Phulkari

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Punjabi poetry is incredibly beautiful and important, spanning across our early history and through colonialism, and now to diasporic communities. There was a lot to work with here, but I feel like everything ended up being a little surface-level and repetitive. Traditionally, use of coarse khaddar fabric made it easy to count the yarn. The base khaddar cloth used in Western Punjab was finer than what was used in Central Punjab. The fabric was woven in widths, which were narrow, as the width of the loom was such. Thus, the fabric had to be stitched lengthwise to make the desired width, which was later embroidered. This practice of stitching two pieces was common among textiles of Punjab in the early 20th century. In West Punjab (now in Pakistan), two or three pieces of cloth were first folded and joined, leading to distorted designs. In East Punjab (now Punjab, Haryana, and part of Himachal Pradesh), they were joined first and then embroidered. 20th century Phulkari from Punjab (India), Honolulu Museum of Art Patterns [ edit ] Women artisans embroidering with Patt in Rajpura, Punjab (India), 2015 There are several non-profits in Punjab that promote Phulkari to empower women by providing a source of livelihood. The Nabha Foundation launched the Phulkari Traditional Craft Program in 2007 [31] to "empower the marginalized rural woman, generate sustainable home based employment." The Phulkari Makers of Bassi Pathana [32] is a financially independent self-group which evolved from the vocational training initiatives at Mehar Baba Charitable Trust in 2009. Artisan markets like Dilli Haat [33] in New Delhi feature stalls by India several National Award winners like Mrs. Lajwanti Devi from Patiala who was awarded the Rashtrapati Award in 1995 for her embroidery. [34] Phulkari products can also be found at occasional bazaars at Dastkar, [35] at Diwali melas, at the Lota Shop at the National Crafts Museum [36] in New Delhi, the Punjab Handloom Emporium in Ludhiana, [37] and in some private chains like 1469. [38] Garg (2017) in her study of the prevalence of the Phulkari craft in Punjab (India) notes that there are various units set up in Patiala district where mainly women reported that they have been carrying on the work set up by their mothers and grandmothers. The respondents also stated that Phulkari work was particularly carried out after the arrival of refugees in Patiala after 1947 from West Punjab. [39]

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In its present form, Phulkari embroidery has been popular since the 15th century. [14] Pal (1960) believes that no matter its origin, Phulkari work is distinctive and uniquely Punjabi. [4] Fabrics [ edit ] Photograph of a Patiala Punjabi woman in Phulkari, ca.1900 This exhibition, which examines the artistic, cultural, and political significance of phulkari, is long overdue and will certainly delight visitors who may be unfamiliar with this remarkable art form”. Chamba rumals are the exceptional and wonderful work of embroidery depicting a delicate fine and flawless work called needle miniatures of Himachal or Pahari Rumal. The primeval Chamba has undergone a progression with respect to motifs, stitches, workmanship, appearance, and colors. Colors employed in this type of embroidery are very vibrant bright and bold. The Chamba Rumal had unique importance as embroidery women are used for covering gifts, deities, household accessories such as caps, hand fans, pillow covers, wall hanging, ceiling covers, and blouse piece.Durries are rugs having spectacular geometric designs. Durries are usually made on blue colored cloth with white triangle designs and Panipat is the hub of making durries in Haryana. Phulkari, which literally translates to ‘flower work’,is a unique style or technique of embroidery particular to Punjab. However, more than just a handicraft, the threads of Phulkari are inextricably tied to the history of Punjab. Both have endured much: partition, industrial reforms, changing economic and fashion trends. A recent exhibition held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art tried to tell just this story. The main characteristics of Phulkari embroidery are use of darn stitch on the wrong side of coarse cotton cloth with coloured silken thread. Punjabi women create innumerable alluring and interesting designs and patterns by their skilful manipulation of the darn stitch. According to Kehal (2009), a cloth where only a few flowers are embroidered is called a Phulkari. The other types are distinct varieties. [2] The traditional varieties of Phulkaris are large items of cloth and include Chope, Tilpatr, Neelak and Bagh. Sometimes, the Bagh is given separate categorization of its own as on other varieties of a Phulkari, parts of the cloth is visible, whereas in a Bagh, the embroidery covers the entire garment so that the base cloth is not visible. [3] Further, in contemporary modern designs, simple and sparsely embroidered dupattas (long scarf), odhinis (oversized long scarf), and shawls, made for everyday use, are referred to as phulkaris, whereas clothing items that cover the entire body, made for special and ceremonial occasions such as weddings are called baghs (large garden). The Phulkari continues to be an integral part of Punjabi weddings to the present day.

