| By : Ajit Hari Sahu | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 29 Aug, 2005 | Total Views : 506 |
Folk embroidery has always been a form of self-expression for the women. It mirrors their lives, reflect their hidden desires and aspirations, and expresses the cultural traditions and religious beliefs of the society to which they belong.
India had attracted migrations from prehistoric times and people came with their cultural traditions, which were absorbed and form the rich cultural traditions of the people. Embroidery, which is essentially meant to strengthen the fabric and to decorate it, was an important part of the household tradition. Rich embroidery is created by pastoralists, who need to strengthen their objects of everyday use, and their dresses, as well as to decorate their tent dwellings. Gujarat, which had an open land route connecting it to Central Asia, had a large number of settlers from Central Asia. They settled in Kutch and Saurashtra and retained their traditions of embroidery can be found in these areas.
The women embroider cloths for their personal use, for their children and even special items for the use of their men. The animals decorations with embroidery are also part of the pastoral tradition. They prepare decorations for the horns of the bull, for their forehead and also decorative covers. Horse and camel decorations are also embroidered with great attention to detail and some of the finest embroidered camel decorations are prepared by the Rabaris of Kutch. Besides this, embroidery is worked for decorating the home during festivals as well as marriages. The embroidered or applique worked dharaniya or dharkala is an important decoration for homes in Saurashtra and Kutch. It appear to be like a mandala signifying their belief and carrying symbols of ancient traditions. Rectangular embroidered pieces, chandarva and chakals, are put on the wall for festive occasions. Torans are hung over the doors with side decorations outlining the entrance as a sign of welcome. Long pattis, running embroidered strips, cover the rafters. During the festival of lights, Deepavali, the lamps' light is reflected by the myriads mirrors embedded in the embroidery, so that there is shimmering light everywhere.
The chain-stitch motifs are prepared with the use of an awl and is known as mochi bharat. The awl, or ari as it is locally known, is used for stitching leather and has been found at Harappan sites and possibly older than the needle. The thread is fed from below and is pull up with the awl and comes up like a loop. The second loop is pulled forward. This create the effect of a chain stitch, which gives strong linear patterns. Mochi bharat of Kutch was used for making cloths for the court. Stylized parrots, peacocks, women holding flowers, as well as intricate patterns influenced by the Mughal decorative style were the motifs embroidered on stain cloth. In Saurashtra the theme embroidered were essentially taken from mythology. Rajasthan also had a tradition of ari bharat where exquisitely patterns knuckle pads were embroidered for Rajput warriors: often miniatures were recreated on some of them through embroidery. Macro Polo talks of the finest leather mats seen by him in India. Their embroidery surpassed any that he had seen. He was probably referring to the work of their ancestors.
The Banni area of Kutch, which lies parallel to the Rann of Kutch, has a large number of tribes who have a distinctive style of embroidery. The finest work was done by the Mutwa women, from amongst the Maldharis living in the area. They created very fine embroidery with stylized motifs and the mirrors used were like pinheads. The Node produces pako bharat, which has bolder design, while the work of the Rayisapotra is refined and similar to the Mutwas; they however tend to use gold thread. The Garasia Jat use geometric patterns embroidered on the yoke of their long red dress, churi, while the Dhanetha and Fakirani Jat embroider bold patterns of a totally different style. There style of embroidery appears to be similar to that of the Torkomans of Central Asia.
The bagh and phulkari embroidery of the Punjab is a labour of love. At the birth of a male child, the dadi, paternal grandmother start embroidering vari da bagh for the wedding, dreaming of the day when she will wrap the boy's bride in it, before she enters her new home. Vari da bagh is made from handspun and hand-woven khaddar and is embroidered from the wrong side with silk thread. The entire surface is covered with geometrical patterns so that the khaddar is completely covered and a rich silken surface emerges. The main colors of the silk thread are golden, yellow or white. It is only border that other color like pink, sage green and royal blue are introduced. The satranga, seven-colored and the pachranga, five-colored bagh carries different colors all over the design. The motifs are stylized and are generally lozenges, where one group of stitches is laid vertical and another group is worked horizontally. This produces the effect of a tonal variation of colors. The phulkari does not carry embroidery all over the surface. It has motifs distributed over the surface revealing sections of the plain background material.
