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HISTORYIts history and origin varies from person to person due to lack of evidences and documentation. The origin of this beautiful art can be traced back to the 15th century AD. The earliest mention of the ancient word phulkari appears in the famous love story ‘Heer Ranjha’ written by Waris Shah (1725-1790). The Phulkari was the costume of Heer .

Some have opinion that this craft migrated from Persian art, where an embroidery from ‘Gulkari’ having similar literal meaning, ‘gul’ meaning flower and ‘Kari’ meaning work. This is the same etymology for the word Phulkari. 

In “Harishcharitra” the author, Bana Bhatt in the 7th century A.D., mentioned, “some people were embroidering flowers and leaves on the cloth from the reverse side”. This description is similar to the technique of Phulkari and Bagh because they are also done on the backside of the cloth. Based on this reference, Jasleen Dhamija has put forward the theory that such embroidery was probably prevalent in various parts of the country during the 7th century. According to her, the technique

of embroidery survived only in Punjab, while similar motifs are sometimes used in Bihar and Rajasthan.

Some researchers and historians think the art of Phulkari came from central Asia along with the Jat tribes who migrated to India and lived in Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat. Both these theories are incorrect.

References to the art of Phulkari are found in the Vedas, the Mahabharata and Guru Granth Sahib. The origin of the art of phulkari can be traced back to the 15th century AD. The earliest available articles are Phulkari shawls & hankies embroidered in the Chamba style during the 15th century by Bebe Nanaki, the sister of Guru Nanak Dev ji (1469-1539), the first guru of the Sikh religion. These articles have been preserved in Sikh holy places in Punjab, at the Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in the district of Gurdaspur. Another shawl has been preserved in the Gurudwara Mao Sahib in the district of Jalandhar. It was used by the 5th Sikh Guru, Arjun Dev ji (1563-1606), when he married Mai Ganga. According to these theories and existing articles, it is difficult to trace the exact origin of traditional Punjabi Phulkari embroidery.

RAW MATERIALS USEDProperties of raw materials and technique

Punjabi women made the traditional Phulkari of Punjab after completing their household work. They sat together in a group called “Trinjan” where all women engaged in embroidery, as well as in dancing, laughing, gossiping and weaving. Traditional Phulkari was made of hand-dyed and hand-woven spun cloth called “khaddar” using high quality untwisted silk thread called “pat” with bright colors like red, green, golden, yellow, pink and blue. It was done with an ordinary needle in the darn stitch, without the help of any tracing, drawing, pattern or design. For embroidering a single Phulkari, an average of 50 to 100 gram of ‘Pat’ is needed and for Bagh 100 grams, to 150 grams are required. The silk thread came from Kashmir, Afghanistan and Bengal and was dyed in Amritsar and Jammu. The best quality of silk thread came from China. Handling this kind of thread needed more expertise and experience .The cloth Khaddar could be of four colors white, red, black and blue. White was used by the mature women and widows, while red was for young married women. Black and blue colors were for daily use by women.

The main characteristic of Phulkari is the embroidery is on the wrong side of the cloth so the design is automatically embroidered on the right side of the cloth.

A Phulkari takes anywhere from a month to a year to complete, and the special types of “Vari Da Bagh” took a year. The time it takes to make a Phulkari also depends upon the design, pattern, and the expertise of the embroiderer. For example, a “vari da bagh”, where the embroidery covers the entire surface of the cloth and the base is not visible, takes ten years to complete. It has a complicated design of golden colored silk thread. The Bagh and Phulkari are embroidered on an undyed fabric called a “Thirma”. The women of the eastern Punjab embroidered Phulkaris with patterns of human, animal, and plant forms, as well as other jewellery patterns. With this type of Phulkari, women trace the outline of the design with black ink, and then fill them with the darning stitch. The satin stitches, herringbone stitch, cross stitch, chain stitch, blanket stitch, backstitch, stem stitch, and running stitch were also used in phulkari embroidery.

Fabrics-Historically the fabric used for the phulkari work is a thick and is evenly woven which was mainly khaddar whose thread was manually spinned, loomed and dyed with natural pigments.

