saline mudflats
Rabari woman in the desert.
A sectional view of their embroidery
Rann of kutch,a vast salt marsh located in the western region of India is perhaps the harshest terrain in our subcontinent. A flat desert of saline mudflats where the earth beneath ones feet is broken and thirsting for water gets quenched seasonally during its summer monsoons. Its vast expanse is filled with standing water and its barren landscape comes to life with bright vibrant flamingoes. Speaking of flamingoes, perhaps that’s how I would describe the women of kutch, tall statuesque figures clad in colourful attires and jewellery, these women give a burst of life to their dead surrounding.
On my road trip through Gujarat this month, gujari women
carrying pots filled with water could be seen walking down the roads. Life in
the desert is tough, lack of basic amenities, poor health conditions and the
recent earthquake have severely affected the tribes of kutch, but women from here are relentless and have made their mark in India with their embroidery skills.
An article from TEHELKA (an Indian magazine) mentions “….how the embroidery and
craft pieces found in the Gujari outlets in the 80’s was an outcome of
successive years of drought and large scale migration, leaving women to
shoulder the burden. Traditionally the women of kutch kept embroidered pieces
as part of their trousseau but they have been forced to sell them. But
middlemen exploited them as tradition restricted their movements….” It was after reading this article,I decided to visit a section of kutch, so that I could get in touch directly with
these women and see their wonderful art.
My search ended when I was asked to meet Binuben by the
locals. A matriarchal figure in the village she is a widow with no children and
has dedicated her life in helping women of the Rabari, Ahir and Harijan tribes.
Despite the nomadic nature of the tribes, Binuben set up an art collective
“mahila samiti” in this rural setting enabling these women to make a living out
of their embroidery. Some destitute women stayed back with her and are helping
with her endeavors while the rest come in seasonally with new handicrafts they
have created to sell. Binuben explained to me that her efforts revolve around
enabling the women to take control of the production and process, thus making
them skilled entrepreneurs where they are in control of selling their
handicrafts. She showed me various types of embroideries that women in her
“samiti”(organization) were specialized in, which included Rabari, ahir, sindhi
banni, mutwa, ari and soof styles. Beautiful intricately sown wall-hangings,
chadars (bed-sheets ), covers, cholis (blouses) were being designed. I decided to get involved and do my bit in helping
promote their craft, after all kriya kalash is about finding artifacts from
remote corners of India and showcasing it. The story of women from kutch and
their craft needed to be told.
On my return journey I couldn’t help reflecting on how Gujarat,the
state,is on the move with industrialization taking over, but side by side live
the spirits of the nether world, the poltergeist of dead rivers and dry
wells….a land of magic with fables of ghostly lights(Chir battis) flashing through
its skies. It is here in the Rann of Kutch, impoverished women sing through
late hours of the night, after a hard day of labour, jabbing their needles expertly
into the cloth making fuchsia parrots, turquoise peacocks and geometric design
with mirrors that glitter up their tiny huts. This is the real side of India, a
rustic earnest process of creation that people of the world should witness…….
Wall-hangings made by women of kutch.
We at kriya kalash wish to help Binuben and the women of her "mahila samiti".If you like their embroidered products,samples on display above, kindly mail us at kriyakalash@gmail.com.Your contributions will be forwarded to them.
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