India · Lime Plastering; Burnished Plaster; Architectural Craft
Araish (Arayish; also alagila, geela-alapadhati, morakasi); base coats thappi and lohi; kada / sareshi (rough base)
A multi-coat lime plaster of Rajasthan, finished to a hard, glossy, waterproof, marble-like surface. A rough base coat (kada or sareshi) is followed by thappi (lime and surkhi, burnt-clay powder, beaten with a wooden tool so the layers become one), a thin fine lohi coat, and finally the araish layer: fine slaked lime, marble powder and additives such as buttermilk, curd and jaggery, applied thinly and burnished by hand with an agate or a smooth stone until it shines. The surface is the ground for fresco painting on wet plaster, as in the Shekhawati havelis and Nagaur Fort. It is slow, labor-intensive work that is now rare and is being revived through restoration projects and workshops.
Risk level: Endangered · Not listed by UNESCO. No national or state heritage-craft listing was found in the sources consulted.
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