I
have been working with fabric and thread on and off for nearly 15
years. I have started with wall art inspired by embroidery from
Gujarat and Rajasthan. When Sindh became part of Pakistan, many
tribes from there settled in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Many of the
stitches like buttonhole, darning, chain stitch and interlace comes
from Sindh. But these women gave new meaning and design to their
threadwork. Kathi was the oldest traditional form of embroidery.
This form is linked to our many gods and demons, and our animals like
tiger, cobra, elephants and monkeys. There are floral and
geometrical motifs too.
Among
these women there is a tradition of giving and making embroidered
clothes and utility stuff as dowry. Girls learn very young to
embroider and this skill is transferred from mother to daughter. The
beauty and the skill is beyond compare. The colours, and designs,
the range and variety leaves me spell bound. The names Aari, Rabari,
Ahir and Banni, which are styles of needlework, evoke such awe in me.
These women had such hard lives, living in deserts. And yet they
create such beauty.
I
tried to make some of these. They were nice, but nothing compared to
what these women make.
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