 Khadi/khaddar-

Nowadays, phulkari is done on all kinds of fabric like chiffon and light weight cotton.

Graph paper and Butter paper -

Graph paper or butter paper is used for geometrically drawing out the motifs or the final design to be embroidered on the cloth.

 Pat / Untwisted Yarn -

Historically cotton yarns were used but with the passage of time, untwisted floss silk came into use because of its grace. And nowadays, silk floss is used for the phulkari work which is known as pat dhagha. Tracing chemicals:-

1.   Zinc oxide for white2.   Ink for black and blue

  Needle -Normal needle is used for the work.

Embroidery Frame-

Frame is used to handle the fabric while embroidering.

SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF COLORS AND MOTIFS

In the past, the women of Punjab made a Phulkari and Bagh for their “suhag” (marital bliss) and prosperity. They used colors and motifs that they liked the best. All the colors and motifs used by the women for embroidering had a symbolic significance. I. Colors Red: The color red was mostly used the base fabric. Red symbolizes happiness, prosperity, love, passion desire, and excitement. Red also signifies blooming flowers and sunlight that gives us life. It also stands for power and energy.

Yellow: Yellow and shades of yellow are used in great quantities for the Phulkari and Bagh. It is a symbol of happiness, liveliness and success and fertility. It has a special significance in Punjab since it is the color of wheat and the mustard flower. It is also a symbol of power, enlightenment and supernatural feelings.

Orange: Orange color is a symbol of cheerfulness, creativity, produces a mystical effect on the mind and suggests wonder. It is also a symbol of affordability and low cost.

Green: Green color is a symbol of freshness, nature, a clean environment, holiness, harmony, and honesty. The green color has a calming and restful effect.

Blue: Blue color is a symbol of nature and truth. It is also a symbol of water and sky however, it was not often used.

White: White is a symbol of peace, purity, honesty and simplicity. It was used for a special kind of Bagh base cloth called “Thirma”. It can be concluded that the embroidered Phulkari and Bagh symbols of happiness, prosperity, energy, fertility, peace of mind, harmony in creativity, purity and sincerity of a woman’s mind, freshness of mind, pleasure of life, simplicity of women, a reflection of rural Punjab, liveliness and devotion. Some women have embroidered the same motifs using different colors, which show their creativity. Some women have embroidered a motif with colors that were different all other embroidered motifs. It looked very odd but it was meant to keep the evil eye away.

II. Motifs Nature has given us many motifs. The women of Punjab used forms of nature to embroider their Phulkari and Bagh. This enabled them to express their emotions in a visual form. The wonderful forms and shapes created by the simple lines and

circles carry a meaning that lies deep in the embroiderer’s heart.

Geometrical figures: The triangle symbolizes the holy trinity. The triangle represents the number three, which is a symbol of the past, present, and future, and the nature of universe in terms of spirit, mind and body. The circle represents the sun, moon and the earth because a circle has no beginning and end. It also represents the divine character. The multicolored abstract square of harmonious growth symbolizes the simple figures of peasants and has many variations. A square superimposed on a circle symbolizes reproduction, growth and fertility. The square and the rectangle represent equality, conformity and peacefulness. Several squares together look uneven but it is a very significant design that is considered auspicious. Parallel lines create an effect of repetition and create an illusion. A curved line symbolizes water. A zigzag line symbolizes excitement and lightning.

Flowers and Fruits: Flowers symbolize the beauty of nature and the fragrance of youth. Flowers filled with different colors show the creativity of the Punjabi women. These motifs were very meaningful. The pomegranate symbolizes good luck, wealth, prosperity and fertility. Orange and mango reflect freshness and prosperity. Animals and Birds: Animals and birds embroidered on the Phulkari and Bagh also have a symbolic meaning. The sparrow is a symbol of creativity and fertility. The peacock is a symbol beauty, pride and success, goodwill and immortality. The cow is a symbol of maternal nurturing powers of the earth, fertility and abundance. The elephant is a symbol of strength and victory. Multicolored fish are a symbol of peace and joy. Thus the traditional phulkari is very symbolic through its motifs and colors. It depicts the rural culture and heritage of Punjab.

