'The embroidered cloth' Exploring folk embroideries of Bihar-a medium of expression

‘the embroidered cloth’ Exploring folk embroideries of Bihar¾a medium of expression

Smriti Prasad Royal College of Art MA Textile (Mixed Media) Year: 2018 Tutor: Tanveer Ahmed Word count: 7961 (excluding contents, acknowledgements, list of illustrations, appendix, footnotes, notes and bibliography).

‘the embroidered cloth’

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Contents Acknowledgements

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List of Illustrations

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Glossary

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1. Introduction

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1.1 The embroidered handkerchief

2. A glimpse from the past

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2.1 From the beginning 2.2 Women and embroidery in Bihar 2.3 She threads the needle¾a relationship

3. Case studies

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3.1 Khatwa wall hanging 3.2 Pebble stream sari 3.3 Garam masala chai series

4. Research Methodology 4.1 Research questions 4.2 Primary and secondary research 4.3 Use of terminology 4.4 Reliability and limitations

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5. The embroidered belongings

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5.1 The handkerchief and cap 5.2 The embroidered red tablecloth 5.3 Stories from our hometown

6. Conclusion and recommendations

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Appendix

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Notes

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Bibliography

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Acknowledgements Many thanks to the interviewees for being so generous in sharing their treasured possessions, images and contributing their views for this dissertation.

I thank my tutors Tanveer Ahmed and Dr. James Machine for their continuous guidance and support.

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List of Illustrations Figure 1: Me sitting on a swing wearing a school uniform with a pinned embroidered handkerchief, Dehradun, 1995.1 Figure 2: Illustration of Yaksha, wearing embroidered cloth as a lower garment.2 Figure 3: Sculpture of Yakshini, wearing embroidered cloth.3 Figure 4: Map of Bihar showing art and craft clusters.4 Figure 5: Bone needle at Neolithic Chirand site, North Bihar, India.5 Figure 6: Silk wall hanging (Khatwa), Patna, Bihar, North-east India, Adithi NGO, 2002.6 Figure 7: An old sujini design depicting birds, animals and florals.7 Figure 8: ‘Pebble stream sari’ (first from right) at 'The fabric of India' exhibition, V&A Museum, 2015-16.8

Smriti Prasad Srivastava, ‘Dehradun’, [Facebook], 2012 <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289195757851257&set=a.135474239890077.23739.100002825 051192&type=3&theater> [accessed 2 June 2018].

2 A. Biswas, Indian Costumes (New Delhi: Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 1985), p.8.

3 Moti Chandra, Costumes, Textiles, Cosmetics & Coiffure in Ancient and Mediaeval India (Delhi: Oriental Publishers, 1973), plate I. 4 Handmade in India: Crafts of India, ed. by Aditi Ranjan and M. P. Ranjan (New Delhi: Council of Handicraft Development Corporations: Office of the Development Commissioner Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles, 2007), p.180.

5 Lala Aditya Narain, ‘Neolithic Settlement At Chirand’, in The Journal of The Bihar Research Society, Vol LVI, Part I-IV, ed. by S. V. Sohoni (Patna: The Bihar Research Society, 1970), pp.16–35 (Pl. no. VII).

6 Unknown, G24/Od, As2003, 02.1 at The British Museum, Visited in May 2018.

7 Upadhyaya, pp.245-252 (pl. no. XXIV).

8 ‘V&A: The Fabric of India’, Something About, 2015 <https://www.somethingaboutmagazine.com/va-fabricindia/> [accessed 4 June 2018].

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Figure 9: Pebble Stream sari and blouse, designer Swati Kalsi for Jiyo! India, 2011-12.9 Figure 10: Swati Kalsi and her team of women artisans from Bihar, India.10 Figure 11: ‘Dregs in Your Tea-cup, 2010’, exhibited in solo exhibition ‘The Piercing Needle’, textile artist Gopika Nath, 2016. 11 Figure 12: ‘The Stain Tea Party, 2015’, exhibited in solo exhibition ‘The Piercing Needle’, textile artist Gopika Nath, 2015.12 Figure 13: Tarang, wearing embroidered handkerchief and cap, picture taken at his home, 2017.13 Figure 14: Embroidered handkerchief and cap embroidered by Supriya Gupta (my aunt) for her son Tarang.14 Figure 15: Reverse side of handkerchief and cap showing loose ends of embroidered thread.15 Figure 16: My fifth birthday celebration and the red embroidered table cloth, Darbhanga, Bihar, 1996.16

‘Sari and Blouse | | V&A Search the Collections’, V and A Collections, 2018 <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1257159> [accessed 23 May 2018].

10 ‘Swati Kalsi’, Border&Fall <http://www.borderandfall.com/people-spaces/swati-kalsi/> [accessed 29 April 2018].

11 Navneet Mendiratta, ‘Gopika Nath’, Art Culture Festival, 2017 <http://www.artculturefestival.in/gopika-nath/> [accessed 23 May 2018].

12 ‘The Piercing Needle | Recent Works by Gopika Nath’, Issuu <https://issuu.com/gallerysanskriti/docs/the_piercing_needle-gopika_nath> [accessed 25 May 2018].

13 Supriya Gupta, Unpublished Photograph, 2017.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Smriti Prasad Srivastava, ‘My 5th Birthday’, [Facebook], 2012 <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=294174077353425&set=a.294170047353828.59059.100002825 051192&type=3&theater> [accessed 5 June 2018].

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Figure 17: Aripan or alpona made with white rice paste on mud floor.17 Figure 18: Bihari woman illustrating Khobar pattern on wall.18 Figure 19: Depiction of Mandala pattern in Mithila painting, Bihar, India.19 Figure 20: Red Embroidered tablecloth, made by Savitri Devi and Kiran Kumari, 1980.20 Figure 21: Brownish-red stain on the tablecloth.21 Figure 22: Small random, blue pen marks made by me.22 Figure 23: Crochet border of the tablecloth made by my grandmother, 1980.23 Figure 24: A reverse section of tablecloth showing threads and crochet border.24 Figure 25: 'Stories from our hometown', a collaborative artwork by Smriti Prasad and Yu Yang, London, 2018.25 Figure 26: Representation of categorization of embroidered pieces.26

‘05.Jpg (698×462)’ <http://www.dsource.in/sites/default/files/resource/rangoli/typesrangolis/aripan/images/05.jpg> [accessed 1 June 2018].

18 Arun Singh, ‘Bihar Ek Virasat: MAD ABOUT MADHUBANI’, Bihar Ek Virasat, 2016 <http://biharvirasat.blogspot.com/2016/02/mad-about-madhubani.html> [accessed 1 June 2018].

19 Mulk Raj Anand, Madhubani Painting (New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1984), p.39.

20 Kiran Kumari and Savitri Devi, Unpublished Photograph, 1980.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 Ibid.

24 Ibid.

25 Smriti Prasad and Yu Yang, Unpublished Photograph, 2018.

26 Smriti Prasad, Process Diagram, 2018.

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Glossary Listed below are some words that are repeated one or more times in this dissertation. It is very difficult to write about embroidery from the state of Bihar, North-east India without including texts that are used in Sanskrit and Hindi languages, and the local dialects (Maithili, Magahi, and Bhojpuri)27 of this region.

Foreign words are written as they are pronounced. Most words are written singular with the English letter ‘s’ being added for plurals. I have tried to avoid discrepancies. Apologies to the readers of above-mentioned languages and dialects for any further inconsistencies.

Āmot: Sun-dried flat edible discs made from mango pulp in India during summers.

Angnā: Courtyard of a house. Āri: A style of embroidery from Kashmir.

Aripan or Alpona: Drawings of figures and patterns made on the floor to celebrate an auspicious occasion such as birth or marriage. It is primarily made from a white rice paste called petha or powder. Āsni: A floor mat used to sit on while eating food.

Bhāra: A collection of embroidered textiles a bride has to carry to her new home.

Bihari: A person who belongs to Bihar.

Bichāwan: Bed sheet.

Chhath puja: A regional festival of Bihar dedicated to the worship of the Sun God. Dabbā: A box.

Dhāga: Thread.

Daya Shankar Upadhyaya, ‘The Folk Embroidery of Mithila’, in The Journal of The Bihar Research Society, Vol LVI, Part I-IV, ed. by S. V. Sohoni (Patna: The Bihar Research Society, 1970), pp.245–252 (p.246).

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Dharōhar: Heritage.

