After numerous accounts by Westerners traveling the world researching hand papermaking traditions, it is refreshing to read Off the Deckle Edge, Neeta Premchand's account of her paper travels in India, where she was born and raised. Premchand's appealing book evokes with immediacy and warmth the complex colors and textures of India today.   Premchand structures her book around a quote from Munnalal Khaddari, the ninety-year-old papermaker and scholar with whom she spent one inspiring afternoon: "Throw the seeds into the wind which will carry them far; if they fall on stony ground, they will wither and die, but if they fall on fertile soil, they will sprout and bloom again." These words, reminiscent of a biblical parable from the Gospel according to Matthew, fueled her commitment to research Indian papermaking traditions.   Off the Deckle Edge covers the basic history of handmade paper in India: its introduction into the country under the Mogul conquerors, its spread through the northern regions, its decline and near death during the British reign, and its reinvention during this century, sparked by Gandhian ideas of self-sufficiency. Even in this sketchy overview, Premchand grounds paper's story in India's wider historical context, an advantage for readers who are not conversant with India's past.   Premchand outlines traditional and contemporary methods of fiber preparation, sheet formation, drying, and burnishing. The book is illustrated with many color photographs. These bring the papermaking processes to life and give the reader a sense of what it feels like to be in an Indian papermill. The clear diagrams of the equipment and work stations increase the informational value of the photographs. Unfortunately some photographs rich with technical details are so small they are difficult to read. In other cases, photographs with little information or interest are featured. Often the captions do not identify where the pictures were taken.   Premchand does include an English-Hindi glossary and a list of papermaking terms that will be helpful, particularly for people wanting to visit Indian mills themselves. There is also a bibliography of titles specific to Indian papermaking.   In a series of anecdotes, Premchand describes visits to various papermaking centers, some still active, some only ruins. Premchand's descriptions of the world of the kagzis, the traditional Muslim papermakers, are detailed and vital. Her grief at the passing of their way of life is deeply felt. Given the range of her travels, though, a map of India would have been a useful addition for readers unfamiliar with Indian geography and place names.   Except in her description of one treasured Koran, Premchand spends little time discussing Indian paper's traditional role as a vehicle for fine painting and calligraphy. She does not describe the qualities�the range of warm buff colors and the burnished surfaces, lustrous and smooth�that made traditional papers so perfectly adapted to those uses. Under British rule, papermakers lost their livelihoods due to the import of cheap, machine-made paper, the establishment of mechanized mills in India, and the government policy of buying low-priced paper made in hand papermills set up within Indian prisons. Premchand credits the demand of the sawkars (moneylenders) for account books made with handmade paper as the market that allowed hand papermaking to continue even in the leanest times. However, she does not explain what qualities made the sawkars reluctant to use anything but handmade paper.   In the last fifty to sixty years Indian hand papermaking has undergone a revival and a significant change, initiated by Mohandas Gandhi's interest and complicated by the upheaval of partition. As part of this revival the population that makes the paper, the tools and raw materials used, and the market for paper have all shifted radically. Premchand alludes to but does not make explicit the differences between contemporary handmade paper and India's traditional paper.   Seven double-page samples, made primarily using cotton offcuts from the textile industry with petals, jute, and other waste fibers added, are bound into Premchand's book, a good introduction to the touch and feel of India's contemporary papers. They differ in surface texture, smoothness, and hardness from the sunn hemp and recycled papers made by the traditional kagzis. Unfortunately these samples are not identified as to fiber content, processing information, or the mills where they were made. Only a few bear similarities to the papers made using the traditional methods which Premchand would like to see revived. Without specific information and commentary on these sample papers, there is some confusion as to what type of paper she hopes to encourage.   Without a discerning market, traditional crafts cannot compete with mass-produced products. Gandhi was excited by the idea of recycling various waste materials to make paper. In practice some of these materials were very poor quality. For many years government offices were the primary buyers of Indian handmade paper. Unfortunately this allowed many papermills to function as village make-work projects since much of the paper produced was anything but fine. Despite Gandhi's emphasis on handwork, the thrust of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, the government agency responsible for handcraft which arose from his philosophy, has been towards the mechanization of hand papermaking. The sheets are still formed by hand but much of the integrity that comes from skilled craftspeople working with fine materials has been lost. In certain instances foreign input has raised the quality of the paper being made; in other cases it has been a mixed blessing. As an example of misguided efforts, Premchand mentions a foreign aid project that installed a long belt that would dry paper continuously, even during monsoon, forgetting that the electricity to run it was chronically unreliable.   There is a market for traditional handmade paper among painters, calligraphers, and conservators, both within India and outside. Premchand writes: "Could we not revive the traditional methods, adapted with the best modern technology, so that the quality remains unchanged, but consistent?" To me, this is the central question.   Education and exposure to the best of Indian paper could increase papermakers' and buyers' appreciation of the country's fine traditional paper. There would be ample market share for both the contemporary papers and more traditional papers. Both would strengthen the economy, providing decentralized employment at small mills in traditional papermaking centers as well as at new facilities. Let us hope that along with the dazzling but non-traditional petal papers there may also be an interest in the older papers that glowed with a subtle, inner light.   In Off the Deckle Edge Premchand shares her excitement as she moves through rural villages she would have never otherwise visited if not for paper. She allows us to see her own discomfort and the challenges that stretched her as her awareness grew. The strength of Premchand's text is its directness. Her joyous enthusiasm bubbles from the pages. Premchand's knowledge of Indian culture makes her sensitive to such issues as the shrinking roles for women as papermaking villages modernize, caste scruples, and the specific hardships of kagzi village life. This makes up for the occasional inaccuracy, particularly when she compares Indian techniques to those of Japan, Nepal, and other countries.   Premchand's book is a fine introduction to hand papermaking in India. It will serve as a basic text for readers with no previous knowledge of paper as well as for those wanting a better grasp of India's particular traditions. Off the Deckle Edge makes Indian papermaking centers more accessible to both armchair and actual travelers. Wide distribution within India, which unfortunately may not be a realistic possibility, would inspire increased support for a craft tradition that is still struggling. The publication of this book along with a rising energy within some Indian papermaking centers is a hopeful sign that India is awakening to her own paper traditions, hearing her own paper song. That would be good news for us all.   Dorothy Field

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