METHODOLOGY

PEOPLE AND PLACEAs the women gets done with the household work, they get together for their daily chit chat be it on terraces, verandas, outside their houses with some on folding beds, some on stair, others on “peedhe” or “charpoy” (small jute chairs) the women of Patiala (Tripuri), Rajpura enjoy the sun “dhoop sakna”, along with their Phulkari. While elderly women are busy cutting vegetables, playing with grandchildren, the young group enjoys

embroidering Phulkari. It has become a part of their daily chores. 

Sitting in groups, the women help each other with their Phulkaris. Even if a woman is not able do the embroidery (age factor, loss of eyesight, bad health) still she is constantly helping the young generation, telling them stories of her Phulkari to keep the art alive.

Shammi Bai’s picture embroidering a phulkari.

Shammi Bai, is one of the finest Phulkari embroiders in Rajpura, Patiala. She is 90 years old but still manages to embroider 2-3 Phulkari a year. She is helped by her grand-daughter who helps her in putting thread in a needle; and loves to learn and hear stories about Phulkari from her grandmother.

Women embroidering a phulkari without any block printing.

Parwinder Kaur, a Phulkari appreciate, who taught herself the Phulkari, always wanted to do something for this art. So at the age of 29 with the help of “Nabard Bank” she started a Gurbachan welfare society .Here she teaches and brings out awareness about this art. So far she has visited, conducted workshops, started a “self help group” in almost 25 villages and has helped around 1500 women with this art. Her dream is to keep this art alive, teach as many women about this rich art and take it to an international level.

A woman in a village embroidering a phulkari.

TYPE AND AREA OF STUDYThe type of this research project can be classified as that of an interactive one. The study includes interaction with the local people of a village in Punjab, namely Fatehpur which lies in the Mansa district and the Malwa region.

The interaction was done with mainly the women asking them about their knowledge about the history of the Phulkari work and the importance of this art form in their lives. The answers were very similar because the use and significance of the Phulkari in their everyday lives is the same which includes the cultural importance of phulkari as it is given to the girls in Punjab when they are getting married. The mothers or the girls themselves embroider the phulkari for their marriage. The men were also asked similar questions but they did not have enough knowledge about the history of this embroidery but knew about its cultural significance.

Conversations with Phulkari related shop owners and workers revealed that the demand for such textiles is increasing with the increasing income and aspirations of communities in Punjab and beyond.

A woman embroidering a Phulkari in a village household.

The sample was selected based on mapping done with local partners on the work and nature of its geography. The sample includes 10 Phulkari workers who are female and home based.100% of the sample is rural and consists only of female embroiders, as mentioned earlier.

Interviews with a few workers highlight the importance of training period and women are often engaged to assist known members of their locality or family in this work for no pay.

The data collection included questionnaires testing the knowledge of people about the traditional art form of Phulkari. In case of uneducated Phulkari embroiders, the questionnaire were filled by me by asking them questions orally.

FINDINGS

TYPES OF PHULKARIThirma

This phulkari from the north of Punjab, shared by Hindu and Sikh traditions and very appreciated by collectors is identified by its white khaddar called thirma, symbol of purity.

As a symbol of purity, thirma was often worn by elder women and widows but, at times, this choice of white coloured khaddar was also made for esthetical reasons.

The pat was generally chosen in a range of bright pink to deep red tones.

Cluster stitched flowers, wide triangles covering the forehead as well as chevron darning stitch surfaces were very common thirma patterns.

Thirma Phulkaris from west Punjab

Darshan Dwar

Darshan Dwar, that can be translated as "the gate through which God can be seen", unlike other phulkari was not made for a person but for a temple as an offering to thank the gods after a wish had been fulfilled.

For this reason, while a dowry could contain dozens of phulkari, darshan dwar has never been made in big quantities.

Like other figurative pieces (e.g. Sainchi phulkari, see the next paragraph) this particular kind of phulkari was made in east Punjab, a mostly non-Islamic area which allowed the development of a broad variety of human and animal representations.

Darshan Dwars

Vari-da-bagh

("Vari": gift offered to the bride by her in-laws)

This bagh was gifted to the bride by her in-laws when she was entering their house, her new home, on the wedding day. It is an exceptional fact as all the other phulkari were part of her dowry and, thus, were provided by her own family.

Vari-da-bagh is always made on an orange-reddish khaddar and, except for its border and sometimes a small decoration, it is always embroidered on its whole surface with a single golden or orange coloured pat.

This bagh's main pattern is a group of three or four small concentric lozenges of growing size included in each other. Despite the fact that only one colour of pat is used, these lozenges are easily revealed by the reflections of light. The outer one symbolizes the Earth, the next one the city and the third one the familial house. It happens that this last lozenge is split into four smaller ones probably symbolizing the parents of the groom and the newly married couple.

The bride was wrapped in this bagh by her mother in law when she was receiving the keys of her new house, thereby meaning that the bride was becoming responsible for the maintenance of the house.

A wari da bagh from west Punjab.

Bawan Bagh (or Bawan Phulkari)

"Bawan" means “fifty-two” in Punjabi and refers to the mosaic of fifty-two different patterns which decorate this piece (the number of patterns can be at times more or less than 52).

Bawan bagh (or phulkari) was in fact a display of samples used by professional embroiderers to show their skills and the patterns they could provide to their clients.

This explains why bawan bagh (or phulkari) is the rarest of all the bagh and phulkari.

A bawan phulkari from east Punjab.

Chope

The bride's maternal grandmother (Nani) was starting chope's embroidery as soon as her granddaughter was born. Instead of the common darning stitch, she was using the Holbein stitch which has the specificity of creating the same design on both the sides of the khaddar. This can be interpreted as the grandmother's wish to make her granddaughter equally happy in her life and after her death, on the two sides of her existence.

Chope was made to wrap and dry the bride after the ritual bath she was having before her wedding, for this practical reason chope is bigger than other phulkari.

Its khaddar was invariably dyed in red or orange colour, symbol of passion and happiness. It is worth noticing that chope was never bordered so that this happiness could be unlimited.

Pat was always chosen in golden tones to express desire and wealth.

The Patterns were big triangles symmetrically distributed on the two sides of the chope's longitudinal axis. They were maybe symbolizing male and female principles separated by a distance expressing the fact that the wedding's night had not taken place yet and, thus, that the bride and groom had not had physical intimacy. On another hand these triangles could also represent stylized peacocks.

As well as in other phulkari, some mistakes were voluntarily introduced into the embroidery work in order to protect the bride from the evil eye ("nazar"). Indeed a perfect piece could have attracted others' jealousy.

This principle of keeping others' envy away showing imperfections is found in many oriental traditions. In India, for

instance, some black round spots are often drawn on babies faces for this purpose.

Sometimes, chope was also used to cover and hide the bride's dowry, making it invisible to jealous minds and thus keeping the nazar away.

A chope phulkari.

Sainchi Phulkari

Sainchi phulkari are figurative pieces narrating the life in the villages of south east Punjab.

Local animals (goats, cows, elephants, big cats, scorpions, peacocks...) are represented moving among wrestlers, farmers, weavers, etc.

Train is also often displayed on sainchi phulkari, this means of transportation, brought by the British in the second half of the 19th century, having had a big impact on local populations' life.

Beyond their aesthetic value, sainchi phulkari can be compared to our nowadays media as they depict the ways of life, interests and environment of the old time rural people of Punjab.

In addition, they were produced in a relatively small area (Firozpur and Bhatinda districts) and required high embroidery skills. These are all the reasons why they became so appreciated by collectors and occupy a very unique position among the different varieties of phulkari.

Two 19th century Sainchi phulkari.

Kaudi Bagh

Among their patterns, these bagh include chains of small white squares representing stylized cowries. Used as currency in the old times these shells have now lost all of their value and using them as ornaments has thus become a sign of humility.

From another point of view, the shape of these shells can remind of female genitals and make them become symbols of fertility. Kaudi phulkari were often worn by women wanting to increase their chance to become pregnant.

Details of a Kaudi phulkari from east Punjab.

Panchranga Bagh

Meaning "Five colours", this bagh is decorated with chevrons of five different colours. In The same way, similar pieces like satranga ("Seven colours") bagh are also available.

A panchranga bagh.

Meenakari Bagh (or "Ikka Bagh")

This bagh, often made of gold and white coloured pat, is decorated with small multicoloured lozenges referring to enamel work (meenakari) or to "diamond" playing cards' suit.

A meenakari or ikka bagh.

Surajmukhi

Surajmukhi, the sunflower, refers to the main pattern of this phulkari.

From a technical point of view this type of phulkari is unique as it is the only one that mixes in comparable proportions Holbein stitch (used to make chope phulkari) and the regular darning stitch.

Detail of a surajmukhi phulkari from west Punjab.

Nazar Battu Or Nazar Buti

Its main purpose is to drag off the evil eye. In order to achieve this, a small corner or portion of the design is retained unembroidered, indicating that the work is yet to be complete. Similarly, few motifs of the main design or a small buti in a corner worked a distinct shade of blue, black or purple, which as such is not been used except to denote Nazar Buti.

MECHANISMThe embroidery is done for the most part upon coarse cotton cloth (khaddar) locally woven from loosely homespun yarns of irregular thickness, generally with between 10-12 warp threads/cm. Neelam Grewal expresses the relationship between women and embroidery rather poetically, explaining that the coarse ground material represents the demanding life of the Punjabi woman and the rich embroidery of fine coloured silk her hopes and dreams.

For baghs, ground fabrics of better quality are woven, called chaunsa khaddar (ca.15-18 threads/cm); here warp and weft have the same thickness and the material is more supple than standard khaddar. A still finer texture was also used – halwan (ca. 22-25 threads/cm) – produced only in Amritsar and Lahore. Weaving these cloths was much more time consuming, so women used it only for more costly pieces. Halwan is found more often in pieces from west Punjab, mainly Hazara and Rawalpindi.

Khaddar was woven in narrow strips some 45-6ocm wide; thus two to three and a half strips were sewn together for the required width. The ground was often red, considered lucky by Hindus and Sikhs alike. One also finds brown, various blue tones, black and white. Green is very rare. Hindu women from northern Pakistan mostly used a white ground with dark red silk for the embroidery.

Untwisted coarse silk yarn, produced from the outer threads of the silk cocoon, was used for the embroidery. Known as pat, the supple white yarn required careful handling. When a section of embroidery was completed, the fabric was rolled in a clean white cloth to keep it from soiling while work continued on an

unembroidered part. The silk came in skeins from Kashmir, Afghanistan, Bengal and the best quality from China. It was dyed mainly in Amritsar, Jammu or Dera Ghazi Khan. The village women then bought the skeins from itinerant merchants. They also used cotton yarns (bandi) for white, black and yellow in certain pieces. Wool yarns were very rarely used, except in certain specific types.

The principal stitch used for this work was the darning stitch. Indeed, the almost exclusive use of the long and short darning stitch over counted threads distinguishes phulkari and bagh from all other known Indian textiles with embroidered decoration. Normally the darning stitch moves in straight lines; in a skilled example, however, the stitch work can be more dynamic. The pattern is controlled mainly by counting threads; in west Punjab the pattern on the cloth is planned out with green yarn in parallel lines or squares worked in double running stitch. A woman’s ability was measured by the number of patterns she could master. Since the material was, during the work, only visible from behind, a single numerical error was enough to destroy the entire symmetry. Other stitches used include chain stitch, which was used to outline figures. To fill in the motif either satin stitch or a variation known as stop stitch was preferred. Stem stitch was also used at times, as were herringbone stitch, running stitch and, for borders, buttonhole stitch.

There were no pattern books or catalogues from which designs could be copied. Rather, these were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth and example. Thus each family had its own characteristic style and, with practice and experience, each woman was able to develop her own repertoire. At this point, the textile ceased to be a mere piece of handiwork and became instead, through the stitches, colours and motifs, an expression of the embroiderer’s feelings, hopes and dreams.

The limitations of stop stitch. which allows only straight lines, meant that motifs had to be very stylised.

