Kutch craftspersons
Picking up the threads of their lives
By Priya Pandey

WHEN Kutch crumbled on January 26, many feared that the enormous human tragedy due to the quake would be compounded with the collapse of Gujarat’s unique textile tradition. All surviving weavers, embroiders, dyers and printers were out on the streets.

Yet to recover from the catastrophe, the craftspersons are just about managing to make the most of the food and shelter being provided to them by relief agencies. But whether they would be able to live up to their reputation as suvasas (makers of good cloth), is anybody’s guess.

The people of Kutch are hardy and have transformed the wind-blown arid expanse of their homeland into what is recognised as the Mecca of Indian Textiles. The region itself, according to one interpretation, draws its name from a word that signifies "land with the strength of the sea".

"There is not a single family in Kutch that does not practise one craft or the other," says Ritu Patel, a textile designer, who has worked with printers and dyers in the region for over a decade. "These people are really gifted. Art and craft is in their blood".

It is from here that the East India Company used to export beeswax and wooden blocks for batik prints. Ingredients like turmeric and pomegranate are still used in the preparation of dyes.

The coarse raw-silk shawls woven here are collectors’ items today. Besides, there are those exquisite bandhini (tie-‘n’-dye) dupattas and yokes and patches with radiant applique work, which have infiltrated into wardrobes across the globe.

But it is the breathtaking range of embroidery — produced so effortlessly by nimble-fingered ‘women of the house’ on hot afternoons — that makes Kutch one of the craftcapitals of the world. Kashmir and Rajasthan also boast of ancient embroidery traditions, but neither can beat Kutch in quality and variety.

"Every village has its own distinct style and technique," Patel points out. "So by the time you travel from one part of Kutch to another, you will have at least a dozen different versions of the same embroidery form or tradition."

The Kutch women’s extraordinary skills in needlework are explained by an age-old custom that is linked to the marriage rituals of the region. Once the marriage is fixed, young women start embroidering in earnest, preparing for their dowry.

The dowry can be mind-boggling. It could involve up to 30 bodices, a dozen lehngas, any number of dupattas or odhnis, besides items for the house like pillowcovers, quilt covers and table linen.

"It could take up to 20 years for having all the stuff ready," informs Sanjay Rathod, a researcher in craft traditions. "In 1995, one of the three dominant sects among the Kutch people, the Dhebaria Rabaris, had decided to do away with this social evil by banning embroidery. But little heed was paid to this ban."

Rathod points out that over the past decade, an element of commercialisation has entered the craft traditions as fashion designers from Bombay and Delhi have begun dictating styles and motifs. Rather than giving vent to their creative impulses, the craftspersons are guided by market forces now.

Consequently, there was a phase when mirror-work creations for western outfits used to be churned out by every household. Then came a phase of rogan printing, which was short-lived. And when the earthquake came, ahir embroidery was most in demand.

Says Hiralal Dayal, a contractor who works with 2,500 embroiders across 120 villages: "The people of Kutch are incredibly strong. Ironically, it was their poverty that saved many lives during the earthquake. Their houses, which were made of mud and jute, simply collapsed, but did not kill them."

Such is the pride in their heritage that in many areas, the quake victims are refusing to accept even a packet of sugar and are demanding work instead. In Bhujodi, weavers have surrendered tents and blankets and are requesting relief workers to replace their broken looms.

"We met an ahir worker with her three daughters in a makeshift tent at Dhaneti," says a relief worker. "She had lost all the male members of her family in the quake. She refused to accept any money, but asked us to provide her some place to store her embroidery!" — (MF)