After a long I tried my hand on embroidery and
it was Kantha
or Nakshi_Kantha and if you are like me! wish to know different types of kantha click Here .
Also I did
some Chikan (embroidery) /chickenkari both of them were on my old Khādī and Georgette Shalwar kameez Suits respectively right! what an easy way to start a new Embroidery!
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| sorry for the dim picture!!!! |
Nakshi Kantha, which means
embroidered quilt, is the prominent textile art form of Bangladesh and West
Bengal, India. Passed down through generations, it was popularized by a poem
titled “Nakhi Kanthar Math” by Jasim Uddin. The poem, written about a woman namedRupa, captures her process of making an embroidered quilt
and the story of her life reflected in the piece itself. Below is an excerpt
from this beautiful poem:
Spreading the embroidered quilt
She works the livelong night,
As if the quilt her poet were
Of her bereaved plight.
Many a joy and many a sorrow
Is written in breast;
The story of Rupa's life is there,
Line by line expressed.
- Jasim Uddin, from "Nakhi Kanthar Math"
It’s
hard to know which one to begin with, WHICH TALE TO UNRAVEL FIRST?
Lucknow Chikan, Punjabi phulkari, Kashmir Ari-work… to name but a few.
What is true and very sad indeed is that ALL hand embroidery is
dying out in this age of mechanisation. Coming from a khatriy background, being
trained in embroidery, knitting, spinning or weaving, Kantha is my firm
favourite since I graduated in HSc. Its stitch is always exuberant and the
multi-colour combinations intrigue me.
Indeed, Kantha embroidery weaves a story all of its own.
It is a woman’s narrative told through stitch. With simple threads and
discarded cloth it has given a voice to countless generations of anonymous
women in the rural villages of Bihar and Bengal, the center of its production.
Now
that voice is being heard globally. Indian designers and International ones now
customize and commission this traditional “slow” handicraft: Recycling Rags to
“Uber- Eco chic” is the fashion statement of our time.
How
best to describe the sheer randomness, the serendipity and the singularity of
each unique Kantha textile? Upon first appraisal there does not seem to be
rhyme or reason with the couplings of cloth bound together by the needles
labor! Then somehow the colours and the stitching liaise, they metamorphosis
into something totally new. Be it Abstract, Geometric, or Figurative it is
always is a visual feast, the work of hand and eye in unison.
The word” KANTHA” comes from “KONTHA” the Sanskrit word
for RAGS. It has a noble provenance though, as the Buddha and his disciples
were said to be clad in this most humble of garments! Cast-offs fit for this
unworldly aesthetic deity.
Necessity
is the Mother of Invention. Torn, worn, discarded old Saris and dhotis were
saved and then stitched with cotton padding to make warm quilts called ‘Lep
Kantha’. Others were made for religious rituals and called ‘Sujanik Kantha’.
Originally, non-commercial it was a passed down from mother to daughter.
Kanthas were lovingly made for weddings, pujas, celebrations and family births.
Clothes were recycled due to poverty and the natural thriftiness of rural
societies. Some believe that there is a protective magic associated with
“pre-worn’ clothes, so Kantha was auspicious for the wearer.
Mirroring
the lives of countless women, expressing their stories of daily life,
reflecting their aspirations, empowering them financially, ecologically
sustainable, it has remained egalitarian and a personal feminine story. Kantha
is truly a powerful political and social tool as well as being breathtakingly
beautiful!
Based originally on ALPONAS, drawings made on entrance
thresholds and walls, using only simple running stich and they were made during
the monsoon when the women were not able to work in the fields. Often there is
a lotus or the tree of life at the center with religious or allegorical
figures in the corners.
Designs may be based on folk, floral or
geometric patterns. Imagine the paintbrush is a needle and the paint is
coloured thread, any design motif or pattern can be adapted! A deft hand
can achieve intricate versatility.. Traditionally, Muslim women made geometric
and abstract designs and Hindu women designs using flowers, birds, peacocks and
parrots, animals and figures.
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my daughter asked me for Crocheted Mesh Scarf for this summer i will try this out and very soon indeed
Happy day!
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