ApplicationsSome very special types of phulkaris and baghs were made for more formal occasions. In west Punjab, following the birth of a boy, it was customary, on a day chosen by the local astrologer, to begin a vari da bagh. In an atmosphere of singing, dancing and gambling, sweetmeats and red yarn would be distributed and the newborn’s grandmother would place the first stitch on the embroidery. This bagh would later be handed to the boy’s bride on their wedding day. Worked in yellow/gold yarn on a red ground, the colours symbolise luck and fertility. The whole surface is covered with diamonds, each enclosing a smaller diamond. In especially good pieces three sizes of concentric diamond are found, the smallest again divided into quarters. The sides and ends usually show various patterns worked in several colours. To produce such a bagh could take over a year. These pieces are today regarded as family heirlooms and worn for a short time as an act of remembrance.

The original purpose of embroidery was to adorn the rough simple surface of odhinis. Gradually people began to connect some of the motifs and patterns with certain events and

ceremonies, and so the textiles acquired a religious and magical significance. In a tradition minded Punjabi family, for instance, no important ceremony was held without the offering of a specific type of phulkari by the senior woman of the family.

Many, if not most, pieces have a particular relation to parts of the marriage ceremony and married life. This fact, coupled with the rich, mainly floral motifs of the phulkari, points to an associative connection with the family’s fecundity and well-being. For example, yet another phulkari type was used for the ceremonial bath before the wedding (nahai dhoi), the filling of the clay pots (gharoli bhorna) and the mounting of the horse by the groom (ghoricharana).

The bride’s family presented the groom’s relations with baghs and phulkaris, which formed a part of the dowry. When a new mother left her room for the first time on the eleventh day after the birth of a child, she wore a phulkari. At the same time, a very large embroidered cloth – the less richly worked til patra (scattered sesame) – would be distributed to the men and women servants of the house.

The year of an Indian family is rich in festive days, for which sometimes Punjabi women wore phulkaris. Honoured guests of a house found a phulkari laid out specially as bedding, or a tablecloth. In temples and gurudwaras, walls, figures or holy writings were decorated with phulkaris or baghs. In colonial times, sometimes a bagh was presented to a British official at Christmas, together with fruit and sweetmeats. And if a woman died before her husband, a phulkari sash would be used to wrap her body.

A girl wearing a phulkari at her wedding.

GI status for phulkariThe patent information centre (PIC) of Punjab State Council for Science and Technology had filed for GI status for Phulkari in March 2005. A Mumbai-resident had filed an opposition claiming that it would affect those earning a living through this work outside Punjab. After five years of legal battle, Punjab won the case and claimed its first GI status in 2011.

The GI, first for Punjab, is relevant for Phulkari work being done in Haryana and Rajasthan. For traders and manufacturers, it means that they will have to get themselves registered to be able to deal in the traditional art work. The patent information centre (PIC) of Punjab State Council for Science and Technology would issue a logo or hologram to distinguish the product.

Phulkari in commercial zoneThe first commercial use of the Phulkari, it is believed, happened in 1882 when Maharaja Ranjit Singh signed the export contract of Phulkaris. The garment was now no longer meant for personal adoration alone.

According to the president of IGNCA, Chinmaya Gharekhan, presently there are nearly 3, 00,000 women employed in making Phulkaris in Punjab and Haryana. In modern day Punjab, there remain only a handful of pockets where embroiders, mostly women, continue to make Phulkaris. These are mostly in and around Patiala, where families from Bahawalpur near Multan (in Pakistan) settled after the Partition. The Tripuri market in Patiala is the main hub to source raw materials for the Phulkaris, a place frequented by designers, wholesale dealers and boutique owners. Though the Phulkari’s commercialisation has meant employment for thousands of women and a revival of the art, it has also led to a degradation of its quality. It is tragic that the traditional artisans now earn a pittance for their expertise.

In the old times, it used to be one woman working on a piece. So fine used to be the work, that not a stitch was out of place.

A ‘bagh’ (a shawl covered completely by design) could take up to a year to make and a

dupatta could take as many as three months. But, with industrialisation looming over them, there are now as many as four women working on a piece. They say it affects the quality of the work, but how else does one compete with machines.

The key needs stress in enterprise and income related priorities. Workers mention the need for more work and this emerges as the top most priority for the section of Phulkari workers investigated. Assistance in marketing through more information about the Phulkari trade and potentials is another need.