Dhoti: An unstitched drape of cotton fabric worn by Hindu men, consisting of a piece of material tied around the waist and extending to cover most of the legs.

Dōra: Thread for stitching and embroidery.

Dupatta or Orhni: A long piece of cloth used as a shawl, scarf or veil by Indian women.

Gaunā or Bidai or Dvirāgaman: A farewell ritual for a bride after marriage.

Gendri: Embroidered cot quilt made with layered old cotton fabrics or sari.

Grih Vigyān: Home science which is an academic subject.

Haat or Hatiyā: A periodic market in Bihar.

Jananī: A Sanskrit word for a mother. Someone who gives birth.

Jari or Zardosi: A kind of hand embroidery in India which is done using gold or silver coloured metallic thread and other glossy materials.

Jhālar: A decorative hanging border, usually made using a crochet technique.

Kadhai: Embroidery.

Katpincil: Wooden pencil.

Kayastha: A community of upper caste people in India.

Khobarghar: The auspicious central room in a village hut where the bride and bridegroom live after marriage.

Mā: Mother.

Madhubani painting or Mithila painting: A school of religious painting traditionally done on walls by the women of North Bihar.

Maithili Brāhman: A community of upper caste people in India, traditionally involved in the worship of God. Mitti ka chulhā: A Stove made in villages of Bihar using mud, ash, hay and cow dung.

Nāni: Maternal grandmother.

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Pār: The border of a sari.

Peśas: Gold embroidered cloth.

Pesaskári: the female embroiderer.

Rumāl: Handkerchief.

Sari: An unstitched drape of cotton or silk fabric around the body, traditionally worn by women from South Asia.

Sasural: Husband’s home.

Shubha: Prosperous.

Sikki dauri, petari, pauti: A collection of sentimental gifts made from sikki grass that accompanies a bride when she leaves her home after wedding.

Sōta: Yarn of a cloth, warp/weft.

Sui: A needle.

Sujuni or Sujini or Sujani or Kanthā: A term used by Bihari women for straightrunning stitch embroidery on layered cotton, sometimes accented with chain stitch. Also known as Kantha stitches in Bengal and Bangladesh.

Takiya ka khol: Pillow cover.

Tassar or Tussar: A coarse variety of silk in India.

Vaishya or Baniyā: The traders caste in India that stands below the Brahmins or Kayasthas and above the Shudras.

Yaksha: Male mythological being, who takes care of natural treasures. They are mentioned in Vedic, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts.

Yaksinī: Female version of Yaksha.

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1. Introduction Perhaps many of us have stories of how sometimes personal experiences have set in motion our own particular research paths. Often, these narratives are enlightening and very informative, offering useful insights into the foundation, inspirations, and directions permeating the study.28 My research locates its roots in the tradition of embroidery from the state of Bihar, Northeast India. This essay finds its inspiration from a personal and social account of my childhood. As Christopher Bailey has observed, ‘there are three principal sites of craft production: the factory, the studio and the home.’ 29 Therefore, the motivation for my journey lies in some of the embroidered textiles created ‘informally’30 by the women of my family in an enclosed domestic space, a space which usually gets overlooked.

Nigel King and Christine Horrocks, Interviews in Qualitative Research (London: SAGE Publications Ltd., 2010), p.214.

29 Christopher Bailey, ‘Editorial, Journal of Design History’, ed. by Design History Society, Vol.2 Nos. 2 and 3 (1988).

30 Judy Attfield, Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life (Oxford: Berg, 2000), p.72.

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1.1 The embroidered handkerchief I have this photograph of myself from the year 1995, mounted in my family album. In this picture, I sit on a swing, wearing a blue-grey school uniform with a white handkerchief fastened onto the left side of my sweater. I remember every day before l would leave for school my mother would pin a handkerchief on my school uniform. It had my name and a tiny little flower embroidered in one corner.

When I spoke to her about this photo and the decorated handkerchief she said, ‘I was an amateur embroiderer. Crafting embroidered textiles was my hobby.

During my school days, I opted for grih vigyan course where I made many such textiles, for example, a tablecloth to decorate our house. When you started going to school I thought of making a pretty rumāl for you.’31

Figure 1: Me sitting on a swing wearing a school uniform with a pinned embroidered handkerchief, Dehradun, 1995.

I was born in a Hindu, Vaishya, middle-class family in the district town of Darbhanga, Bihar. I grew up seeing my grandmother building mitti ka chulha,32 doing kadhai33 on gendri,34 preparing āmot,35 and performing other daily

Kiran Kumari, Telephonic conversation, May 13th, 9:42 am, unpublished interview, 2018.

Savitri Devi, Telephonic conversation, May 13th, 10:43 am, unpublished interview, 2018.

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid.

35 Ibid.

31 32

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household chores. I recollect the cold, sunny, winter afternoons at my hometown where my nāni36 and mā37 along with a few other ladies from the neighborhood sat together in our āngna 38 sewing, embroidering, knitting, and definitely gossiping. It was indeed a much-needed leisure time for them.

Often, I would sit near my grandmother and observe her experienced hands cutting the cloth, illustrating patterns with a katpincil39 on it, pulling out sōta 40 from an old sari, threading it into the needle and pushing the needle rhythmically through the fabric. Meanwhile, I would also listen to the interesting stories about their homes, relationships, wishes, and secrets. When I recall these episodes, several questions crop up in my mind such as, what is the meaning of those embroidered handkerchiefs that my mother made for me? Was the embroidered name just for a practical reason or was it a social trend? What was the significance of this craft for her?

Embroidery, which is appreciated both as an art and craft, is a late medieval

English

term

derived

from

the

Anglo-Norman

French

term

‘enbrouderie.’41 It is defined as the ‘art of decorating a fabric or other materials using a needle and thread.’42 The German architect and art critic Semper argues that ‘the art of needlework is ancient, and it is the mother-art of sculpture and painting.’ 43 Embroidery stitches resemble ‘the touch of a pencil or brush in drawing or painting, or to the strokes of the chisel in sculpture.’ 44 With the evolution of an established order of culture, it soon became clear that all classes in society were lured by the charm of embroidery and it was treasured universally.45 As a textile design practitioner, various embroidery styles have constantly fascinated me. Many a time I have used it in my own studio practice too. As a subject, it is fairly vast, hence, it is beyond the scope of this research to cover its length and breadth entirely. However, this dissertation gives me the opportunity

Kumari, unpublished interview.

Devi, unpublished interview.

38 Ibid.

39 Ibid.

40 Ibid.

41 ‘Embroidery | Definition of Embroidery in English by Oxford Dictionaries’, Oxford Dictionaries | English <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/embroidery> [accessed 14 January 2018].

42 ‘Embroidery | Definition of Embroidery in English by Oxford Dictionaries’, Oxford Dictionaries | English <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/embroidery> [accessed 14 January 2018].

43 Lady Marian Margaret Alford, Needlework as Art (London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1886), p.4.

44 Ibid, p.149.

45 Mary Eirwen Jones, A History of Western Embroidery (London: Studio Vista, 1969), p.11.

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to look at the embroidered textiles created in a household environment by the women of my family and other unknown women artisans from Bihar to find out if their work is conceivably a medium of expression or just items of personal or commercial consumption?

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2. A glimpse from the past Through our interpretations of history, we build our present and shape our future.46 It is essential to acknowledge the history or the narratives of any place, tradition, technique, people or objects. Such reviews set up a convincing background that further develops into various research paths. In this chapter, I will touch upon the brief history of cloth, embroidery cultures, and women embroiders in the Indian subcontinent. Further, I will explore the tradition of embroidery and its relationship with women in Bihar. In addition, the relationship between women, and the needle and thread.

Christopher Tilley, ‘Claude Lévi-Strauss: Structuralism and beyond,’ in Reading Material Culture: Structuralism, Hermeneutics and Post-Structuralism, ed. by Christopher Tilley, Social Archaeology (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990), pp.76-77.

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2.1 From the beginning It is claimed that the Indian subcontinent was the birthplace of needlework47 and each period, right from the 1st century B.C. to now had its own fashion and trends. The method of creation and the way it is used demonstrates that people were as interested in the whimsies of style as any other nation. Cloth (embellished or non-embellished) as a symbol for the society, has played a very important role in articulating the progression of material culture of the human race. 48 Historian Daya Shankar Upadhyaya resonates with Kendrick in that needlework in primitive times was used for joining and strengthening, and when these led to the discovery of its ornamental possibilities, the beautiful art of embroidery came into existence.49 Unlike many other skills, needlework is broadly associated with women,50 as it does not involve muscular strength or academic practice but rather a creative aptitude and sensitivity. However, usually in trade and commerce, men are employed to produce embroidery, for example, Jari 51 or Āri embroidery. 52 Presenting the ‘traditional model’53 of art and craft in the Indian context, social anthropologist Gupta argues that the conventional division of roles within a family required the assignment of jobs that are culturally perceived as difficult-to men.

