Ramlila' organized before Dussehra. Traditional games and sports include 'Akharas', where wrestling or 'kushti' competitions are organized.

Famous For:

Varanasi is famous for its antique temples. The renowned Kashi Vishwanath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva has a 'lingam' - the phallic icon of Shiva - that goes back to the time of the epics.
Varanasi is a veritable paradise for pilgrims, who throng the 'Ghats' of the Ganges for spiritual rewards like deliverance from sin and attainment of nirvana. The Hindus believe that to die here on the banks of the Ganges is an assurance of heavenly bliss and emancipation from the eternal cycle of birth and death. So, many Hindus travel to Varanasi at the twilight hour of their life.
The 8th century Durga Temple, situated on the Ramnagar Pandav road, is home to hundreds of monkeys that reside in the nearby trees. Another popular temple is the Sankatmochan temple dedicated to the simian-god Hanuman. Varanasi's Bharat Mata Temple is probably the only temple in India that is dedicated to the 'Mother India.' Inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936, it has a big relief map of India carved in marble. Another relatively new temple is the Tulsi Manas Temple built in honor of Lord Rama in 1964 at the place where Tulsidas composed the Ramacharitmanas, the vernacular version of the epic of Ramayana. The walls of this temple adorn the scenes and verses depicting the exploits of Lord Rama.
Other significant places of worship include the Sakshi Vinayaka Temple of Lord Ganesha, the Kaal Bhairav Temple, the Nepali Temple, built by the King of Nepal on Lalita Ghat in Nepali style, the Bindu Madhav Temple near the Panchaganga Ghat and the Tailang Swami Math.
Foreign tourists love to ride horse-driven 'Ekkas' and cycle rickshaws that are still in use here.

Gallery

Craftsmen

List of craftsmen.

Documentation by:

Niskha Goel

Process Reference:

Cluster Reference: