Though the people of two Lambadi Thandas (settlements) and one street in Sittilingi in Dharmapuri have long ago taken to wearing outfits common in Tamil Nadu, the elderly women of this tribal community continue to wear the Petia, their traditional five-piece dress, to remind the younger generations of their past.
Neela and Gammi, who are now in their 70s, two members of the community, along with gynaecologist Lalitha Regi have been working to keep alive the art of traditional Tamil Lambadi embroidery that was revived 15 years ago. Their organisation, Porgai Artisan Association Society, with 60 plus women, has been making and selling embroidered clothes to ensure that there is awareness about the art form and that it is passed onto the next generation.
Revathi, an embroidery artist at Porgai Lambadi hand embroidery exhibition in Alwarpet, Chennai on October 29, 2023 | Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran
The traditional Tamil Lambadi embroidery designs are all geometrical patterns with squares, rectangles, and circles. They have also been influenced by the local forests, birds, fruits and flowers. “These are not the same as those of the Banjaras in Andhra Pradesh or the Lambanis in Karnataka. Ours is more filled in, though the stitches, 42 of them, are quite similar. We don’t use mirrors as much as the others do,” explained Dr. Lalitha, who along with her husband Dr. Regi and a team of 70 people, run a 30-bed hospital in Sittilingi Valley for the tribals.
Revathy Ilangovan, a Lambadi who is a member of the Porgai, says she started learning embroidery some 15 years ago from Neela Amma. “They give us handloom cloth and according to the requirements of customers, we embroider the patterns. The work is done at our homes and sent to the office. We also make embroidery for our use now. Though our people stopped wearing the Petias some two or three generations ago, now after the revival, every house has at least one set of Petia made with Mushru silk from Kutch. On festive occasions like Deepavali and the annual temple festival for the Oor Saami that happens in May, you can see many of us in clothes with traditional embroidery,” she explained.
Neela Amma, as she is called, who continues to train the young Lambadis, said that training of youngsters should be done continuously. “It is with great difficulty that our art form has been revived and it should be kept alive. I keep telling the 100-odd girls that we have trained that they should teach their children,” she explained.
Dr. Lalitha said that marketing of the products has to be done continuously. “It is not easy to have a regular market for these products, which include sarees, blouses, shirts, stoles, dupattas, dresses for girl children. A regular market to sell these items would be helpful. We sell them at exhibitions selling other craft products in Chennai and Bengaluru,” she said.
