The sun is source of light, human body consists 70% of water, without soil vegetation cannot grow, living beings need air to breathe and sky is multi-hued. The basic elements in our environment consist the basic colors and are they are differently structured. The sense of colors is an extension of life. Each season has its color, therefore colors plays important role and it has been an important dimensions of human life.

India is known for her diversity and therefore the country is home to numerous interpretations and illustrations of symbols and colors. Colors represent different emotions of people living in different regional and geographical states. Each color has a different meaning and notion, and it differs from place to place. Some of the universally celebrated colors find their origins in the spices: turmeric which is used all over the country by each religion is yellow, it is also used in ceremonies and while offering prayers. Yellow symbolizes sanctity and is an essential herbal ingredient applied on the body and face by people. Cardamom is green, clove and pepper are black, chilies are red, cinnamon is dark brownish, coriander seeds and cumin are greenish brown, nutmeg is grayish brown so on and forth. Each spice has its color.

Indians are religious at heart; each god is associated with a complexion. Vishnu, Ram and Krishna are depicted in blue, the reason being blue is the color of the sky and of divinity. Whereas Shiva is fair, he is described as ‘Karpura-Goranga’ meaning he who is as fair as camphor. Most goddesses are fair complexioned except Kali. She is depicted in dark complexion.

India is an agrarian economy therefore green plays most important color. Green symbolizes a new beginning, harvest, and happiness. It is also the revered color of Islam which has a large religious presence in India. Green is a manifestation of God himself.

Some of the obvious differences between the perception of color in the West and the East are due to the simplest elements in history. Royalty, in the West and in the Christian culture, is represented by a deep, mystical shade of gray and purple, while in India, it is the deep hues of red and ochre that symbolize wealth and dignity. Perhaps one of the most affecting factors in the perception of colors in the Indian psyche is the religious undertones that coexist at almost every phase of life. India is steeped in tradition, culture, and a rich and a fabulous history. Kings and kingdoms, saints and followers, rebels and fighters have traversed the paths of its glorious past and they have all played an important role is forming the perception of colors.

Another fact why Indians are so obsessed with colors is because in ancient and medieval India textiles was the prime business. Some rulers were favorably inclined towards the arts and they encouraged weaving. Differentiation was made between the rural textiles woven for the masses and those made in state workshops for royalty and the well-to-do in other countries. The best workmanship was found in the ritual drapes for temples and palaces. Then, fabric names apparently represented the places where they were woven, and details about weaving techniques were not recorded.

It was Marco Polo who left detailed accounts of the people and industries of the coastal regions of India in the late thirteenth century. He has mentioned after seeing the Coromandel Coast the finest and most beautiful cloth in all the world-buckrams like the tissues of spider webs, and he observed dyeing with indigo in the great tex­tile center of Cambay and spinning of cotton in Gujarat. Under the Sultan of Delhi (1325-1351) price controls for food, cloth, and other commodities were initiated to help fight inflation. A permit was required to buy silks, satins, and brocades, and only the well-to-do were allowed to have them. The sultan employed four thousand silk weavers who made robes of honor, hangings, and gifts of gold brocade for foreign dignitaries.

Even today Indian textile heritage has been preserved by the women’s sari, which often reveals fine weaving, delicate textures, beautiful colors, and rich patterns. A formal sari might be of silk or a cotton which is brocaded in floral patterns formed with many tiny bobbins, each holding a different color. Some saris are exquisitely block printed with gold or silver floral sprays or show allover spot patterns of tie-dye. Kanjivaram, Dhakai, Paithani, Sambalpuri, Pattu, Asssam Silk, Banarasi, Poachampally, Gota, Chanderi……..the list is big. Each saree is woven with the threads of tradition. They are famous more for their tradition and culture than a mere fashion.  There is a legacy behind every type of saree. The “rani” pink of mystical Rajasthan, the pastel hues of southern India, the joyous, bright hues of the northern frontier, and the balmy bright colors of the east offer a multicolored insight into an almost perfect blend of history and modernism. And perhaps a trip down its many roads will lead to an understanding of its pulse.

Colors usually symbolize anxiety, conformity, faith, joy and trust. India remains colorful and vibrant in more ways than one. It stands strong as perhaps the most enduring example of unity in a world in its diversity. The colors hold it together are the colors of faith, pride, and love – feelings that overcome all differences. Black in India has connotations with lack of desirability, evil, negativity, and inertia. It represents anger and darkness and is associated with the absence of energy, barrenness, and death. Black is used to ward off evil. This can be found in an age old custom where you see little black color kajal spot on infant’s cheek, for that matter, anyone looking really spectacular is often seen with a little black dot on the chin or under the ear to ward off the evil eye.

