Under the popular museum series ‘Exhibit of the Month’ of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, a traditional object is displayed in the appearance for a whole month. The exhibit for the month of February, 2022 - “Poothkuli” - A Traditional Shawl of Toda Tribe of the Toda Community from Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, is on display in the indoor exhibition building – Veethi Sankul. The 'exhibit of the month' was inaugurated by P. K. Mishra, Director, IGRMS, renowned people present on this occasion. This exhibit of the month had been composed and collected by P. Shankar Rao, Assistant Keeper.
About the exhibit displayed in the exhibition P. Shankar Rao, Assistant Keeper told that Toda's are a pastoral tribal community mainly inhabiting the undulating western plateau of the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu. Their traditional embroidery work is locally known as 'Pugur' which means flower and the shawl adorned with embroidery is called 'Poothkuli'. It is undoubtedly the most important and attractive component of their attire. Traditionally only the women embroidered this shawl which is made of a large piece of double cloth. It is usually worn by placing one side over the left shoulder and then throwing the whole garment round the back and over the right shoulder and across to the left shoulder. For Toda men and women wearing this shawl is not only a matter of aesthetics but also a way of carrying oneself with dignity. They are proud of their embroidery tradition.
Process of embroidery -Dramatic red and black colour scheme and geometrically precise design of Toda needle embroidery shawl make it stand in a class of its own. Needle weaving of Toda tribe is very different to the common understanding of embroidery. Each life cycle ceremony demands a particular design on the shawl and the shawl complements and completes the aesthetic eco-cultural system of their environment. Since each thread of the woven cloth has to be picked up by the needle and the embroidery thread then pass through the weave they mostly prefer coarsely woven cloth for their embroidery work.
A 4 inch-long needle is used in the way that a shuttle is on a loom and the threads are lifted and counted according to the design. The Toda women's skill especially with the hands in embroidery craft develops the pattern by counting both the weft and warp, the only way to ensure that the design does not turn out lopsided, created without the aid of a wooden frame.