Another variety produced here is the chope. This carries stylized motifs worked richly over the surface on the holbien stitch or a double running stitch.
The phulkari of Haryana and East Punjab are of three types. One carries rows of stylized motifs either of flowers, fruits or birds. The other carried a rich repertoire of the folk motifs taken from everyday life, with the centre having a stylized lotus form, two cross borders at either ends often carries rows of stylized animals and birds forms, or flowers. The entire surface is covered with a range of motifs; a train on wheels carrying human forms, birds and animals rush across the horizon, while peacocks move across the surface and strange mythical birds and animals mingle together in harmony. Every pieces carries an item of jewellery, the shingar patti, forehead jewellery, or the nath, nose-ring-jewels that every women had perhaps longed for but could never have. Another style of phulkari carries rows of stylized haveli gateways, which are produced like mirror images on the other side. In between, there appears to be a river of images of daily life. These are supposed to have been embroidered as an offering to the gurudwaras or temples.
The hill areas of Himachal Pradesh produce a double-sided embroidery known as Chamba rumal. These are two styles of embroidery, one folk and the other classical. In the folk form of embroidery, the wovens draw the designs themselves, with the result that the forms are simplified and bold. The classical form carries simplified versions of Pahari miniatures. It is likely that these designs were drawn by the resident miniature painters, who also indicated the colors. The overall effect is of a painting worked in silk.
Bihar has a rich variety in embroidery. People here embroider kashida, which is very similar to the bagh, where the entire surface is covered with embroidery. Another style works out the outline and colors are then filled in with alternating long and short stitches. Beside this, they make bold patterns with the use of tapes, which are stitched down in linear patterns.
They also prepare two style of applique work. The one meant for domestic use carries stylized motifs with one piece of cloth with cut patterns being stitched on to another. The pattern thus emerges in two colors. The second type of applique work is prepared for tent, shamianas and canopies, and also for kanats, tented walls. The canopies have circular cutwork central motifs and corners of quarter circles, whereas the kanats carry stylized tree-forms with juxtaposed animals at the base. The design is often enclosed by a mehrab. This follows the tradition of the Mughal tents.
Another speciality of the area of the quilting known as sujani, similar to the Bengali kantha. The patterns are simple and bold and very similar to the murals prepared by the women on the walls of their homes in north Bihar, which have now came to be known as Madhubani paintings.
The kanthas of Bengal, which are created by sitching together old wornout and threadbare sarees in running stitches, are expressive of the folk culture. In the rural areas of Bengal many of the ancient rituals, which have been lost to us in the existing established religious practices, have been handed down from mother to daughter and continue to be observed even today. The celebration of these rituals necessitates the making of magical diagrams on the floor and the walls, so as to propitiate the gods. It is these symbols, which are embroidered into the kanthas, along with motifs taken from folklore and from mythological stories.
Applique work of Orissa, which is prepared in Pipli, a village near Puri, comprises special canopies, fans and umbrellas for use in the famous Ratha festival of Puri. These are also used at other ritual celebrations.
In Chikanayakapeta, Tamil Nadu, applique work on cloth is specially prepared for decorating the carved ratha, in which the statues of gods are taken in a procession. They make tubular forms, which is very similar to pillars, or long banners, carrying Ganesha, the lingam, etc. for giving a rich effect the designs are appliqued with thick felt and rich contrasting colors.
The kasuti embroidery of Karnataka is a stylized form with stitches based on the texture of the fabric. The three different stitches are the negi, the gavanti and the menthi. Negi is a long running stitch imitating the weaving technique; gavanti is a double running stitch, which create a pattern on both sides; and menthi, deriving its name from the seed of methi, fenugreek, is the cross-stitch, which is rarely used. The patterns are geometrical and show the influence of local beliefs. Stylized rathas, Lord Hanuman, lotus flowers and flowing patterns of the shankh, conch-shell, mingle with flowering bushes, birds and animals.
Another important embroidery is that prepared by the Toda women, who live in the nilgiris. They wear a toga like garment, which is embroidered with exquisite patterns. Many people trace their origins to Greece.
