Phulkari

Product Information

This pulkari is made on blue base fabric as per its name. Small flowers are embroidered with yellow and red silken thread. According to Blurton (2003), "angular satin-stitch baghs (shawls) and phulkaris (shawls similar to baghs, but less heavily embroidered)" up to 20 pieces would form part of a brides dowry. The items would be gifted by the bride's father, uncles and mother-in-law. Blurton further states that it took many years for the baghs and phulkaris to be embroidered. Traditionally women would begin to embroider the bhagh when their grandsons were born to be give to their future brides. [6] This phulkari has a lotus in the center with birds and animals in the field depicting the universe.

Traditional Crafts of Haryana - Ek Dum Desi Traditional Crafts of Haryana - Ek Dum Desi

Various shades of red color are mostly used for the base fabric because of the sense of auspiciousness attached with this color. Other popular colors are blue and its various shades. White is used for elderly ladies. Embroidery is done with the use of colors, such as golden yellow, crimson, orange, blue, violet, green, dark brown, and white. The beauty of phulkari is enhanced by using shiny silk thread that produces an illusion of more than one shade of the color. There are several non-profits in Punjab that promote Phulkari to empower women by providing a source of livelihood. The Nabha Foundation launched the Phulkari Traditional Craft Program in 2007 [31] to "empower the marginalized rural woman, generate sustainable home based employment." The Phulkari Makers of Bassi Pathana [32] is a financially independent self-group which evolved from the vocational training initiatives at Mehar Baba Charitable Trust in 2009. Artisan markets like Dilli Haat [33] in New Delhi feature stalls by India several National Award winners like Mrs. Lajwanti Devi from Patiala who was awarded the Rashtrapati Award in 1995 for her embroidery. [34] Phulkari products can also be found at occasional bazaars at Dastkar, [35] at Diwali melas, at the Lota Shop at the National Crafts Museum [36] in New Delhi, the Punjab Handloom Emporium in Ludhiana, [37] and in some private chains like 1469. [38] Garg (2017) in her study of the prevalence of the Phulkari craft in Punjab (India) notes that there are various units set up in Patiala district where mainly women reported that they have been carrying on the work set up by their mothers and grandmothers. The respondents also stated that Phulkari work was particularly carried out after the arrival of refugees in Patiala after 1947 from West Punjab. [39] Over the last month I have been reading ‘Phulkari’ by Harman Kaur, a collection of poetry and prose put into print for this poetess’ debut work. Available to buy online, ‘Phulkari’ is an English language anthology created by a young, barely twenty-something, turbaned female residing on the west coast of Canada. Occupying a space and time that sees its fair share of violence, minority-bashing, and community organising, I was intrigued to read her insights – how would she balance out the Sikh, Punjabi, Canadian and Milennial influences that pervade a generation’s lives? The craft of Sculpture making is concentrated around central and northern parts of the state. Like in other states, Gods formed the basis of sculpture in ancient Haryana.

Panchranga Bagh: Panchranga means ‘five colors’ and so, this type of phulkari is decorated with chevrons of five different colors. As the Phulkari embroidery consists of symmetrical designs, the person doing the embroidery has to count the number of stitches on each side and then proceed with the design. Hence, this whole traditional process of making a Phulkari is very long and tedious and it requires a great amount of effort and time. With time, people have moved on to different techniques and different fabrics like chiffon, georgette, silk, and regular cotton to make their Phulkaris. Motifs were crafted either from imagination or more often, borrowed from the immediate environment. Therefore, names such as belan(rolling pin), kakri(cucumber) or even chandrama(moon), and satranga(7 colours) are common motifs recognized in the phulkari parlance even today. Animals, flowers, trees, and folklore depicted in the embroideries are all resonant of a shared culture. Phulkari motifs and designs 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. And so, phulkari became an expression of the embroiderer’s feelings, hopes and dreams. Museums in India and Pakistan can do more to use phulkaris as a vehicle to tell the story of their shared culture. The Partition Museum in Amritsar references this within their exhibit. Showcasing phulkaris from the East and West Punjab, it highlights the difference in their development. But at the same, it gives to the youth of India and Pakistan—those who have grown up imagining themselves inheritors of distinct pasts—a common ground to share experiences. In its present form, Phulkari embroidery has been popular since the 15th century. [14] Pal (1960) believes that no matter its origin, Phulkari work is distinctive and uniquely Punjabi. [4] Fabrics [ edit ] Photograph of a Patiala Punjabi woman in Phulkari, ca.1900

Phulkari Embroidery: Origin, Types and Techniques Phulkari Embroidery: Origin, Types and Techniques

It was a little too insta poetry for me - a lot of space was wasted on bite size poems that could be better described as tweets or insta captions. I read it in the span of a 30 min tube ride…and I was actively trying to read it slowly lol Kaur, Rajinder and Gupta, Ila (2016) The Implementation of Phulkari Embroidert pattern in Interior Decoration in Understanding Built Environment: Proceedings of the National Conference on Sustainable Built Environment 2015. Springer [8] Service, Tribune News. "The past and present of Phulkari". Tribuneindia News Service . Retrieved 1 February 2020. Kaur, Rajinder and Gupta, Ola (2014) Phulkari and Bagh folk art of Punjab: a study of changing designs from traditional to contemporary timePhulkari utilized khaddar/khadi as the base fabric. This base fabric was available in three varieties, such as khaddar, which was loosely spun and coarsely woven; chaunsa khaddar, a comparatively better variety; and halwan, a light weight and finely woven khadi fabric. The average size of the phulkari and bagh is about 230 x 138 cm. The fascinating feature of the embroidery is that it is made of single thread offering a flat appearance to the design. This embroidery enhances the grace of Kashmiri shawl, saris, and other dress materials. Phulkari ( Punjabi: ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ) refers to the folk embroidery of the Punjab. Although Phulkari means floral work, the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes. It is locally known as Swang in Haryana, is another integral form of art in the state’s culture. Usually performed in rural areas, Swang is complete with folklore, music and, narration. This is a rural folk drama depicting mythological and modern tales of love, sacrifice, humor etc.