Just from the 18th century onwards, the tie and dye textiles called bandhani became an integral and craft of Bikaner. Tie and dye odhnis (long scarves worn around the neck or head by women) are very popular in Bikaner. If you tour the city, you’d come across dyers dipping fabrics in huge vats to make exquisite tie and dye odhnis, while in the shadow of ruined fortresses, the dyers dry hand-block printed fabrics.
Sculpture Work
Bikaner’s contribution to sculpture can be seen in the very fine examples of jali or stone tracery, worked on screens and panels on the palaces of the city. Jali screens sculpted from both sandstone and marble in intricate geometric patterns are found in the windows of the zenanas, or women’s quarters, enabling them to watch events unfolding in the court while remaining camouflaged themselves.
Music & Dance
Bikaner is primarily an agricultural economy, dependent on farming. Cereal crops such as wheat, barley and millet are mainly cultivated, while the Rajasthan Canal provides irrigation to the arid town of Bikaner.
Bikaner’s folk traditions, interlinked with Rajasthan’s have developed over the centuries. Itinerant balladeers like the Bhopas, Bhatts, Charans and Bandis developed their distinctive styles.
Culture
Bikaner is also known for its handicrafts and leather articles, for its palaces and for having Asia's biggest camel farm.
The city is also known for its intricately carved Jharokas. These stone screens are found on the windows of forts and havellis - traditionally, women would use the screens to watch the world while remaining hidden.
The red sandstone for these stone window screens is supplied by the nearby village of Dulmera.
Bikaner is also a centre for Usta Art.
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