Twenty- five Seven

Chikankari & Cotton Tales #AtoZChallenge 2017

April 4, 2017
Chikankari

No, you didn’t get it wrong. This post is not about Chicken Curry that India is so famous for. It is about chikankari that Awadh is famous for. Awadh, that kingdom of a rich cultural heritage evokes memories of fine muslin cloth embroidered with delicate stitches of shadow work and stem stitch. The Lucknowi chikankari kurta is a staple of almost every Indian’s wardrobe either as a man’s or woman’s upper garment.

For me, I always associate chikankari with my mother . I still recall the smell of her starched chikankari saris mingling with the fragrance of 4711, her favourite cologne. I hear the swish of her saris in pastel shades of baby pink, light lemon and sky blue . And I remember the magical flowering creepers and paisley that wandered all over the sari.

Around 36 different kinds of embroidery stitches are used in Chikankari . The price of a piece depends on the complexity of the stitches and the design. Chikankari which uses a variation of French knot ( mori) is rare and more prized than the commonplace shadow stitch that typifies chikankari.

The common motifs are paisley, flowers , and vines and leaves. Today this decorative hand embroidery is used for garments ( including necks of men’s kurta’s), table mats and table cloths as well.

Evolution and change

The gorgeous chikankari in mulmul or muslin gradually gave way to chikankari on organdie and organza. And the white threads also gave way to coloured thread to produce a different effect. Chikankari that decorate the necklines of men’s kurtas spread to the silk, terrycotton and even printed kurtis of the women! And with today’s craze for georgette means you can find chikankari work on this diaphanous, flowy fabric too.

Apart from garments, chikankari is also used to embroider table cloths and table mats

[Tweet “Mughal Emperor Jehangir patronised chikankari to please his beloved empress Noorjehan who loved it so!”]

The magic of chikankari that was once confined to the workshops of Awadh, has now spread far and wide. But what remains unchanged, however, is the fine stitches that are patiently worked by hand.

Acknowledgements :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikan_(embroidery)

Cotton Tales

No story of Indian textiles is complete without mentioning the humble cotton. It is the very fabric of this country. This fine material that is worn throughout the length and breadth of this land, clothing kings and beggars alike.

India’s cotton has been legendary. People say its muslin was so fine that an entire sari could be pulled through a small ring. And Indian weavers were so skilled that none could surpass their skill. It was the advent of textile mills that spelled the death knell of this indigenous industry.

Some amazing facts about King cotton
- It is a cash crop that contributes almost 19% of India’s GDP
- 51 % of India’s arable land is used to grow cotton
- India contributes 18% of the world’s cotton production
- When Britain lost its American colonies, it shifted its focus to sourcing cotton from India!
Cotton is undoubtedly the most breathable, easy to care for fabric. I just can’t get enough of it.

Disclaimer : I am neither a textile manufacturer nor a historian . I am just passionate about textiles and fabrics. I have gathered all my information from the Internet. Please excuse any errors and omissions.

Join me and hundreds of other bloggers participating in the #AtoZ Challenge 2017

I do hope you are enjoying reading about the fascinating traditions of Indian textiles….
Beautiful Baluchari and Benarasi Brocades #AtoZChallenge 2017

April 3, 2017

Beautiful Baluchari from Bengal

Decades ago, Hubby Dear got me a Baluchari Sari . It was a beautiful pink sari from Khazana , the shop in the newly opened Taj Bengal. In those days, I only knew about the fine cotton Calcutta saris worn by sultry actresses in the new age movies of the late 70’s . So rather warily I opened up the 6 yards of deep pink, to reveal the most amazing sari I had seen. This was a Balucheri . It had paisley bootis on the inside, a border of Arjuna and Shrikrishna in the chariot and a 1 m paloo with scenes from the Mahabharat.

The beauty of the Baluchari lies in the intricately woven scenes. Originally the scenes depicted life in the Nawab’s court and even had some British soldiers woven into the story. Today, however, scenes from Indian myths and legends inspired by the carvings in the temples around this area are. This ancient craft of handwoven silk was introduced to Baluchar village by an 18th Century Nawab of Bengal. Nawab Murshidkuli Khan brought in weavers from Dhaka in East Bengal. Thanks to his patronage this industry flourished . However, the village and the weavers constantly had to move according to the flow of the river that changed its course every now and then. Finally, the village was submerged in a heavy flood and the weavers moved to Bishnupur in Murshidabad district.

Decline and revival

The tradition remained in Bishnupur, though it declined during the British Raj . It was hard for the traditional weavers to make textiles comparable to the machine made fabrics. The industry was in danger of fading into oblivion but for the efforts of an early 20th Century artist Subho Thakur who revived this art. He not only revived it but also innovated and tweaked the traditional weaving method by introducing Jaquard looms. This made the manufacture of the sari that much faster and therefore, more affordable.

Today the saree is available in two variants – One with a design in pure mono colour silk thread like mine; or in multi coloured thread to resemble enamel work.

Acknowledgements :

http://gaatha.com/baluchari-saree-bangal/

https://www.parinita.co.in/pages/baluchari

http://www.rangamaati.com/

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-invoking-the-magic-of-a-lost-weave-a-baluchari-sari-exhibition-in-mumbai-2039502

Stunning Brocade of Benares

[Tweet “Did you know that the word Brocade originates from the Italian word broccato which means embossed cloth?”]