Phulkari today

The designs have moved from the geometrical to stylized animals and birds. The creative artists have adapted scenes from village life and domestic objects such as belan and pots apart from nature- flowing rivers, sun, moon, lotus flowers, sunflower and the rainbow. The parrot and peacocks have inspired motifs.

Over the years, the pure cotton base cloth has made way for mixed polyester, silk threads for synthetic floss and machines have taken over the labour-intensive craft. Yet, the Phulkari has regained its popularity, most recently in fashion designer Manish Malhotra collection. All it needs now is a supportive government and loyal patrons.

Jacqueline Fernandes in a Manish Malhotra outfit

Communities of women still sit together and produce their flowery dupattas , though the number of young girls trained in the craft has dwindled. Commercialization, however, has touched the rural women and their craft brings in some

remuneration. Now, it is not only dupattas and shawls that they embroider, but bed spreads, table linen and even umbrellas. The purely domestic art is now available to connoisseurs who prize it.

The Punjab government has named its state emporium after the craft and stocks excellent samples sourced from villages. It even has training and production centers in Patiala and Amritsar. The Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation gives support to the creative and skillful village artists and is trying to keep alive the tradition and the vibrant art.

To obtain faster and cheaper production a coarser and looser style of embroidery is being employed. With fast growing industries, schooling, lack of interest for manual work, profitability, etc. the textile industry today, is imitating this art with the help of machines.

Phulkari today is not as detailed or time consuming. Today the woman does the embroidery from the top of the cloth rather from the wrong side of the khaddar. Khaddar is being replaced by cotton, chiffon, georgette, crepe and synthetic. Pat threads (self hand spun) by different range of fast coloured synthetic threads and slowly people are being replaced by machines.

Today the Phulkari has reached a new level; it now serves the purpose of employment for a lot of women in Punjab. But unlike early Phulkari, today making a single Phulkari is a collaborative work between lots of people, from dealers to printers, to embroider.

Phulkari is getting a label of contemporary context. Making a Phulkari is not a single woman work anymore. Embroidering a single Phulkari involves various stages from buying the desired cloth, block print, selection of colour and then sending them to different villages to different women for embroidery.

Some other products made with Phulkari embroidery on them:

ConclusionIn conclusion, although traditional Phulkari is losing its original form; many NGOs are working on to revival it. Traditional Phulkari pieces have almost completely moved away from villages to collectors and museums. Phulkari is now made for profit as a commodity. It is being sold in both local and foreign markets. Today, the commercialization of the contemporary Phulkari has compromised its quality and durability as a traditional Phulkari of Punjab. It is now not done for personal use or as a gift. It is now done for profit that benefits the women of Punjab. The richness of this rural art was happiness which was transferred on to the cloth by the technique of embroidery with sang folk songs. A single phulkari is not made by one person; it is a collaboration of more than one person.

Today, making Phulkari is not as time consuming and detailed as the traditional, rural Phulkari. However, the traditional Phulkari looks more attractive than the contemporary Phulkari. By organizing special training programs, fairs, exhibitions and competitions, the government has been working towards the promotion of the Punjabi Phulkari. The plus side of this revival is providing work to many poor people, especially women. Now Phulkari is not only known in Punjab, it is also famous in foreign countries.

S.S. Hitkari, author of Phulkari – Folk Art of Punjab (Delhi 1980) closes his book with an optimistic look into the future:

“All that has been born must pass; it is not worth shedding tears over it. The sensitivity and creativity inbred in the Punjab women will certainly find new forms of expression. Folk art never stagnates, but always finds itself developing. So let us hope that in the course of time something as unique and as fascinating as the Phulkari will exist. Until then it remains for us to save what is left over from destruction and keep it for the new world.”

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embroideries-of-the-punjab/4/ www.wikipedia.co.in http://www.craftrevival.com/ Naik, Shailaja D.: Traditional Embroideries of India, A.P.H.

Publishing Corporation Hitkari,S.S.: Designs and Patterns in Phulkaris, Phulkari

Publications Multiple authors: Asian Embroidery, Jasleen Dhamija Daljeet, Dr : The Sikh Heritage, Prakash Books

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