Phulkãri and Bagh : A cultural history
by Timpy Aulakh
Phulkari, a traditional embroidery art, is well known for its intricate designs and bright cheerful colours worn by Punjabi women on special occasions and ceremonies. The word ‘Phulkãri’ is made of two words Phul and Kãri, where Phul means flower and Kãri means technique, denoting the technique of making flowers with needle and thread. Some scholars feel that the art of Phulkãri came from Iran where it is known as Gulkãri. There are references to phulkãri in Vedas, Mahabharat, Guru Granth Sahib and the folk songs of Punjab. In its present form, phulkãri embroidery has been popular since the 15th century AD, but the art probably reached its zenith in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is a form of craft in which embroidery is done in a simple and sparse design over shawls and dupattas. In some cases where the design is worked over very closely, covering the material entirely so that the base cloth is not visible, it is called bagh (a garden of flowers).
The dating of these embroideries poses a great difficult. It cannot be said with certainty when the first phulkãri was made; indeed no example is known today which can be positively dated to earlier than the 1820s. Even one hundred years old phulkãris are very rare. Though the textiles themselves might not have survived - due to natural wear and tear and the effects of Indian climate, the best among such embroideries available today were probably made between 1870 and 1920. Museums in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Lahore and London include many baghs and phulkãris among their acquisitions.
Little is known about the true source of this textile art. Tools such as bronze needles as well as sculpted and painted representations of textiles enable us to trace the Indian embroidery tradition back to at least Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus civilisation. Some of the fabrics depicted in early medieval paintings in the Ajanta Caves are very similar in design to phulkãri embroideries (see John Irwin and Margaret Hall, Indian Embroideries, Ahmedabad 1973, p.1). However, apart from a small square chamba style rumãl reputed to have been embroidered around 1500 by Guru Nanak's sister Bebe Nanaki, and an embroidered shawl (shamla) dated to 1580, we know of no extant Punjabi embroideries that can be attributed to the 16th century or earlier. Both these textiles are preserved in Sikh holy places in the Punjab, in Gurdaspur and Jalandhar respectively.
It appears that this art originated in the Punjab. Before Partition in 1947, the Punjab was populated by Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims; but phulkãri and bagh embroideries were predominantly the work of the first two communities. In olden days a good number of women in villages were skilled in this art, which was purely a domestic art. Traditionally, phulkãris and baghs were never sold in the markets as they were only woven by the women of the house for their personal use. Commercial work began only in 1882, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh agreed to the first export contract for phulkãris. Demand grew towards the end of the 19th century, around the time of the Punjab Exhibition of 1881 in London. During the same period, a severe drought in Punjab forced many families to sell their old embroideries. Thereafter an even greater market was found in the West for baghs and phulkãris and other objects decorated in this style, among them purses, curtains, and assorted covers. New patterns and colour combinations were developed, including the so-called `Manchester' and `Jubilee' baghs.
There were no pattern books or catalogues from which designs could be copied. Rather, these were 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. Specially created designs varied from village to village or region to region in Punjab and were given suitable names descriptive of their form.
Sitting on the charpoys pulled into the protective shade of a tree, or ensconced against a wall, women in villages and small towns all over Punjab are often busy creating spectacular flower-embroidery on dupattas, shawls or other garments.
The embroidery of phulkãri and bagh is done in long and short darn stitch, which is used for innumerable designs and patterns. It is the skilful manipulation of this single stitch that lends an interesting and characteristic dimension to this needlework. While the stitch itself is uncomplicated, the quality of the phulkãri depends upon the size of the stitch. The smaller the stitch, the finer the embroidery. The threads originally used were of a silk yarn called patt. In the past, the silk threads were brought in from different parts of India, like Kashmir and Bengal and also from Afghanistan and China. A main characteristic of phulkãri embroidery is the use of darn stitch on the wrong side of coarse cotton cloth with coloured silken thread. Punjabi women created innumerable alluring and interesting designs and patterns by their skilful manipulation of the darn stitch. The base khaddar cloth used in Western Punjab is finer than that found in Central Punjab. Bright colours are always preferred and, among these golden yellow, red, crimson, orange, green, blue, dark and pink are the most popular. Black and blue shades are not preferred in West Punjab, whereas white is not used in East Punjab. In West Punjab, two or three pieces of cloth are first folded and joined together. Sometimes ornaments are also stitched into the design and even a special thread made of gold has been used besides the usual silk thread.
Only a single strand was used at a time, each part worked in one colour. Shading and variation were not done by using various colours of thread. Instead, the effect was obtained by the dexterous use of horizontal, vertical and diagonal stitches. This resulted in giving the illusion of more than one shade under the play of light and when was viewed from different angles.
The cloth primarily used and preferred by the women, was the home-spun, locally woven and dyed khadi. It was strong, long-lasting, and cheap and served the purpose of keeping the wearer warm during winters. Another reason was that the embroidery involved the counting of threads while doing the straight darn stitch. The coarse weave made this task easier. In addition, the thick cloth did not pucker and pull and could be worked upon without a frame. Usually, pieces of small width, about 45 to 60 centimeters, were worked on separately and the two or three strips were joined together to form the required size.
To keep the embroidered part clean while working on the cloth, the finished portion was rolled and covered with a muslin cloth.