The brocade is a rich fabric, more often than not in silk with an elaborate shuttle woven design. Normally the thread used is gold which adds to the luxuriousness of this fabric. Undoubtedly, brocade saris occupied pride of place in a trousseau and old brocade saris are valued not only for their skilled craftsmanship but also for the value of the gold. Unfortunately, while the gold thread added to its glittering beauty, it also weighed down the fabric and often one had no option but to sell the gold in these saris rather than have it shred. Oftentimes, the gold was sold for much more than what the sari was bought for!!!

Today, however, the brocade tradition is carried on with artificial gold thread or dull gold coloured silk thread that can pass off as gold. This is to make the saris more affordable though there are some who still weave with gold thread.

Benares Silk

Different parts of India practice different kinds of brocade but the most famous are those of Benares Silk. With their fine booties and elaborate palloos made of leaves, flowers and other traditional motifs, a Benares silk sari was a family heirloom to be passed on from generation to generation.

Acknowledgements:

http://www.warpnweft.in/

http://www.india-crafts.com/textile/weaving_traditions/brocade/

Disclaimer : I am neither a textile manufacturer nor a historian . I am just passionate about textiles and fabrics. I have gathered all my information from the Internet. Please excuse any errors and omissions.

Join me and hundreds of other bloggers participating in the #AtoZ Challenge 2017.

I’m linking this page to Holly Jehangiri’s blog
Silk without violence – Ahimsa Silk & Ajrakh Block Prints I #AtoZChallenge 2017

April 1, 2017

Have you ever heard of Ahimsa Silk?

Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.

This line from the well known ( and perhaps long forgotten Nursey rhyme) reminds me of the soft, smooth, silken fabric that just slips off as easily as you wear it.

Silk is a natural fabric spun from fibres extracted from the silk worm cocoon.

[Tweet “Did you know that it takes millions of cocoons to make just one silk sari?”]

And what is more shocking is that this fibre is extracted by boiling or steaming the cocoons while the baby silk moths are still hibernating and waiting to emerge as silk moths!

Let’s take a look at how silk is made the traditional way.

Did this video shock you?

Well, it surely shocked Kusuma Rajaiah, a civil servant in the Karnataka government . He decided to make silk in a more humane way. One where the larvae were allowed to live. Instead of throwing the cocoons into water top extract the filament, he pierced a hole into the cocoons after 8-10 days and allowed the worm to escape. Then the silk fibre thus extracted from the cocoon and twisted it into yarn woven into silk. Naturally, this method has its downside – the fibres are shorter but the upside is that worm can grow into a moth and live its short life of just 4 days.

This has given rise to a new kind of silk called AHIMSA SILK – or silk made in a more humane way.

This doesn’t mean that you stop wearing silk because Sericulture has evolved over the centuries and as an agro-based industry provides employment to thousands if not millions of people in India, China and several places round the world. But if you do want to wear this gorgeous fabric without taking a life, then AHIMSA SILK, is the silk for you.

Acknowledgements :

http://www.ahimsasilks.com/

Ajrakh 0r the Block Printing tradition of Gujerat.

Block printing is a very popular form of fabric embellishment and different parts of India have their own traditions and distinctive styles. Common to all, however, is the use of natural dyes.

One bold style of block printing is the AJRAKH . Probably you don’t recognise it as a such. At least I didn’t till I was gifted a shawl from someone in Pakistan. Predominantly manufactured in erstwhile Sindh, this village industry gets its name from AJRAKH which I understand is ‘blue’ in Arabic.

Ajrakhpur in Kuchh is one of the many small villages in Bhuj, where this art is still practiced. Ajrakh is a series of geometrically inspired block prints stamped on cotton. The predominant colours are indigo and maroon and are madeout of vegetable dyes. The printed cloth is used as shawls, for hammocks and even gifted as a mark of honour and respect.

The devastating Bhuj earthquake of 2001 destroyed several villages and many skilled printers lost their lives. Fortunately, the few that survived went back to their looms and continued their ancient trade.

Completely hand crafted

The printer spends several hours carving out the design on a wooden block. Many have, however, begun to use the power drill to save on time.

Once the blocks are made, the printer arranges the cloth ( normally it is a sturdy cotton) and decides how to place the design to get the body and borders . The block is dipped in a dye and placed on the cloth. Natural dyes like Indigo, turmeric, mehndi and even pomegranate juice are used . Even iron and mud are used to make dyes!

The process is not all that simple as it sounds . It takes several steps of dyeing and washing and dyeing and washing before the end result is achieved. But the result is completely worth it !

Acknowledgements :

http://10yearitch.com/india-travel-tour/gujarat/photo-post-ajrakhpur-bhuj-gujarat/

http://gaatha.com/ajrak/

http://www.mylearning.org/ajrakh-block-printed-fabric-from-rajasthan/p-4292/

Disclaimer : I am neither a textile manufacturer nor a historian . I am just passionate about textiles and fabrics and all the information I have presented is garnered from the Internet. So if there are any errors or omissions I seek your indulgence.

I hope you join me and hundreds of other bloggers participating in the #AtoZ Challenge 2017.

Cheers!