White is the absence of color; white, as a color, repels all light and colors and therefore, when a person wears white, he/she disconnects from the pleasures and luxuries of active and normal participation in society. We usually see the devout and pious people use the white color. It is an inherently positive color associated with purity, virginity, innocence, light, goodness, heaven, safety, brilliance, illumination, understanding, cleanliness, faith, beginnings, sterility, spirituality, possibility, humility, sincerity, protection, softness, and perfection. In short friends, colors have their effect on us to the extent that they stimulate even our highest-level thoughts and intelligence.

The term business cluster, also known as an industry cluster, was introduced and popularized by Michael Porter in his book The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990). Cluster Development has since become a focus for many government programs. The underlying concept of business cluster which economists have referred to as agglomeration economies dates back to 1890 in the work of economist Alfred Marshall.

Industry clusters are groups of similar and related firms in a defined geographic area that share common markets, technologies, worker skill needs, and which are often linked by buyer-seller relationships. A cluster can be formed when at least 100 enterprises exist in it and the cluster’s turnover is over 100 million. Units in these clusters function with hired workers. These clusters include a mix of micro, small, medium and a few large firms.

Firms and workers in an industry cluster draw competitive advantage from their proximity to competitors, skilled workforce, specialized suppliers and a shared base of sophisticated knowledge about an industry. At present in India the estimated figure of business clusters is about 400 for modern Small Scale Enterprises and 2000 rural and artisan based clusters in India. As far as export is concerned, these contribute up to 60 percent of India’s manufactured exports. Although location remains fundamental to competition, its role today differs vastly compared to past. Besides location advantage the competition is driven heavily by input costs, locations with some important endowment—a natural harbor for example, or a supply of cheap labor, nearness to port/railway station/airport — these factors add to the comparative advantages while forming clusters.

Silicon Valley: In the mid- to late 1990s several successful computer technology related companies emerged in Silicon Valley in California. This led anyone who wished to create a startup company to do so in Silicon Valley. The surge in the number of Silicon Valley startups led to a number of venture capital firms relocating to or expanding their Valley offices. This in turn encouraged more entrepreneurs to locate their startups there.

In other words venture capitalists (sellers of finance) and the buyers of finance (IT startup firms) “clustered” in and around California.

The cluster effect in the capital market also led to a cluster effect in the labor market. As an increasing number of companies started up in Silicon Valley, programmers, engineers etc. realized that they would find greater job opportunities by moving to Silicon Valley. This concentration of technically skilled people in the valley meant that startups around the country knew that their chances of finding job candidates with the proper skill-sets were higher in the valley, hence giving them added incentive to move there. This in turn led to more high-tech workers moving there. Similar effects have also been found in the Cambridge IT Cluster (UK).

Competition in today’s economy is far more dynamic. Companies can mitigate many input-cost disadvantages through global sourcing, rendering the old notion of comparative advantage less relevant. Instead, competitive advantage rests on making more productive use of inputs, which requires continual innovation

Porter describes the following benefits of doing business in clusters:

Better access to suppliers and flexibility.

•  Access to specialized information through personal relationships.
•  Joint marketing.
•  Local rivalry and peer pressure.
•  Innovation through having information on new markets and technological advances.
•  Complementary products (e.g. tourist attractions).
•  Reputation of an area.
•  Pool of experienced labor.
• Access to institutions and public goods.
• Conducive to new businesses.

Numerous studies show that on an average, a business located in a cluster has a stronger growth and survival rate than those located outside it. This is partly because the physical proximity of the companies facilitates exchanges of information and talent among the competing firms. Clusters normally include highly specialized vendors, service providers, investors, analysts, students, university faculty and staff, trade association members, consultants, and other useful specialists. In addition, industry-specific equipment is often more readily available within a cluster. The clusters draw their strengths from the private sector. Government agencies, both federal and local which offer industry-friendly incentives and regulatory policies to companies that locate in clusters. The government’s motivation is not purely altruistic. Clusters help the economic growth of a region by increasing job creation and increased tax revenues.

The development and upgrading of clusters is an important agenda for governments of developing nations. Cluster development initiatives are an important new direction in economic policy, building on earlier efforts in macroeconomic stabilization, privatization, and market opening, and reducing the costs of doing business.

Example: Panchgani near Pune, Maharashtra is a thriving hub of food processing units today. Pune/Panchgani is surrounded by vast tracts of arable, agricultural land and is known for its agriculture and agro-business. Panchagani’s proximity to urbanized markets such as Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur, Aurangabad etc, changing food habits and dependence on ready to eat food, cosmopolitan nature of the city, connectivity to JNPT port has made the processed food cluster of Panchagani very famous. It exports jams, jellies, toffees, pickles, chtanis to many foreign countries. Panchagani cluster is developing very fast and is home to about 3000 plus small and micro entrepreneurs. The cluster produces a range of products comprising semi-processed ready mix products, pickles, jams, jellies, squashes & syrups, Ready to Eat/Ready to Cook products ground & processed spices and papad.