On the contrary, jobs which could be easily carried out while managing the kitchen and nurturing children were given to women. Thus, embroidery is largely practiced by women. In fact, the ancient Vedic, Buddhist and Jain literature talk about the peśas,54 which were usually crafted by pesaskári.55

Charu Smita Gupta, ‘Sujani, the Fine Needlework of Bihar’, in Embroidery in Asia: Sui Dhaga: Crossing Boundaries Through Needle and Thread (New Delhi: Wisdom Tree in collaboration with India International Centre, 2010), pp.39–41 (p.39).

48 Chandra, p.ii.

49 Upadhyaya, pp.245–52 (p.245).

50 Mary Carolyn Beaudry, Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing, (New Haven, Conn.; London: Yale University Press, 2006), p.2.

51 Sekh Rahim Mondal, ‘Gendering in Traditional Industries: Some Observations on Hand Embroidery (Jari) and Coir (Bolen) Works of Bengal’, in Gendering Material Culture: Representations and Practice, ed. by Subhadra Channa and Kamal K. Misra (Bhopal: Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya National Museum of Mankind; Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2013), pp.115-128 (p.117).

52 Ranjan and Ranjan, p.28.

53 Charu Smita Gupta, ‘Gender Journey: Experience in Crafts and Weaves’, in Gendering Material Culture: Representations and Practice, ed. by Subhadra Channa and Kamal K. Misra (Bhopal: Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya National Museum of Mankind; Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2013), pp. 95-113 (p.99).

54 Chandra, p.9.

55 Ibid.

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Anthropologist, Kirin Narayan says that men and women not only express differently but may choose a distinctive genre(s), theme(s), and locale(s)56 and embroidery is one of these.

Figure 2: Illustration of Yaksha, wearing

Figure 3: Sculpture of Yaksinī,

embroidered cloth as lower garment.

wearing embroidered cloth.

2.2 Women and embroidery in Bihar The traditional, caste-entrenched, and patriarchal society of Bihar (earlier known as Magadha)57 has a well-defined boundary of inside-outside work done by male and female members of the family. Women, especially those who belong

‘Introduction- A Gendered Approach to Material Culture: Representations and Practice’, in Gendering Material Culture: Representations and Practice, ed. by Subhadra Channa and Kamal K. Misra (Bhopal: Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya National Museum of Mankind; Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2013), pp.127 (p.7).

57 Amit RajSingh, ‘“Womaniya” Hold the Key in Bihar’, The Wire, 2015 <https://thewire.in/politics/women-holdthe-key-in-bihar> [accessed 24 May 2018].

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to respectable, affluent upper caste (Maithili Brāhmin and Kayastha)58 families, seldom go out of their angnā alone to the haat.59

Figure 4: Map of Bihar, showing art and craft clusters.

Bihar, which was a part of the Bengal Presidency during the British Raj,60 witnessed a thriving textile industry, and embroidery was being practiced by its women from at least the eighteenth century.61 In Bihar, adorning cloth is a part of a ‘socialization process for the women.’62 However, it is more or less limited to a household environment. Here, every stage of women’s life is defined through making, giving, and receiving textiles. Her status in society is reflected through the social interaction involved in these activities.

In almost the whole of Bihar, young school-going girls learn needlework from their mother or grandmother, and they start preparing bhāra,63 textile pieces, as a part of their dahej.64 Sometimes they may join women from the neighborhood to prepare embroidered wedding gifts like wall hangings, takiya ka khol, 65

Manisha Jha, ‘Gender Journey: Experience in Crafts and Weaves’, in Gendering Material Culture: Representations and Practice, ed. by Subhadra Channa and Kamal K. Misra (Bhopal: Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya National Museum of Mankind; Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2013), pp.129-152 (p.135).

59 Anand A. Yang, Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar (Berkeley; London: University of California Press, 1998), p.148.

60 Dr A. K. Sinha, Transition in Textile Industry: A History of Textile Industry in Bihar, 1783-1833 (Delhi: Capital Pub. House, 1984), p.5.

61 Ibid, pp.21-30.

62 S. Conway, R. Barnes, and R. Crill, ‘Bihar Quilting and North-East Thai Weaving: A Comparative Study of Status’, Textile History, 30.1 (1999), pp.69–80 (p.73).

63 Upadhyaya, pp.245–52 (p.246).

64 Devi, unpublished interview.

65 Ibid.

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bichāwan,66 and other items which they would take to their sasural67 after gaunā,68 to decorate and dedicate to their family. Further, when a child is born, women would gather to make gendri.69

2.3 She threads the needle¾a relationship The needle¾‘An important little article.’70 What would the world be if there was no needle and thread? Well, the obvious answer is; no needlecraft, and perhaps no stitched or embroidered textiles.

Figure 5: Bone needles excavated at Neolithic Chirand site, North Bihar, India.

Outlining a profound, valuable and eternal association of the needle and thread

with human beings, Oliver Schreiner writes, ‘Has the pen or pencil dipped so deep in the blood of the human race as the needle?’71 Neolithic people (2500 B.C.-500

Ibid.

Upadhyaya, pp.245–52 (p.246).

68 Devi, unpublished interview.

69 Ibid.

70 Mary Carolyn Beaudry, Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing, (New Haven, Conn.; London: Yale University Press, 2006), p.44.

71 Maureen Daly Goggin and Beth Fowkes Tobin, Women and the Material Culture of Needlework and Textiles, 1750-1950, (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), p.1.

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B.C.)72 created the initial needles from fish bones and used sinew thread73 to stitch basic body coverings.

As mentioned earlier, needlework is primarily feminine. To describe the association of the needle and thread with women, the Hindu literature Rig Vedā, in one of its hymns, states ‘with never breaking needle may she sew her work and give herself a hero son most wealthy and meet or praise.’74 Likewise, Maureen Daly Goggin throws some light on this deep affiliation and articulates, ‘The relationship historically between needlework and women has been far more complex than previously assumed and then commonly held views certainly grant.

For women of all stations in life and in all socio-economic classes, needlework has been both domestic and domesticating labour, both a tool of oppression and an instrument of liberation, both a professional endeavour and a leisure pastime, both an avenue for crossing class and boundaries and a barrier confirming class status.

It has been constructed and pursued as a religious duty and a secular pleasure, as a prison sentence and an escape, as an innocuous pastime and a powerful political weapon. Depending on a woman’s station, needlework was either a necessity to live or a luxury reserved only for those who could afford the leisure time. Reviled and celebrated, it has nevertheless been a significant cultural practice of meaning-making.’75 For a long time, the seemingly ‘insignificant needle’ 76 engaged by the woman in her home to beautify garments and other things of utility, held social meanings beyond its use¾it is a valuable and often personal item that has a close association with the ‘hands and fingers and with particular postures, gestures and series of movement’77 of the embroiderer. My grandmother talks about a dabbā in which she stored all her metal sui and colourful dhāgas.78 A woman’s hands are never still, she holds the needle, threads it and embroiders every spare moment that she can capture. Defining the nature of this

L. A. Narain, ‘Neolithic Settlement At Chirand’, in Journal Of Bihar Research Society, 56 (1970) <http://ehrafarchaeology.yale.edu/document?id=aq50-010> [accessed 31 May 2018].

73 Beaudry, p.1.

74 ‘Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 2: HYMN XXXII. Various Deities.’ <http://www.sacredtexts.com/hin/rigveda/rv02032.htm> [accessed 3 May 2018].

75 Goggin and Tobin, p.3.

76 Kamala Shrimati Dongerkery, The Romance of Indian Embroidery (Bombay: Thacker & Co., 1951), p.xii.

77 Beaudry, p.45.

78 Devi, unpublished interview.

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tool, Rozsika Parker asserts, ‘the needle is used to mend damage. It is a claim to patience. It is certainly not destructive, and it is not a pin.’79 On the contrary, the Indian textile designer and artist, Gopika Nath articulates, ‘With thoughts circling my mind, I kept sewing. Needle in, pull the thread, needle out, going round and round, tracing the stains with a running stitch. And then I realized that using the needle could also be considered an act of violence. The fabric is mute, it does not protest and just like I made the stains, it seemed that I was subjecting the fabric through the act of stitching, of piercing it again and again with the point of this.’80 Here, the metaphorical expressions of ‘piercing needle’81 acknowledge the frailty and complexities of human life. Perhaps it can be deduced from both statements that the needle is a companion with whom she ‘laughs and weeps.’82 Besides, it is not just a tool but an effective influence on the progression of society and it further contributes to endorse various cultures.

