Handmade Bandhani Nazmeen Dupatta 2 Side Tassels The word Bandhani/ Bandhni comes from the Hindi/ Sanskrit words ‘Bandhna’ and ‘Bandha’, meaning ‘tying’ or ‘to tie’. Bandhej is a variation of this word. Bandhani refers to the traditional Indian ‘tie and dye‘ art (resist-dyeing technique that uses impermeable threads for tying), used to produce beautiful, fine circular patterns on fabrics. Bandhani is an Indian hand-done textiles-art/ craft, generally carried out by skilled Bandhani artisans, dyers and workers as well as experienced families involved traditionally in the craft. Many women and young girls in Bandhani centres tie fabrics, sometimes pre-traced with designs, to create bandhani. These are, then, dyed, re-tied and re-dyed by the men-folk of the family. Bandhani is a major textiles-craft industry, though it is still small in scale and relies heavily on time-consuming, traditional techniques and processes