Land owners in Punjab and Haryana embroidered Phulkari shawls for the women who worked in their houses to wrap themselves in the winter; women would dip the shawl in the holy waters of the Ganga or Yamuna and set it aside to cover their bodies when they died; if a woman gave birth to a son, the paternal grandmother made her a Phulkari shawl when her husband brought her and the new-born home…the Phulkari, an embroidery technique in which the women of Punjab and Haryana are masters at, is a constant presence in the lives of the people of the region. Indian textile art historian Jasleen Dhamija is set to narrate the history of the fabric at her talk this evening as part of the Crafts Council of India’s (CCI) golden jubilee celebrations.
The 81-year-old, an expert in the handloom and handicraft traditions of our country, spent her life studying the techniques of master craftsmen and women who spin art out of threads, needles, and the loom. “Nowhere in the world do you see such a variety of handlooms and handicrafts,” observes Dr. Dhamija.
Born in the “very quiet and beautiful” Abbottabad, Dhamija moved to Delhi as a little girl in 1940. Her father, a contractor, would bring home interesting craft pieces from his travels across the country — these artefacts drew her. As a young woman, Dhamija says she was “disobedient and independent and got involved in the Leftist Movement”. Her father hence instructed her to stay at home. This presented new possibilities to the young Dhamija. “I would make bags and lamps and sell it to the Cottage Industries Emporium,” she recalls. Thus began her tryst with handlooms and handicrafts.
Dhamija went on to work with social reformer Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, popularly known as the ‘Mother of Handicrafts’. “I've never looked back since,” she says. She has worked for the development of rural industries and women’s empowerment in Iran as part of her job in the U.N., developed craft practices by women in 21 countries in Africa, worked closely with craftspersons in Indonesia, Thailand, the Balkans… the many years she spent taking in the craft traditions of countries across the world gave her fascinating insights into their cultures. In Africa, for instance, “it’s taboo for men to do pottery,” she smiles. Weaving too is a woman’s job. “I can look at a piece of textile and give you its history.” Dhamija calls this the “non-verbal language” of the master craftsmen.
Are these craftsmen, however, getting their due? “The weaver earns nothing. We are not willing to pay the price — we grumble,” says Dhamija. It takes three shuttles and two men to create the contrasting border in a Kanjeevaram silk sari, she adds.
The Phulkari too, has faced difficult times. The embroidery form “became more or less extinct,” she says. “Nobody promoted these.” Dhamija is doing just that by telling the story behind the craft through her exhibition ‘The Sacred Grid’ as part of CCI’s event. “We are making a presentation of the range of embroideries used for ritual purposes,” she explains. The show will feature ‘bagh’ (garden), fabrics completely covered with intricate ‘phul’ or flower, embroidery that tends to “glow”. ‘The Sacred Grid’ refers to multiple warps and wefts on the fabric, based on which the mandala, the earliest form of worship was built.
“The bagh is an abstraction of the emotions of women,” explains Dhamija. In them, we see the women themselves...and what they long for.
‘The Sacred Grid’ is on at Amethyst, Royapettah at 6 p.m. today.