Rozsika Parker, The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine, New edition (London; New York: I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2012), p.xix.

80 Gopika Nath, ‘The Violence of a Needle’ <http://gopikanathstitchjournal.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-violenceof-needle.html> [accessed 17 May 2018].

81 Michele Chan, ‘The World in a Teacup: India’s Gopika Nath – Artist Profile | Art Radar’ <http://artradarjournal.com/2016/03/09/the-world-in-a-teacup-indias-gopika-nath-artist-profile/> [accessed 17 May 2018].

82 Embroidery in Asia: Sui Dhaga: Crossing Boundaries Through Needle and Thread (New Delhi: Wisdom Tree in collaboration with India International Centre, 2010), p.x.

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3. Case studies In this chapter, I will look at three case studies in which the domestic, ‘folk embroidery techniques of Bihar namely, khatwa (appliqué) and sujini’83 have been explored by organisations, designers, and artists either with artisan-designer collaborations or in their own studio practices. These case studies are important because it would help me to find out the reach of these traditional needlework techniques, practiced by the Bihari women in today’s context.

83

Upadhyaya, pp. 245–52 (p.246).

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3.1 Khatwa wall hanging During my research, I came across a glass-cased, well preserved Khatwa wall hanging at the British Museum. This textile was created by a group of women artisans from Bhusara village who are associated with ADITHI, an NGO in Patna, Bihar. This work, along with several other khatwas was commissioned and exhibited at the Textile Museum of Canada.84 Khatwa is an appliqué technique with chain stitch and straight stitch embroidery. It is a ‘narratage’, 85 where a woman who illustrates the story on plain cloth is the storyteller and the women sewing, patching, gossiping, and amending the illustration into a khatwa are listening to and translating the storyteller’s description while adding their own interpretations to the work.

Figure 6: Silk wall hanging (Khatwa), Patna, Bihar, North-east India, Adithi NGO, 2002.

Dorothy Caldwell and Dr. Skye Morrison, Stitching Women’s Lives: Sujuni and Khatwa from Bihar, India, Presumed First Edition (Toronto, Ont.: Textile Museum of Canada, 1999), p.7.

85 Dr. Skye Morrison, ‘Stitching Women’s Lives: Sujuni and Khatwa from Bihar, India’, in The Object of Labor: Art, Cloth, and Cultural Production, ed. by Joan Livingstone and John Ploof (Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT, 2007), pp.159-180 (p.172).

84

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The nature of khatwa is ‘freehand’86 which, in association with creativity and crafting, provides an innate sense of freedom for the artist. The designs are created as quick sketches, from their inspirations and experience. Similar to folk songs or legends of Bihar that are passed through ‘oral traditions’,87 these works are passed on from one hand to another through observation and discussion.

This particular piece is a depiction of a series of images, describing the transmission of AIDS through unprotected intercourse or blood transfusions, and children born with it. Locally woven, a beige-light brown tassar silk fabric is used as a canvas to embroider. Each figure is drawn on various colourful waste cotton fabrics, cut, and then appliquéd. The border is patched with condom shaped fabric cut-outs that communicate the importance of using protection during copulation. The group in the bottom row is of medical workers distributing condoms to both men and women, while the pair of women at the bottom right consoles each other tearfully. The Hindi text Musrat Mālti, embroidered in chain stitch on the top left corner is a ‘new form of folk art and craft expression’88 which is a contemporary phenomenon.

The content of this khatwa textile shows the importance of non-traditional forms of communication. It offers a perspective on how people react to HIV and AIDS. Moreover, it indicates how these women artisans of Bihar stood up to spread awareness of the disease, and by empowering these women, and encouraging their knowledge, a social change can be implemented. This work is an art form, a documentation, and also a source of income for these women who belong to poor families. It gives an impression about the lives of these women in the society of Bihar. Further, it highlights the problems that need solutions, and the need for, as the socialist and designer William Morris said, ‘useful work versus useless toil.’89 The verbal, emotional, and artistic realisations of ordinary Bihari women with unfamiliar ideas of the world are at the core of this textile. The fineness of their embroidery is juxtaposed with the scarcity in which they live and work. The balance between what stitches do and what stitches can become, ‘a narrative element,’90 acts as a key to understanding the creative expression of the women

Andrew Harrison, Making and Thinking: A Study of Intelligent Activities, Harvester Studies in Philosophy (Hassocks: harvester Press, 1978), p.1.

87 Morrison, pp.159-180 (p.172).

88 Ibid.

89 Ibid.

90 Caldwell and Morrison, p.29.

86

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in Bihar. This is where women’s domestic art around the world share a common ground.

3.2 ‘Pebble stream sari’ Swati Kalsi, a young Indian textile and fashion designer work with a team of twenty-woman artisans to explore sujini, a folk embroidery tradition of Bihar.

These Bihari women, come from deprived families and undeveloped villages of Muzzafarpur district in Bihar.

Figure 7: An old sujini design depicting birds, animals and florals.

Conventionally, sujinis (embroidered cot quilts) are made for occasions like childbirth, marriages and as gifts for family members by re-using old saris or dhōtis in simple running stitches with colourful cotton threads. These running stitches are referred to as sujini embroidery. Merging layers, diminishing depths and gradations are specific characteristics of this embroidery.

A woman illustrates the designs and while others do the needlework. It is remarkable and exclusive because of the narrative elements like mythological and worldly tales, geometric patterns, florals, and sometimes the trauma of being a woman in a patriarchal society, domestic violence, female infanticide and many such social issues. Sujini gives Bihari woman a prospect to stitch their everyday experiences and emotions, transforming a mundane quilt into a testimony of their existence.

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Kalsi designed the ‘Pebble Stream Sari’ for an NGO in India called Jiyo!.

Later it became a part of an exhibition, ‘The Fabric of India’91 at the V&A Museum.

This sari is intricately embroidered by the women artisans using bright yellow thread on a beige tassar silk base using sujini embroidery. The choice of colours and pattern depict the vibrant cultural traditions of Bihar. Besides, it gives a modern context to the traditional domestic sujinis, which further explains a unique partnership between a designer and the maker.

Figure 8: Pebble Stream sari and blouse, designer Swati Kalsi for Jiyo! India, 2011-12.

Many of these artisans may not be able to read or write; however, it is the skill of embroidery that gives them a voice at an international platform, therefore keeping them alive for years to come. Andrew Harrison argues, ‘making items is part of a constructive cultural activity and is a part of the fabric of society.’92 In light of this statement, it would be valid to propose that the sujini embroidery practiced

Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘The Fabric of India: About the Exhibition’, 2015 <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/the-fabric-of-india/about-the-exhibition/> [accessed 4 June 2018].

92 Harrison, p.1.

91

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by the women of Bihar are ‘objects of communication’ and ‘a vehicle for thought.’93

Figure 9: ‘Pebble stream sari’ (first from right) at 'The fabric of India' exhibition, V&A Museum, 2015-16.

Figure 10: Swati Kalsi and her team of women artisans from Bihar, India.

Working towards placing Bihari women’s needlework traditions as an innovative and uniquely artistic cultural heritage, Kalsi articulates, ‘it’s about sustainable, time-honoured craftsmanship,’94 and adds, ‘it is essential that these hand skills, representative of women’s eccentricities, are made relevant again.’95 In the present scenario where society is driven by automation and quantity-overquality production, this hand skill, characteristic of these women’s personalities,

Ibid.

‘Conscious Focus: Swati Kalsi | LN-CC’ <https://www.ln-cc.com/en/feed-swati-kalsi-feature/feed-swatikalsi-feature.html> [accessed 29 April 2018].

95 Ibid.

93 94

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is losing its significance. This loss could be perpetual and might lead to ‘cultural extinction.’96

3.3 ‘Garam masala chai series’ For a long time, Gopika Nath has used embroidery in her own studio practice. Garam masala chai series which was a part of an exhibition, ‘The Piercing Needle’97 was inspired by her love for the Indian spiced tea.

Figure 11: ‘Dregs in Your Tea-cup, 2010’, exhibited in solo exhibition ‘‘The Piercing Needle’, textile artist Gopika Nath, 2016.

In this project, she has predominantly explored the potential of sujini embroidery technique from Bihar. In the making, she has translated photographs of tea cups, and tea residue stains into digital prints on cotton-voile fabrics. Then layered it with several other plain fabrics, and embroidered these together with sujini stitches using cotton-polyester thread to create a new dimension.

Working with needle and thread, Gopika discovered endless creative possibilities of sujini embroidery to speak a ‘language of feelings–of self-

Ibid.

‘Gallery Sanskriti - Current Exhibition’, The Piercing Needle | Gopika Nath <http://www.gallerysanskriti.com/current_exhibitions.php?eno=62> [accessed 5 June 2018].

96 97

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expression.’98 She says, ‘the needle became my brush, seeking to ignite, provoke and create a self that is beyond the feminine domain.’99 Through her work, the sujini embroidery that is practiced by the Bihari women mostly in their domestic space, has now seen the light of a contemporary and more experimental interpretation. Therefore, obtaining a unique place in the Indian art sphere.

Figure 12: ‘The Stain Tea Party, 2015’, exhibited in solo exhibition ‘‘The Piercing Needle’, textile artist Gopika Nath, 2015.

Further, sujini has facilitated her to discover and cultivate herself as an artist. The needle and thread often provide her with a meditative state of mind.

She says,

I am inspired to embroider, rather than paint on canvas. Working with needle and thread, exhibiting my work as an artist in the expanse of an Art Gallery, I hope to be able to lend dignity to the notion of handmade as “Art”, elevating it beyond mere skilled labour, as it is largely considered today.100 Her statement is a connecting dot between embroidery as art and as skilled labour, echoing that the future of India’s homemade legacy can also be defined by ‘Textile Art.’101

Chan, [accessed 17 May 2018].

Ibid.

100 ‘Gopika Nath’, Lopez Design <http://www.lopezdesign.com/forum/gopika-nath/> [accessed 17 May 2018].

101 Chan, [accessed 17 May 2018].

98 99

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the embroidered clothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

4. Research Methodology In this chapter, alongside empirical research, I have outlined a brief research methodology, research tools (such as observation, interviews, and questionnaires) that would facilitate my study. Besides, it is outside the scope of this dissertation to look at all the branches of humanities and social sciences that would inform the topic of my research. However, I have looked at a few of these subjects that may feed into my inquiry.

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4.1 Research questions My interest lies in the following questions: °

What is the meaning, social significance, cultural belief systems attached to the embroidered textiles created by the women of Bihar?

°

How do these embroidered textiles function¾as a process of material, visual representation or as an ‘aide-mémoire’? 102 Further, do women in Bihar use embroidery as a mode of communication and narration?

°

What are my motivations and role as a textile designer or an artist in the sphere of embroidery that I have inherited from the women of my culture?

4.2 Primary and secondary research My primary research will be based on qualitative research methods103 and the tools are as follows: °

Observing images: This will involve looking at images104 of myself and my younger cousin, and other images that are relevant to my study.

°

Object/Material Culture study:105 A thing itself does not speak about its symbolic, social or cultural meanings, this requires supplementary method.

In this method, items become the primary source of information. The method follows three steps viz. ‘description, deduction and speculation.’106 I shall apply these to study the embroidered material objects, 107 a handkerchief, a cap and an embroidered red tablecloth made by my maternal aunt and my grandmother and mother, respectively.

°

Unstructured interviews: As Chase observed, ‘we live in a narrative,

Cheryl Buckley, ‘On the Margins: Theorising the History and Significance of Making and Designing Clothes at Home’, in The Culture of Sewing: Gender, Consumption and Home Dressmaking, ed. by Barbara Burman, Dress, Body, Culture (Oxford: Berg, 1999), pp.55-71 (p.56).

103 The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, ed. by Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2011), p.3.

104 Ibid, p.479.

105 Yuniya Kawamura, Doing Research in Fashion and Dress: An Introduction to Qualitative Methods (Oxford: Berg, 2011), p.91.

106 Jules David Prown, ‘Mind in Matter: An Introduction to Material Culture Theory and Method’, in Winterthur Portfolio: A Journal of American Material Culture, 1 (Winterthur, Del., Chicago: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, University of Chicago Press, 1982), XVII, pp.1-17 (p.7).

107 Karima Mohammed Abdelaziz Al Shomely, ‘An Intimate Object: A Practice-Based Study of the Emirati Burqa’ (unpublished PhD, Kingston University, 2016) <http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/36327/> [accessed 29 April 2018], p.45.

102

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storytelling, interview society, in a society whose members seem to believe that interviews (and stories) generate useful insights about lived experiences and its meanings.’108 I will conduct informal telephonic interviews (due to geographical distance from interviewees) 109 of my grandmother, mother and maternal aunt, which will be recorded and later transcribed (as the participants speak in a very idiosyncratic vernacular and dialect). I have selected South Asian Indian women, as they are the makers of the textiles for my research. Further, according to Leydesdorff’s studies, ‘women use far more reported conversations than males do in their personal narrative.’110 Besides, they relate to the social world and experiences111 that this essay is also looking at. Additionally, I may be more empathetic to my family members which shall give me a chance for a more in-depth enquiry. °

Questionnaires for unstructured interviews: During the process of interview, I have asked a few initial warm-up questions which are then followed by questions related to my study. (refer Appendix).

For my secondary research I have enquired the following: °

Case studies: I have studied three cases at the beginning of this essay, namely, Khatwa wall hanging; ‘Pebble stream sari’ and ‘Garam masala chai series’.

°

Literature review: Books, journal and scholarly articles, magazines, newspapers, and others.

°

Internet review: Websites, Images, YouTube videos, and others.

°

Museum visits and exhibitions: British Museum, London; V&A, London; People’s Museum, Glasgow.

4.3 Use of Terminologies Kawamura argues that it is important to clarify the definitions of terminologies and how they are used because often writers and researchers have

Denzin and Lincoln, p.416.

King and Horrocks, p.80.

110 Selma Leydesdorff, Luisa Passerini, and Paul Thompson, Gender and Memory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), p.vii.

111 King and Horrocks, p.216.

108 109

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different meanings of words. 112 Taking this into consideration, I have defined words (refer Glossary) that will be used in this study. It is also imperative because some of these vocabularies may be cultural or gender-specific.113

4.4 Reliability and Limitations Limitations of the unstructured individual interviews are that they are not a representative sample114 of a population of the South Asian Indian women and therefore they will not be suitable for statistical analysis. 115 Willig’s ‘Personal reflexivity theory’ suggests that our views, interests, and understandings could have impacted upon the research.116 Hence, it indicates that there might be an additional constraint of the ‘researcher’s bias,’117 and this could also affect the consistency of information. However, for the purpose of this essay, which supports the interpretation of material objects and visuals these limitations ought not to be of importance.

Kawamura, p.7.

Susan B. Kaiser, The Social Psychology of Clothing: Symbolic Appearances in Context (New York: Fairchild, 1997), p.3.

114 Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods, 3rd ed (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p.183.

115 Joanne Horton, Richard Macve, and Geert Struyven, ‘Qualitative Research: Experience in Using SemiStructured Interviews’, in The Real-Life Guide to Accounting Research: A Behind-The-Scenes View of Using Qualitative Research Methods, ed. by Christopher Humphrey and Bill H. K. Lee (Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science, 2004), pp.339–58 <http://www.elsevier.com> [accessed 10 May 2018].

116 King and Horrocks, p.128.

117 Bryman, p.218.

112 113

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5. The embroidered belongings In this chapter, I will look at the embroidered clothing accessories crafted by my maternal aunt, and an embroidered red tablecloth, which was collectively made by my grandmother and mother. During my research, while I came across these embroidered belongings, I questioned myself on why I was studying these everyday homemade embroidered fabrics made by the women of my family.

As Henri Lefebvre writes, ‘the everyday is the most universal and the most unique condition, the most social and the most individuated, the most obvious and the best hidden.’118 Here, my intention is to explore the narratives, inherent and attached cultural values,119 of these belongings. These textiles are private, not so common to find these days and are almost forgotten. Each of these belongs to a specific generation; the materials used relate to a particular time and place.

Additionally, a textile is an experience,120 and we seldom treat it with any degree of seriousness. These are often unremarkable and escape our attention.

There are reasons why a textile comes into existence in a specific composition, decorated with particular motifs, made of certain materials, and with a particular colour and texture. As Prown claims, ‘artefacts do not just happen; they are the result of causes.’ 121 My attempt here is to dissolve the anonymity of these embroidered textiles, understand the maker-object relationship, interpret the inspiring connotations and bring out the hidden expressions.

Attfield, p.9.

Jules David Prown, ‘Mind in Matter: An Introduction to Material Culture Theory and Method’, in Winterthur Portfolio: A Journal of American Material Culture, 1982, XVII, no. 1, pp.1-17 (p.3).

120 Ṛta Kapur Chishti, Martand Singh, and Amba Sanyal, Saris of India: Madhya Pradesh (New Delhi: Wiley Eastern & Amr Vastra Kosh, 1989), p.19.

121 Prown, pp.1-17 (p.3).

118 119

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5.1 The handkerchief and cap Belongings ‘tell stories,’ 122 and the same can be said for the clothing accessories

123

which belong to my eight-year-old cousin, Tarang; the

handkerchief and cap, embroidered with his name.

Figure 13: Tarang, wearing embroidered handkerchief and cap, picture taken at his home, 2017.

My aunt, Supriya Gupta, started learning embroidery after she graduated from high school. She went to Runa institute in Darbhanga, Bihar where she learnt various embroidery stitches and made several items, such as a dupatta-for herself. 124 While she is a housewife, she aspires to become an entrepreneur, saying, ‘embroidery is not just a hobby. It can be used to establish your own business and earn money.’125 When my aunt’s son Tarang started going to school, she felt the need and desire to do dhaaga ka kaam126 for him. Therefore, she

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth (New York: Alfred AKnopf, 2001), p.6.

123 Helen Gustafson, Hanky Panky: An Intimate History of the Handkerchief (Berkeley, Calif.: [Great Britain]: Ten Speed Press; Airlift distributor, 2002), p.16.

124 Supriya Gupta, Telephonic conversation, May 7th, 7:32 am, unpublished interview, 2018.

125 Ibid.

126 Ibid.

122

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embroidered his name on a rumāl127 and a tōpi.128 Texts are not uncommon on domestic textiles, as it accentuates a unique blend of purpose with design.129

Figure 14: Embroidered handkerchief and cap embroidered by Supriya Gupta (my aunt) for her son Tarang.

Sofaer argues, ‘materiality communicates connotation and it is through materiality that we articulate the meaning and thus it is the frame through which people communicate identities.’

130

For making the embroidered clothing

accessories, my aunt purchased a plain white, cotton handkerchief, with bluishgrey strips on it. She also bought a hand-knitted, black-dark green cap from a nearby bazaar that would look good on Tarang. Knowledgeably, she composed and illustrated the design with a blue pen on the handkerchief, while for the cap she chose to follow the knit ribs as her guide.

Ibid.

Ibid.

129 Ronald T. Marchese, The Fabric of Life: Cultural Transformations in Turkish Society (Binghamton, N.Y.: Global Academic Pub, 2005), p.75.

130 Joanna R. Sofaer, Material Identities, New Interventions in Art History (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), p.1.

127 128

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The diverse symbolism of colour in clothing has a spiritual foundation; according to the Ra’s Ma’la, ‘dark clothes shield against the evil eye.’131 I believe she chose the black-dark green cap for this purpose. She embroidered the handkerchief with a combination of blue, bright red and green cotton threads and used a contrasting white woolen yarn for the cap. The selection of fabrics, colour of threads and the combination of chain stitch and running stitch served as a means to ‘assemble aesthetics’132 of Tarang’s personality as a schoolboy.

It is concluded that a person’s character ‘inheres not only in all parts of his body but in his textile….’133 Here, the floral motif on the handkerchief is illustrative of his innocence as a child. The reverse side of an embroidered fabric is often neglected. On overturning these pieces, I spotted yarns that were knotted together, and some were uncut. The knots were carefully tied, and lengths of yarns were left hanging. It gives us an idea of her finishing skills. Interestingly, the reverse side also proposed a suggestion of an unfinished artwork.

Figure 15: Reverse side of handkerchief and cap showing loose ends of embroidered thread.

Jamila Brij Bhushan, The Costumes and Textiles of India (Bombay: Taraporevala’s Treasure House of Books, 1958), p.5.

132 Sophie Woodward, ‘Looking Good Feeling Right- Aesthetics of the Self’, in Clothing as Material Culture, ed.

by Susanne Küchler and Daniel Miller (Oxford: Berg, 2005), p.29.

133 Bhushan, p.6.

131

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She embroidered these clothing accessories because she is an ‘emotional being,’134 and these became tools of expression to show her love and care for Tarang. Likewise, during school hours, these embellished fabrics emerged as ‘prosthetic extension’ 135 of her. Besides, through the process of embroidering these textiles and passing on to him, it worked as ‘transitional objects,’ 136 describing an interim zone of a ‘mother¾child relationship’137 and ‘cathexis.’138 Further, it may have brought an order to her life,139 in sometimes a hectic milieu by giving her a daily assignment.

As Sonja Foss articulates, ‘this attention to process…fosters reflection about the nature of the world being created, the women’s definition in it, and how she wants to feel about it.’140 Ultimately, in the light of this statement, I consider that my aunt was placing herself not just as a woman but more of a jananī,141 the one who can give birth or create, with the process of embroidery.

5.2 The embroidered red tablecloth After spending a long time browsing through a digital copy of my family album, I came across one of my birthday photographs, and what caught my attention was a red, rectangular tablecloth. It was collectively embroidered by my nāni and mā, about thirty-five-years ago to decorate our home in Darbhanga.

When I opened the parcel sent by my mother from India and unfolded this exquisite textile, there was a sudden outburst of a familiar fragrance. It reminded me of my home. It had its prominent presence in our house during special occasions such as, my birthday, or Chhath puja,142 leaving an ever-lasting imprint on our guests. The existence of this wonderful textile gave a purpose to our living

Channa and Misra, p.6.

Sofaer, p.2.

136 D. W. Winnicott, Playing and Reality, Routledge Classics (London: Routledge, 2005), pp.2-4.

137 Ibid.

138 Attfield, p.130.

139 J. R. Blakeman, S. J. Samuelson, and K. N. McEvoy, ‘Analysis of a Silent Voice: A Qualitative Inquiry of Embroidery Created by a Patient with Schizophrenia’, Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 51.6 (2013), pp.38–45 (p.40).

140 Sonja K. Foss, ‘Re-Sourcement as Emancipation: A Case Study of Ritualized Sewing’, Women’s Studies in Communication, 19 (2015), pp.55–76 (p.60) <https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.1996.11089805>.

141 ‘The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCLXVI’ <http://www.sacredtexts.com/hin/m12/m12b093.htm> [accessed 14 June 2018].

142 Devi, unpublished interview.

134 135

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room and described the value of that wooden center-table on which it was placed.

Indeed, it is an ‘autobiographical’143 cloth.

Figure 16: My fifth birthday celebration and the red embroidered table cloth, Darbhanga, Bihar, 1996.

Trend (fashion), exists in many areas of life, not only in the way we dress, but also in food, home furnishings, and even the way we think.144 In cognizance with a trend to decorate homes, my mother fancied embroidering a tablecloth while she studied grih vigyan145 in high school.

What kind of knowledge is held within an embroidered textile? Textile historian, Jasleen Dhamija argues,

‘Textiles are a way of life and the verbal and non-verbal language of the society. It speaks to us at multiple levels. Its raw materials speak of the geo-climatic conditions and trade links. The techniques speak of the level of civilization as well as the links with others. The motifs tell us of its legends, its myths, its beliefs.

Embroidery created by women however, is all this and yet more. It is an expression of creativity of the women, who enrich their environment, their own lives and of the family by creating objects of everyday use in the home.’146

The Handbook of Textile Culture, ed. by Janis Jefferies, Diana Wood Conroy, and Hazel Clark (London: Bloomsbury Academic, copyright 2015, 2015), p.99.

144 Kawamura, p.9.

145 Kumari, unpublished interview.

146 Jasleen Dhamija and Crafts Council of India, Asian Embroidery (New Delhi: Abhinav Publications & Crafts Council of India, 2004), p.17.

143

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Figure 17: Red Embroidered tablecloth, made by Savitri Devi and Kiran Kumari, 1980.

My mother remembers seeing a beautiful table linen at her friend’s house that inspired her. Unlike in my grandmother’s time, when she had to ask her brothers to buy materials for her¾either from haat147 or Sonepur mela148 ¾my mother could go to the market and purchase all materials by herself. She bought a bright red, sateen, heavy-weight cotton cloth from Naveen Vastralay,149 and a white, three-plied cotton thread, to embroider motifs that created a contrast against the red base. For embroidery, kaaj stitch 150 was used, which is a combination of running stitch, buttonhole stitch, and blanket stitch.

There are slightly faded yet visible marks of blue ink pen which they used to illustrate the design. Here, it would be worthwhile to draw similarities in the representation and meaning of motifs and colour inspirations of this tablecloth

Yang, p.148.

Devi, unpublished interview.

149 Kumari, unpublished interview.

150 Kiran Kumari, Telephonic conversation, May 13th, 9:42 am, unpublished interview, 2018.

147 148

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with favoured designs of other purely ‘feminine folk-art traditions’151 of Bihar like, ‘aripan or Madhubani paintings.’152

Figure 18: Aripan/Alpona made with white rice paste on mud floor.

Figure 19: Bihari woman illustrating Khobar pattern on wall.

Figure 20: Depiction of Mandala pattern in Mithila painting, Bihar, India.

The patterns in aripan represents prosperity in a domestic space, and the very popular khobar and mandala patterns of Madhubani painting signifies love and happiness of a newly married couple. The colour red is prevalent during

Anand, p.1.

Pupul Jayakar, The Earthen Drum: An Introduction to the Ritual Arts of Rural India (New Delhi: National Museum: sole distributors, Publications Division, 1980), p.134.

151 152

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marriages and fertility festivals. 153 Likewise, white is the symbol of purity for Maithili Brahmins154 in Bihar. Possibly, my mother picked these colours to be at par in prestige with her upper caste ‘Maithili Brahmin and Kayastha’155 friends from her neighborhood.

Figure 21: Brownish-red stain on the tablecloth.

Figure 22: Small random, blue pen marks made by me.

The design was too elaborate and tedious to embroider, so my mother asked my grandmother to work on it too. At times they both worked together in angnā, which is an essential part of a home as it gave them an appropriate environment156 to create such a fine work. I looked at the textile and found a soft, brownish-red stain, perhaps of some spicy Indian curry pretending to be a part of the cloth. Furthermore, I found a few small blue pen marks, randomly sketched on one corner. I remember, these marks were made by me when I was a child.

Perhaps, during my childhood days, I might have got fascinated with this beautiful textile and would have scribbled some design of my own. To finish the edges of the fabric, my grandmother crocheted an exquisite jhālar157 using the same white yarn. Besides keeping the fabric from fraying, this crochet border certainly enhanced its appearance. Although, the reverse side has uncut and secured threads, it creates a mirror image of the design which is equally attractive, and it shows a distinctive stitch language.

C.A. Bayly, ‘The Origins of Swadeshi (Home Industry): Cloth and the Indian Society, 1700-1930’, in The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective, ed. by Arjun Appadurai (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), pp.285-321 (p.291).

154 Ibid.

155 Channa and Misra, pp.14-15.

156 Ibid, p.13.

157 Devi, unpublished interview.

153

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Figure 23: Crochet border, jhālar of the tablecloth made by my grandmother, 1980.

Figure 24: A reverse section of tablecloth showing threads and crochet border.

While it might be a trivial piece however, with proper care it has become rare with age. The sustenance of this tablecloth even after more than thirty-five years suggests the presence of two creative minds that collaborated to craft an elegant piece of cloth. Intentionally or unintentionally, it highlights the beliefs of the maker,158 for example, my mother remarks that the red colour was shubha159 for her throughout her life. This tablecloth is an heirloom that shall live through generations. My mother states, ‘I would like to give this tablecloth to you and I expect you to preserve it like a dharōhar. Perhaps you could also embroider a few motifs on it.’160 This tablecloth is unique that symbolizes ‘stability and longevity.’ 161 It serves the purpose of being ‘ritualistic, utilitarian and individualistic-cumcollective art form.’162 Likewise, it communicates not only emotions of my mother and grandmother towards the family members, but also political attachments within the society of Bihar. The fact that it was not purchased from any shop, but was handmade for household use, illustrates a close relationship between the women in a domestic space and the public domain. I gather that embroidering this tablecloth was an appealing and a transformative process for both my mother and grandmother. Additionally, they would have found a companionship and warmth while crafting it together. This activity was a creative milieu and a

Prown, pp.1-17 (pp.1-2).

Kumari, unpublished interview.

160 Kiran Kumari, unpublished interview.

161 Attfield, p.81.

162 Asis K. Chakrabarti, Kantha: The Traditional Art of the Women of Bengal (Calcutta: Arts India, 2000), p.14.

158 159

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sanctuary of love of a mother for her daughter. Truly, it celebrates the hidden ‘matriarchy.’163 Eventually, this embroidered tablecloth is a ‘history object,’164 because it is a living archive of experiences that these ladies and my other family members have gathered over the years. It has seized the time, skill, memories and sentiments in its embroidery.

5.3 Stories from our hometown Over the spring term in 2018, my course-mate Yu Yang and I worked on a collaborative artwork using skills from our studio practice; watercolour and embroidery, respectively. We used a medium sized khadi cotton paper, brown in colour, vintage, aromatic, irregularly edged, and textured.

Figure 25: 'Stories from our hometown', a collaborative artwork by Smriti Prasad and Yu Yang, London, 2018.

Barbara Burman, ‘Made at Home by Clever Fingers: Home Dressmaking in Edwardian England’, in The Culture of Sewing: Gender, Consumption and Home Dressmaking, ed. by Barbara Burman (Oxford: Berg, 1999), pp.33-53 (p.36).

164 Janet Hoskins, Biographical Objects: (New York: Routledge, 1998), p.9.

163

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Yu illustrated an ancient city wall from his hometown Kaifeng, China in a monochrome watercolour palette. On the contrary, I used sujini stitches to embroider the ground with various shades of yellow and blue, three-plied cotton yarns, which I had brought from India. Leora Auslander writes, ‘Human beings need objects to effectively remember and forget; and we need objects to cope with absence, with loss and with death.’165 Throughout the process of making this artwork, we spoke about our family, friends, hometown and culture. Every stitch reminded me of the moments I spent with my grandmother and other women embroiders in our āngna. I felt an absence of the warmth of my country, which I tried to overcome with the colourful embroidery stitches.

Embroidery is like a genre, which according to sociologist Roma Chatterji is, ‘an appropriate form, a recognizable practice, a mode of expression within a society or a speech sharing community.’166 This work is indeed ‘an embodiment of self and group identity’167 which created ‘a set of cultural production and a field for personal expression.’168 The process of making this artwork acknowledged my uniqueness and identity as a woman whose roots are in Bihar. Similarly, for Yu, this artwork became a frame for memories of his hometown in China. At the same time, it juxtaposed and stood out with each other’s culture and became a catalyst to start a conversation. Eventually, my contribution to this project is a result of an accumulated knowledge and experience of the praxis of embroidery, handed down from ‘mother to a daughter and to granddaughter.’169

Lou Taylor, ‘Beyond Words: An Embroidery in Memory of Anna Binderowska, Married 1864’, Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture, vol.11.3 (2013), pp.300–313 (p.304).

166 Channa and Misra, p.6.

167 Attfield, p.121.

168 Ulrich, p.40.

169 Upadhyaya, pp. 245–52 (p.251).

165

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6. Conclusion and recommendations In this chapter, I have summarized the meanings, cultural belief systems and social implications of embroidered textiles created by the Bihari women. An embroidered textile is an ‘artifact; a tangible historic record’170 that carries multiple meanings. Unlike books, they are informal means of communication. As Roland Fletcher explains that artifacts are a mode of non-verbal communication and it can be considered similar to the assemblage of human behaviour or body languages¾proxemics. As non-verbal modes of communication have a hidden dimension hence, artifacts can express and provide a way for the researcher to access the ambiguity which is the characteristic of human social life.171 Throughout this dissertation I have looked at the key points that resonate with Fletcher’s views and affirms that the embroidered textiles made by the Bihari women are a mode of communication and narration. Eventually, being a textile design professional, I have outlined my motivations and recommendations that in the future would feed in to my studio practice and might be beneficial for the society.

