Recently, New Delhi’s India Habitat Centre hosted a mini-Punjab. The exhibition “Mela Phulkari” depicted the state, in northwestern India, in all its glory, along with its history and the rich variety of its cultures, which few know of.
On display were a range of products that incorporate the traditional embroidery form of phulkari — dupatta (stole), jackets, tilla jutti (footwear), bags and parandi (hair accessory) — and musical instruments such as the rabab, the dilruba and the dhol. Also, traditional objects such as the pankhi (hand fan), madani (butter churner) and dolu (brass vessel used for storing milk), which are the state’s trademarks, were an important part of the show.
From farm tools and handmade beds to wall hangings and kitchen utensils, the exhibits were full of old-world charm. But the phulkari heirlooms, executed in silk thread on khaddar (coarse cotton fabric), were the most spectacular part of the entire line-up. These are similar to the embroidery done in Afghanistan, and central Asia’s Gulkari form, which are considered outstanding in their own right.
While the exhibition took many Punjabis on a trip down memory lane, it provided others, especially the younger generation, an opportunity to admire Punjab women’s crafts, which has been the pride of the state. Also on display were pieces from more than 150 years ago, owned by author and historian Khushwant Singh, which drew as much attention of the viewers, as the section explaining how wheat flour is made from whole grams.
Conceptualised by the husband-wife team of Harinder Singh and Kirandeep Kaur, the fair aimed at reviving phulkari, the traditional embroidery of the state. “Living in cosmopolitan cities, we never get a thorough understanding of various cultures, just a glimpse of it,” Harinder explained. “We took the initiative to display the traditional craft of phulkari, on which the women of Punjab would embroider their dreams at different stages of their lives.”
Harinder and Kirandeep run a store on New Delhi’s Janpath street, which has Punjabi culture as the mainstay of its products. And for those curious to discover more, fairs such as “Mela Phulkari”, provide an opportunity to know the unknown aspects of varied cultures.
“The idea is to familiarise the city with authentic phulkari. We had noticed that people barely knew the craft tradition a decade ago. But over the years, it has improved,” Harinder said.
A selection of 180-plus phulkaris was on display — most of them belonging to Partition and pre-Partition times — giving the visitor a macroscopic view of the craft practice. The never-seen-before phulkari baghs were a hot favourite with many, as they thronged to get a good view of those.
The word “phul” means flower and “kari” means craft, together meaning floral craft. While simple and sparely embroidered dupattas and odnis (head scarves) were, in olden times, made for everyday use, garments that covered the entire body were called bagh (garden). Women all over Punjab wore phulkaris and baghs during marriages and other festive occasions.
“Both phulkaris and baghs were embroidered by women for their own use and for members of the family,” Kirandeep said. “Not for sale in the market, these were purely a domestic art that not only satisfied the urge for creativity in women, but also at the same time brought colour into their lives. A true folk art, phulkari became extremely popular and it was customary to gift phulkaris and baghs to a bride at the time of marriage and to young women after childbirth.
“Because of this, it always had an emotional connect. However, not everyone today is aware of its intricate designs and the fact that it is handcrafted. It was said that the entire life of a woman was entwined in those stitches. And phulkari was a blessing that represented the complex web in which the crafts and culture of the land of Punjab are enmeshed,” she added.
Phulkari’s popular patterns, including Vari Da Bagh (done at the birth of a boy), were created amid an atmosphere of singing and dancing. The grandmother of the newborn would do the first stitch on the embroidery. It would later be handed to the boy’s bride on their wedding day. It required immense talent and patience and sometimes took more than a year to complete the design.
Other designs included: Chope (done by grandmothers for a girl’s wedding) and Bawan Bagh (52 different patterns in one dupatta). Kaudi Bagh and the diamond pattern of Suraj Mukhi Phulkari is traditionally done on khaddar to be wrapped around the head and shoulders.
While the earliest references to phulkari are found in “Heer Ranjha”, Waaris Shah’s 18th-century epic, it was King Ranjit Singh who popularised the designs among foreigners. With the passage of time, one generation’s tradition became the next generation’s, slowly diminishing heritage.
The craft adapted and traditional phulkari made way for stylish versions that were incorporated in designer collections. These were on view in Bollywood films such as “Jab We Met”, “Rockstar” and “Highway”.
“It is a task today to find women who used to make these phulkaris,” Kirandeep said. Along with her husband, she works with more than 300 women artisans in Fatehgarh, Sangrur and Malwa areas of Punjab.
“Farmer suicides in Sangrur have been a common story and we found many young widowed women in the area,” she said. “We tied up with an NGO that supports them and give them the fabric, threads and designs. This way, we get authentic designs, because they are being done by the women who either knew about the textiles or were handed over the phulkaris by their ancestors.”
Nilima Pathak is a journalist based in New Delhi.
