Shershabadi women taste fame as Kheta, their impeccably precise traditional embroidery, finally finds a window to the world
Shershabadi women’s taste of fame is as follows Farm:Her Immaculately Precise Traditional Embroidery Finds A Window To The World At Last
It is astonishing to see Tajgada Khatoon and Sharifa Khatoon weaved on cotton pieces with their own sensory experience of nature. they guess Lahuri (river waves) and ketchuli (earthworm) Pattern with just a needle and a cotton thread. Without any measuring tools, accuracy is impeccable, and the runners, throws, and quilts they make excel.
In their 50s, Tajgada and Sharifa are only two of the immensely talented Shershabadi women from Bihar’s Kishanganj district whose embroidery work is said to be. Farm:Has earned a discerning clientele in the last four to five years.
first exhibition
The first exhibition of this nearly five-century-old undocumented craft is currently on display at the National Crafts Museum in Delhi. Organized by NCM in association with Zameen Astar Foundation and Azad India Foundation, the artist who is barely literate, speaks in Bengali and has traveled to Delhi for the first time in his life.
They were glad that their craft, which had been part of their community for centuries, which was used to make gifts for their daughters at the time of marriage, has finally found a window to the world. It also helps them to achieve some monetary independence and gives them a certain level of agency in their patriarchal existence.
In Arvadi, their village, Tajagada, says that most girls are taught the intricacies Farm: from a young age. The art works created by her are “presented” to the prospective groom and his family during a wedding. They are also given as gifts at the time of delivery. “We never knew the outside world would be interested in our art,” she says.
For poor people like him, Sharifa says, Farm: There was a way to re-use old sarees and clothes. She was keen to change the traditional a flower, four flowers, nine flowers Pattern – Inspired by botanicals, flower clusters and dove shavings.
According to oral history, Sher Shah Suri, who ousted the Mughals in 1540 to establish the Suri Empire, conquered lands as far as the delta region of Bangladesh. The local Pashtun ruler gave some land near Malda district to his Afghan foot soldiers to celebrate his victory. After Sher Shah’s death, the soldiers married local women and came to be called Shershabadis. They were not accepted by the Mughals or the British army. Margined and persecuted, they migrated west for centuries. For a long time they had little land, but now they have settled in the flood plains of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
Ashraful Haque, one of the few graduates in the village who coordinates with artisans and has been instrumental in finding work for women, says the monetization of the craft in recent years has helped her find a voice in her conservative community. is of. “They are able to earn ₹3,000-₹4,000 per month and are keen to learn new motifs,” he says.
He says that the younger generation is not interested in this. “In a family, most of the women know the craft, but not all of them are practicing it. Plus, they haven’t been making it through the year. They make use of the time between agricultural seasons, and also make them during weddings or family births. ,
Soumya Pandey, Head Curator of the Department of Fashion at the Indian Institute of Art and Design, New Delhi says Sujani And Kantha Were Farm:Country cousin of eastern India. “The most extraordinary facts about Farm: is that although the embroidery stitch is linear (the thread runs vertically) the patterns come out diagonally. It involves an intuitive visual calculation.”
Farm: There is a textile art form that is felt through the hands and feet. Women literally go over layers when stitching. There is no space for motifs (no central medallion, no corner contours, no borders) but a thread running from one end of the layered sarees to the other.
Labour intensive
“The treatment is linear, to create very dense patterns that run from edge to edge. Four-five layers of old, worn-out sarees are layered together so that they can be embroidered,” says Ms. Pandey .
Ms. Pandey, cofounder of the Zameen Astar Foundation, which has been working closely with Shershabadi women, says that since then Farm: It is very laborious, women work on it after all the household chores are done. “It is the hallmark of the community that has kept the craft alive. It takes several months to embroider each piece. These quilts were essentially made for use at home. It is only in recent times that ZAF has made them into bed covers, throws and runners to promote this unspecified craft. For the first time, they added a ‘price’ to the textile.” Women never saw it as something that could make them money, she says. “Now, they like to have cash on hand. Previously, they were accountable to men for the money spent. Initially, men used to negotiate the price, but now we talk directly to the women,” says Ms. Pandey.
ZAF is also seeking GI status for the same. Farm: Because embroidery is specific to a community and region. “Furthermore, the craft has remained largely undocumented. Academic writing, talks, presentations and museum exhibitions are underway to create awareness. We hope that with GI status, it will be a practiced craft for a long time in the younger generation. We hope to involve government agencies for training and skill development of the craft,” says Ms. Pandey.