Beginning with geometrical patterns, flowers and leaves, the repertoire of motifs was constantly enlarged. Birds, animals and human figures and objects of everyday use were inducted, along with vegetables, pots, buildings, rivers, the sun and the moon, scenes from rural life, and other imagery. Phulkãris and baghs came to be embroidered in a stunning range of exquisite designs. In dhoop chhaon, which literally means ‘sun and shade’, an amazing interactive display of light and shade was created. The designs remained earthy and true to life. There was dhaniya bagh (coriander garden), motia bagh (jasmine garden), satranga bagh (rainbow garden), leheria bagh (garden of waves) and many other depictions.
Today the most intricate and sought after phulkãris are the sainchi phulkãris, which bring scenes from rural Punjab to life. An incredible wealth of detail is embroidered on cloth. With time, the phulkãris became closely interwoven with the lives of the women of Punjab. The joys, sorrows, hopes, dreams and yearnings of the young girls and women who embroidered the phulkãris were often transferred onto cloth. Many folk songs grew out of this expressive combination of skills and intense feelings. So, it is that one hears a young woman whose betrothed has not sent the promised message to her, murmuring sadly and softly as she embroiders peacocks on a phulkãri. It was not long before phulkãri folk songs became a part of the famous, pulsating folk dances of Punjab - giddha and bhangra.
As mentioned earlier, the women of Punjab created phulkãri mostly for their personal use. The cycle began with the young girl who followed her mother's chores and learned household work including this embroidery. When the girl got married, phulkãri formed a part of her bridal trousseau. If a son was born to her, her mother would start preparing a vari da bagh (bagh of the trousseau), a gift she would present to her grand daughter-in-law. The bagh was considered a symbol of marriage; among the wealthy families, as many as fifty-one pieces of various designs were sometimes given to the bride. She, in turn, wore them on auspicious occasions. In some parts of the Punjab, it was customary to drape the new mother with a bagh on the eleventh day after the birth of her child, the day she left the maternity room for the first time.
Phulkãris were also made for religious ceremonies or to be used on other festive occasions. A phulkãri is also sometimes used as a canopy over Guru Granth Sahib. However, religious themes and subjects were never embroidered into phulkãri.
There are different varieties of phulkãris and baghs made in Punjab. The chhopé, usually presented to the bride by her grandmother during a ceremony before the wedding, is embroidered with straight, two-sided line stitch and appears the same on the reverse. Only the border is embroidered and the center is left plain. It is usually red in colour and worn as a veil. Vari-da-bagh is also on a red cloth with golden yellow embroidery symbolising happiness and fertility. The entire cloth is covered in a lozenge design with smaller ones within the border and is again intricately worked in different colours. Ghunghat bagh or sari-pallau (covering for the head) has a small border on all four sides. In the center on each side, in the part which covers the head, a large triangular motif is worked. Bãwan bagh (which means ‘fifty two’ in Punjabi) has as many geometrical patterns. The bãwan bagh is very rare as only a few women were able to craft this kind. The field is subdivided into 42 or 48 rectangles, each containing a different multi-coloured motif. The remaining four or ten motifs are placed on the sides or in end borders. Darshan dwãr (the gate offering a view of the deity) is usually for presentation in temples or for adorning the walls of the home when Guru Granth Sahib is brought to a home. The gate motif has been inspired by the arched verandahas of the temples. It is, again, always on a red cloth. The architectural design depicts two outer panels of a gate with arched tops. The bases face each other with motifs of humans, animals, birds, flowers etc., giving the impression of passing through a crowded street. Subher is a Phulkãri worn by a bride during marriage ceremonies. It comprises five motifs, one in the center and one each in the four corners. Chamba is a hybrid Phulkãri having a series of wavy creepers, stylised leaves and flowers. Besides this, the designs inspired by various day-to-day items, fauna and flora around the people found their way into this craft. Surajmukhi (sunflower) is a cross between a chhopé and ordinary bagh in dazzling yellow.
Mor or tota is one that has a peacock or parrot motif. Mirchi, as the name suggests, has chillies in red, orange or green, usually on brown. Belan and parantha symbolize the rolling pin and leavened bread. Ikka or ace of diamonds has been inspired by the playing cards. Satrang is a seven-coloured phulkãri. Jewellery items like bangles, earrings, etc., are also embroidered. At times, a snake was embroidered, shown to be guarding a treasure. Another type popular in Haryana was the Sheeshédar, in which small, round, matt-dull mirror pieces were included in the embroidered motifs.
A new form of phulkãri is being embroidered these days. It is not as detailed or time-consuming as the older variety. Using a range of different fast-coloured synthetic threads, it is embroidered on top of the cloth rather than on the reverse.
The [East] Punjab Government's Emporium, called Phulkãri, boasts of the best collection of this form of embroidery in the country. Their substantial variety of these original pieces has been gathered from different villages in the state. Many of these are being exported, especially to the Middle East.
Works Cited
Beste, Michael. Hopes and Dreams: Phulkãri and Bagh from the Punjab. Hali Magazine, December 2000.
Hitkari, S.S. Phulkãri: Folk Art of Punjab. New Dehli: Phulkãri Publications, 1990.
John Irwin and Margaret Hall. Indian Embroideries. Ahmedabad: Calico Museum of Textiles, 1973.
www.saadapunjab.com
about the author
Artist and art collector Timpy Aulakh lives in Windsor, Canada.
[Courtesy South Asian Ensemble, Vol 3 No 3; Summer 2011. Email: sae@gmail.com]