Artistic Traditions: Closer to home on the Silk Route......

I have just returned from one of the most memorable vacations in India...travelling from Delhi through Punjab and U.P to places that have, till now, been only names on maps. Our first stop was going to be the Golden Temple at Amritsar, but we made a detour through Patiala in search of Phulkaris......So this detour was only possible, because we were four girlfriends travelling in a car without our respective spouses.....because none of the men would have agreed to detours in search of embroidered fabric!!

While Phulkari textiles are available in the Patiala bazaar, we were in search of a particular store which came highly recommended to my friend, Raji. Zigzagging through the narrow bazaar streets finally led us to the said-store where we were welcomed like long-lost family....Every piece of hand-made phulkaris were displayed so that we could make our selection.

Phulkari is a style of folk embroidery that is typical to the Punjab region in India and Pakistan going back, probably to the mid-15th century. It is possible that this tradition also had its origins in Central Asia. Like other embroidery traditions along the Silk Route, Phulkaris were created by Hindu and Sikh women for their dowries and were intrinsic to their wedding preparations. Literally meaning, 'flower work', this embroidery was traditionally done on homespun cotton background (khadder) with silk floss yarn, called 'pat'. Current versions of phulkari can be found on georgette and crepe silk as well as the traditional cotton. The more dense embroidered pieces, used for special occasions and ceremonies are know as Bagh, while the more sparsely embroidered ones are the Phulkaris. The Baghs are distinguished by the fact that the base cloth is not visible due to the dense embroidery.

Since the main stitch is the darning stitch, the motifs tend to be geometric or highly stylized. Most baghs are decorated with geometric shapes. Otherwise motifs tend to be drawn from everyday life with names like suraj mukhi (sunflower), lehariya (waves), ikka bagh (diamonds from playing cards), The more elaborate pieces may have 5 colours (panchranga) or 7 colours (satranga).

Our trip yielded some beautiful pieces. I picked up two dupattas, one in cotton and the other in georgette.

While the first one is an authentic hand-made one, the second one is a machine-embroidered piece mimicking the hand-made embroidery. I also have a beautiful Kurti which came from my friend, Padmini Chandra's collection. This piece is embroidered on silk organza and is beautifully finished by Padmini.

Here are my Phulkaris.......