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Over the years, the Indian and Punjab governments have been working towards promotion of Phulkari embroidery, by organizing special training programs, fairs, and exhibitions. [3] Since most of the women artisans creating Phulkari are in the unorganized sector or work through middlemen, they do not make much money compared to an actual selling price of their product. To overcome this, Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) [27] formed women self-help groups and cooperatives to sell directly and make more profits. [28] Their products retail at PHULKARI- Punjab Government Emporiums [29] in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Patiala, Kolktata, and Amritsar. The Patiala Handicraft Workshop Cooperative Industrial Society Ltd [30] (Society for Rural Women Empowerment) founded a Phulkari cluster in 1997. 880 Phulkari artisans are now part of the cluster and over 10,000 women have been trained in Phulkari embroidery. Close-up of tracing on cloth - a contemporary Phulkari embroidery technique by female artisan in Rajpura, Punjab (India), 2015 Vari-da-bagh: this is given as a gift to the bride by her in-laws when she enters her new home. A distinctive feature is that it is always made on orange-reddish khaddar fabric and only a single golden or orange-colored pat is used for embroidery. The chief pattern of this phulkari is a group of three or four small concentric diamonds of growing size. This is in Waris Shah’s version of Heer Ranjha, a legendary Punjabi tragic romance, where the wedding outfit of Heer, the female protagonist, is discussed and they talk about several items of clothing and outfits with Phulkari embroidery. There is also the reference of Phulkari in the Mahabharata, the Vedas, Guru Granth Sahib, and some Punjabi folk songs. Nonetheless, it is believed that no matter what the origin of this embroidery is, it will always be very different and unique to Punjab. History and Traditions of Phulkari Image – WikimediaThis type of embroidery work requires more patience and artisan skill enhancements needed. Present students are undergoing the fashion design subject in their degree level program, should be studied surface ornamentation is one of their subject and phulkari embroidery is also to be studied. Most of the phulkari embroidery designs are very much attracted by the international buyers and so the creativity of new designs are being made by the fashion design students of the present generation to earn sufficient monetary benefit. Darshan Dwar: this type of Phulkari is made as an offering to thank god. It is made to give to the Gurudwaras after a wish is fulfilled. Darshan Dwar translates to “the gate to see God”. Suggested Read– Embroideries of India – Showcasing the Skills of Regional Artisans Origin of Phulkari Image – Wikimedia

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Phulkari embroidery started in the 15 th century and continues till today. Phulkari is a Punjabi rural tradition of handmade work derived from two Sanskrit word phul means flower and Kari mean work. Phulkari means the flower craft, floral work in which the entire surface of the shawl is decorated with floral designs. Phulkari and Bagh were the traditional embroidery shawls from rural Punjab. The word Phulkari is common in East Punjab and Bagh is a popular word for shawls in west Punjab. Phulkari is a shawl that is designed as embroidery to cover women’s heads to be displayed in a Gurdwara. Phulkari is an integral part of the life of Punjabi girl and is considered to be opportune, symbolizing happiness prosperity, and Suhaag of a married woman. This pulkari is made on blue base fabric as per its name. Small flowers are embroidered with yellow and red silken thread. Phulkari was essentially a product of domestic work done by the women of the household. The fabric on which Phulkari embroidery was done was hand spun khaddar (a handloomed plain-weave cotton fabric). Cotton was grown throughout Punjab plains and after a series of simple processes it was spun into yarn by the women on the charkha (spinning wheel). After making the yarn it was dyed by the lalari (dyer) and woven by the jullaha (weaver). This phulkari is worn during the pheras of the marriage ceremony. This is in red color and is embroidered with five floral motifs in each corner and five in the center.

Women would gather to embroider Phulkaris. Traditional folk songs would be sung by the group. Pal also gives one instance of a woman putting one grain of wheat to one side for every stitch she made. When the Phulkari was complete, the lady donated the grains away. Sometimes, different styles can be seen on one Phulkari. This is because each girl would use her own imagination to stitch a design, perhaps to remind the girl when she gets married of her friends who helped stitch the Phulkari. [4] Thind (2005) mentions another variety: the bawan bagh where more than one bagh style is used on one cloth. Many of the varieties are part of museum exhibitions and private collections. Thind makes reference to the contributions made by Mohinder Singh Randhawa in promoting the preservation of Phulkari art. He also mentions private collections where he has seen various motifs including the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) embroidered in a Phulkari. [19] However, both these theories do not hold good as phulkari is practiced and worn by all the people of Punjab from early 19th century. It is considered as a symbol of suhag and therefore forms a very important part of a bride’s trousseau. National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy, New Delhi, India, https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/national-crafts-museum-delhi-things-to-see-6157814/ This bagh has only the sides and the portion covering the head embroidered with large triangular motifs in one color. The craft of Phulkari has undergone changes over the centuries. According to Pal (1960) in his seminal essay on the history and use of the Phulkari published by Patiala University, the traditional method of embroidering a Phulkari and its widespread use in Punjab, India declined by the 1950s. [4] Traditionally, women would embroider Phulkaris without using stencils. Pal (1960) states that women would clean their courtyards and invite friends and family to ceremonially begin the process of embroidering a Phulkari. Folk songs would be sung on this occasion. [4] "Ih Phulkari Meri Maan Ne Kadhi/ Is Noo Ghut Ghut Japhiyan Paawan" (This Phulkari was embroidered by my mother, I embrace it warmly). Folk songs like these are indicative of the emotional attachment the girl had to the Phulkari embroidered by her mother or grandmother, or aunts. [5]