Business clusters work on the logic of nature’s basic goodness such as: grapevines that are planted just close enough together are forced to compete for nutrients in the soil. Stress causes the plants to put more energy into their reproductive processes, increasing the quantity and quality of the grapes. The same logic is applied while forming clusters. When businesses are located together in clusters, they strive to get maximum benefits offered in the cluster and hence show better results. Michael Porter claims that clusters have the potential to affect competition in three ways: by increasing the productivity of the companies in the cluster, by driving innovation in the field, and by stimulating new businesses in the field. According to Porter, in the modern global economy, certain locations have special inheritance such as harbor, cheap labor, packaging units in the vicinity to overcome heavy input costs.

With a contribution of 40% to the country’s industrial output and 35% to direct exports, the Small-Scale Industry (SSI) sector has achieved significant milestones for the industrial development of India. Within the SSI sector, an important role is played by the numerous clusters that have been in existence for decades and sometimes even for centuries. According to a UNIDO survey of Indian SSI clusters undertaken in 1996 (later updated in 1998), there are 350 SSI clusters. Also, there are approximately 2000 rural and artisan based clusters in India. It is estimated that these clusters contribute 60% of the manufactured exports from India. The SSI clusters in India are estimated to have a significantly high share in employment generation.

One key factor for the cluster success is the specialization of small firms in same or complementary areas of the production process. Each firm can use its limited resources in its core competency and its operation is complemented by other specializing firms in the supply chain within the cluster. This not only helps individual firms to excel, but also the cluster to flourish. The other important success factor in a cluster is cooperation. When firms help each other together they facilitate (a) sub-contracting: when a firm receives big orders it can sub-contract the order for processing to other firms, (b) flexibility:  when diversity of order types can be achieved involving multiple firms a lot of elasticity can be enjoyed and (c) presence of a good local governance or support institutes encourage inter-firm co-ordination which in turn lowers the entry barrier for new start-ups.

Some Indian SME clusters are so big that they account for 90 per cent of India’s total production output in selected product category. As for example, the knitwear clusters of Ludhiana. Almost the entire Gems and Jewelers exports are from the clusters of Surat and Mumbai. Similarly, the clusters of Chennai, Agra, Kanpur and Kolkata are well known for leather and leather products.

In Indian context clusters have played a significant role in product/service diversification. The clusters in India have been classified as (1) industrial (SME), (2) handloom, (3) handicraft, (4) micro-enterprise (rural and urban) and (5) service-oriented. However, only in recent years with the liberalization of economies, there is a concentrated effort in cluster-growth by Indian government and different support institutions like United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for promoting the growth of SMEs. Cluster development initiatives include up-gradation of technology, forging of strong intra-cluster network, and networking with external associations.

Paithani Sarees – Paithan: This handicraft sector is very small with not more than hundred workers; they are so specialized that no other places in the world matches their skills and the quality of their output. This is the case of the Paithani sarees cluster in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. It is said that Paithan at one time, was visited by Greek traders, between 400 and 200 BC, during the Satavahana era, for the Paithani weaves. This exquisite Paithani silk soon came to be exported to many countries and was traded for gold and precious stones in barter. Such was its value! According to some sources, this technique possibly came to India from Central Asia and was developed into a fine art in the Deccan region and slowly evolved into the contemporary version you see today. The Peshwa rulers were big patrons of this art and even today among the Maharashtrians women prefer wearing Paithani sarees in marriages and special functions. The classy fabric stands out and is considered as an propitious fabric.

Chanderi Sarees:  Chanderi is a town in Ashok nagar District, Madhya Pradesh. The town of Chanderi has a rich history that was shared between Pratihara kings, Delhi sultans, Mandu sultans, Bundela kings and Scindias of Gwalior. Located on the borders of the cultural regions of Malwa and Bundelkhand, Chanderi fell on an important arterial route to the ancient ports of Gujarat as well as to Malwa, Mewar, Central India and Deccan. Chanderi’s setting made it into a natural fortress. The living tradition of weaving has been prevalent since the past six hundred years and continues to sustain almost half of the population of Chanderi.

The town of Chanderi is divided into mohallas or residential neighborhoods. The mohallas of the different communities of the weavers are important part of the urban morphology. The 13th century Moroccan visitor Ibn Batuta remarked: “it is a big city with thronged market places” like Sadar bazaar. The sadar bazaar of the city is today stocked with shops of delicate and artistic Chanderi sarees. The three storied shops, projecting one over other, originally planned to be on the level with riders on elephants, on horses and on foot, give a unique profile to the street.

The spacious weaver houses were integral to the production of the cloth and its quality. Chanderi houses weavers from Rajasthan, Marwar and Gujrat who are skilled particularly to weave the delicate, silky, colorful Chanderi sarees. The weavers have a unique weaving techniques and requirements. Platforms built outside the houses provide additional work areas and for stretching yarns. Architecture also serves as an inspiration to the craftsmen. The patterns on sarees are largely inspired by ornamentation on buildings.

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