Saturday, September 20, 2003
M A I N   F E A T U R E


TRADITIONAL CRAFT
 Sober shades brighten future of phulkari
Gurvinder Kaur

A woman engaged in phulkari work in Tripuri
A woman engaged in phulkari work in Tripuri

UPROOTED by the hate wave which swept the subcontinent during Partition, thousands of migrants from Pakistan have ironically found their very means of survival and even prosperity in a craft left behind by their Muslim counterparts. Scores of "refugees" made beggars overnight by the division of the country found refuge in phulkari — a style of embroidery comprising long and short darn stitches woven into floral patterns.

In Patiala and the surrounding areas, where this craft once flourished, it is no longer considered fashionable to wear suits and dupattas with bright phulkari embroidery. The traditional colours used for the embroidery — magenta, orange and red — are no longer thought to be attractive. In fact, phulkari is also considered expensive as a good quality embroidered dupatta can cost about Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 or even more. However a fondness for the craft felt by Punjabis settled in cities outside Punjab as well as a large number of Muslims in the country and outside ensures a steady demand for it.

 


The craft remains the mainstay of the Bahawalpur community, which migrated from Pakistan during Partition. Muslims of the same caste were engaged in this embroidery prior to their flight to Pakistan. Thousands of members of this community were settled in a separate township created for them in Patiala city called Tripuri by the erstwhile ruler of Patiala, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh.

At least one woman, if not more, of each household in the mini township of Tripuri is engaged in this work. Rows of manjis (jute cots) laden with women working on phulkari designs greet you in the alleys and bylanes of the area in the evenings. Deepak Kumar, whose family members are engaged in phulkari work, says members of the Bahawalpur community continue with the embroidery irrespective of their present income or the rates given to them for their labour.

Gradually over a period of time, improvisation and innovation has crept into the traditional craft. The bright colours are being replaced by subdued strains. Phulkari designs with sober colours are very popular with Indians settled in the USA, Canada and the UK.

Though this craft is the source of livelihood of thousands in the city, few craftspersons have been able to take full advantage of its popularity oversees. Trading houses in Delhi dominate the export scene.

Cost remains a prohibitive factor in the rise of the popularity of the craft locally. Phulkari with its sindhuri booti requires extensive labour. A dupatta with a phulkari design ranges from Rs 150 to Rs 5000. The cost of labour alone for a good dupatta falls between Rs 800 and Rs 900. Embroidered suits are more popular than the dupattas as they are relatively less expensive. In the princely times, a startling range of products were decorated with phulkari motifs — slippers, purses, juttis, fans, handkerchieves and even parasols. Now too the embroidery is not just restricted to suits and dupattas but is also found in bedspreads, tablecloths, purses, pankhis (fans), jackets and caps. In fact, the old tradition of giving away the bride covered in a bagh still continues in Punjab, specially among the land-owning families of the state.

Meanwhile, such is the demand for the embroidery outside Punjab that thousands of craftspersons in the city are assured of work the year round. Though the trader gets the lion’s share of the profits, the average worker can earn anything between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 per month.

With an increasing trend towards ethnic wear and with the improvisation in the traditional craft, the fortunes of these phulkari workers may well be on the road to even more prosperity.

They have made a difference

Darshana TanejaDARSHANA Taneja and Rekha Mann have both contributed to the revival of phulkari. Darshana Taneja, who belongs to the Bhawalpur community, has made a quantum leap in the last eight years by innovative use of hues and motifs traditionally used in the craft. Today, she is one of the largest suppliers of embroidered suits and dupattas in the region with clients as far based as in Bombay, Pune and Bangalore.

With almost 500 women working for her, she has set up the Darshana Women Cooperative Phulkari and Handicrafts Society. The mantra for her success, she says, has been only hard work and continuous improvisation.

Rekha MannRekha Mann, another women entrepreneur, has a different story to tell. A new entrant on the phulkari scene almost a decade ago, Rekha did not have any previous experience in the craft. She has also set up a society, wherein women get trained in the craft to establish their own units. Today she is a name to reckon with in the world of phulkari. She has branched out into bedcovers, curtains, sarees, table linen, file covers, caps, jackets, purses, pankhis and other articles of domestic use. She mostly uses the non-conventional pastel colours in her craft instead of the strong hues which dominated phulkari till some time ago.