At a recently concluded exhibition, artist Sunaina Suneja brought forth the myriad forms of Phulkari art. She tells A Mishra that she has been collecting since the past two decades
It started off as more of a wedding trousseau but now phulkari garments are more than that. It was believed that the motifs were expressive of a bride’s emotions and the number ofphulkari pieces defined the status of the family. Threads of yellow, red, orange brighten up the intricate embroideries that form the essence of a phulkari work.
A display of phulkari works was recently held at India International Centre by Sunaina Suneja titled Phulkari — The Journey of a Craft Revival. Suneja, who has been working, for the last two decades, towards the revival of the craft said, “I have been collecting phulkari from past 20 years and till now I am able to collect only 14.” The exhibit displayed the various designs of the art.
Odhnis, in which the base fabric is visible, is known asphulkari whereas those, which are densely embroidered to barely reveal the fabric, are called Bagh. Handmade embroidery or the folk craft, phulkari, takes at least an hour to complete one motif. With this only we can calculate how time taking is to make a full odhni or chadar.
“In 2008, I got the opportunity to work with an income- generation project for women called Nabha Foundation which is located in Patiala,” said Suneja. “I wanted to do it in old way or traditional way, so, I went to the villages of Punjab and met the women there. They showed their interest in the project and became a part of it,” she added.
She rued the fact that today, the craft has been commercialised. She is doing her best for the revival of the traditional way of working on a phulkari piece. And for that she is working closely with craftswomen at the grass root level and also makes the design.
“There are hundred 100 women who are taking training from me and now they are highly skilled in the craft. Till now, I have given training to more than 500-600 women,” she added.
We were told how earlier women used to trace the design on the cloth and then followed with the design. “But the training which I am giving to women is to make phulkari without tracing,” she pointed out.
There was aphulkari work called Sona-Chandi. Suneja explained that the work was actually a bar which has been given the effect of gold and silver. We have used white and yellow thread in it, and it can also be called as Sun and the Moon.
Elaborating more about the art, she explained, “Phulkari’s identification is its rectangular motifs. The whole embroidery is done on one motif. Sometimes it can be in a circle, sometimes in square or half of the square, depending upon the design you want to make.” Interestingly, even today it is a gender based work because only women engage in it. “Women do phulkari because they like it. Men, on the other hand, participate in the embroidery only when it becomes a source of income for them,” Suneja said and pointed out the obvious that earlierphulkari were made on odhnis or dupattas and for their own use, it was never meant for business and was never sold in the market.