Patola was woven in Surat, Ahmedabad and Patan. Highly valued in Indonesia, it became part of the local weaving tradition there.

European traders first encountered fine cotton cloth from India carried by Arab merchants in Mosul in present-day Iraq. So they refer to all finely woven textiles as “muslin” a word that acquired wide currency.

The pieces ordered in bulk were printed cotton cloths called chintz, cossaes (or khassa) and bandanna.

The tanti weavers of Bengal, the julahas or momin weavers of north India, sale and kaikollar and devangs of south India are some of the communities famous for weaving.

For printed cloth the weavers needed the help of specialist block printers known as chhipigars. Handloom weaving and the occupations associated with it provided livelihood for millions of Indians.

The first cotton mill in India was set up as a spinning mill in Bombay in 1854. From the early nineteenth century, Bombay had grown as an important port for the export of raw cotton from India to England and China.

Agarias a community living in central India was specialized in iron smelting.

Aurang is a Persian word for Warehouse and a place where goods are collected before being sold, also refers to a workshop.

Jamdani weave, early twentieth century Jamdani is fine muslin on which decorative motifs are woven on the loom, typically in grey and white.

The word bandanna now refers to any brightly coloured and printed scarf for the neck or head. Bandanna patterns were mostly produced in Rajasthan and Gujarat.