‘The Fabric of Everyday Life: Karanis in Egypt’ <https://www.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey/galleries/Exhibits/textiles/intro/intro2.html> [accessed 25 May 2018].

171 Roland Fletcher, ‘The Messages of Material Behaviour: A Preliminary Discussion of Non-Verbal Meaning’, in The Meaning of Things: Material Culture and Symbolic Expressions, ed. by Ian Hodder (London: HarperCollins Academic, 1991), pp.33-40 (p.38).

170

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As we gather from this essay that for a long time, the needle and thread has substantiated to be a woman’s companion. It has facilitated her to illustrate her narratives, emotions and feelings in the form of embroidery. Needlework, which is a common domestic hand-skill, usually practiced by the women in Bihar is a suitable medium of self-expression, a source of entertainment and a form of recreational activity. It has the ability to uncover a family’s history. Many a time, it is the living example of oral traditions, preserved by these women. Elements of an embroidered cloth gives one a clear idea about the place, time, its maker, and sometimes the person who uses it. The Bihari women use it like a language, to communicate their ‘wisdom and the values they protect and nurture for themselves and for their families.’172 Embroidery is a medium which has enabled the Bihari women to construct their own discourses. It is fairly evident in the project Khatwa wall hanging, where they have used the Khatwa embroidery technique to bring awareness about fatal diseases like the HIV and AIDS. Here, the embroidered wall hanging becomes a key signifier of social transformation. Besides, they have created a largely feminine space for themselves and have asserted their presence in the patriarchal society of Bihar. The skill of embroidery exhibited by the Bihari women in projects like Khatwa wall hanging and Pebble stream sari has given them international recognition. Further, it has empowered them to become independent and earn their livelihood; thus, it offers them a chance to eliminate poverty and bring happiness into their lives. Additionally, Gopika Nath’s project the Garam masala chai series indicate that there is a huge scope to explore the embroidery traditions of Bihar, as a medium of expression with fields like Textile Art. The comparisons between the embroidery styles of the women in my family shows that there was an awareness among them to create their own individual identities by learning and practicing embroidery. The embroideries done on Tarang’s handkerchief and cap, and the red tablecloth give indications of methodical observations, a reasonable sense of placement, composition and thought process. The portions of the tablecloth that my grandmother embroidered is neat and tidy, as she emphasised on achieving precision in her embroidery stitches. On the other hand, my mother was concerned about the designs, and my aunt looked into the functional aspect of needlework. All these women are

Jasleen Dhamija and Crafts Council of India, ‘Ashoke Chatterjee’, in Asian Embroidery (New Delhi: Abhinav Publications & Crafts Council of India, 2004), p.7.

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emotional beings at an individual level and the process of embroidery turns them into artists of their own craft.

While I observed the photographs of Tarang and me, I noticed that the embroidered initials on our handkerchiefs had a dual purpose; it functioned as a beautiful decoration as well as a method of identification. It also expresses the interpersonal relationship of a mother and child. Tarang’s clothing accessories and the embroidered red tablecloth indicate that it was an economically viable option for the women of my family to do embroidery, as they did not have to buy expensive personal adornment or home décor items from the market.

Furthermore, during various social events, the embroidered red tablecloth functioned as a key element to determine the social worth and economic status of my family. Surrounded by the upper caste Maithili Brahmin and Kayastha neighbours, this piece facilitated my mother and my family to be at par with them.

In the last few years, whenever I have visited my home in Bihar, I have been unable to locate many young girls or women from the present generation who would actively engage in creating such intricate embroideries. Perhaps because it is time consuming and they have alternatives available in the bazaar.

Although, there might be a shift in the trend to produce elaborate embroidered pieces, it has not discouraged my mother and the women from her generation to sometimes decorate their houses with a few of their embroidered pieces, as it visually enhances the aesthetics of the house and makes it a ‘home.’173 The fact that this tablecloth has survived to this day, it has become a souvenir of memoirs, like family celebrations and auspicious occasions.

For the recommendations, firstly I believe that studying artifacts like an embroidered cloth is vital. Often the visible symbols and inspirational designs of an embellished textile can lead to an in-depth understanding of hidden meanings.

Additionally, the process of its construction underlines various features of a tradition, social transformation, innovation and adaptability. Hence, for studiobased practices like textile design, investigating such pieces should be considered.

Secondly, in today’s burgeoning, chaotic and ‘Anthropocene’

174

environment, re-visiting and reviving homemade-handmade practices are

Marchese, p.73.

Robert Macfarlane, ‘Generation Anthropocene: How Humans Have Altered the Planet for Ever’, The Guardian, 1 April 2016, section Books <http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/01/generationanthropocene-altered-planet-for-ever> [accessed 11 June 2018].

173 174

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certainly a way forward that could make our ecosystem more sustainable. The old-fashioned way of making sujinis or gendris where worn-out, waste sāris and dhōtis are layered, and embroidered with sōta, is one such innovative and ecological practice. Such practices have the potential to encourage the idea of reuse and recycle.

Thirdly, through this research, I have collated that there is a personalised approach in making the embroidered textiles, whether it is for personal or commercial use. I find that there is still a huge scope for the embroidery traditions of Bihar to become popular both as an art and craft. A way of doing this would be to form clusters of Bihari women artisans and encourage them to make customised, narrative and innovative products. Additionally, the folk embroideries of Bihar could be used to enable young girls of rural areas to read and write.

Finally, this dissertation has informed me on the folk embroidery traditions of Bihar such as, sujini. While a brief reflection of the inherited embroidery tradition can be seen in my collaborative work, ‘Stories from our hometown’, I look forward to utilise some of the recommendations of this essay into my personal project, and other mixed media projects.

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Appendix Selection and categorization of embroidered pieces: As a part of my process, I have selected and categorized the embroidered works of my family and of the case studies. Below is a diagram from that process.

Figure 26: Representation of categorization of embroidered pieces.

Unstructured (telephonic) interview questions and transcription: A brief explanation of what this dissertation is about was given to all the interviewees at the beginning and a few warm up questions were asked to obtain their demographics. All interviews are originally in Hindi and Magahi, later transcribed by the author in English.

Following are some of the warm up questions; What is your nick name and formal name, if any? What is your date of birth? How old are you? Can you tell me something about your education? What are your hobbies? What other courses did you do? What is your profession? What is your religion, and do you follow any subsects? What is your socio-economic background? Where were you born?

When did you get married? How many kids do you have? How old are they? What is your religion?

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Demographics of interviewees175 data based on above questions asked during telephonic interview.

Name

Savitri Devi

Kiran Kumari

Supriya Gupta

Age (in years)

71

48

40

Gender

Female

Female

Female

Education

Senior Secondary School

Post graduate

Graduate

Occupation

Housewife

Housewife

Housewife

Socio-economic status

Middle class

Middle class

Middle class

Religion

Hindu

Hindu

Hindu

Race & ethnicity

South Asian Indian

South Asian Indian

South Asian Indian

Interviewee 1: Savitri Devi (maternal grandmother) SP: Where were you born? Can you tell me something about your family and parents? When did you start embroidery?

SD: I was born in Munnichak-Sarsauna, Bihar. My father was a zamindār, he was rich, affluent and influential. I started learning embroidery when I was in class 6.

SP: Did you go to school? What were the timings that you worked on the embroidery? Did you sisters also go to school? Where did you go out to study?

SD: I went to school and used to embroider in my free time. All my five sisters went to school. My father encouraged us all to go to school. One of my sisters and I even went out to study. It was Kubauli high school which was 1 kōs (three kilometer) far.

SP: When you started embroidery were you in village or the city? Other than studies what all work did you do? How did you learn this? Did someone teach you? What were some of your first works?

175

David W Stewart, Focus Groups: Theory and Practice (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2014), p.19.

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SD: I was in my village when I started kadhai. I performed daily chores of home apart from studies, I used to make mitti ka chulha, āmot. Whenever I got time I did embroidery. I did not go for a formal embroidery class. My family was very big, so my cousins taught me whenever they came home from their in-law’s place. I made so many things. As per the trend at that time I made, bed sheet, rumāl, āsni. I embroidered patterns on chatti wala boora (waste rug sacks) and made aasni out of it. I used dōra to do the embroidery. I used to pull dōra from the border of a used sari. At that time pār wali sari was very common. Pār was around chār angul (1.5 inches) and it had a variety of dōra colours like lal, kala, bullu. We used to take it out and embroider.

SP: Was this doora thin or thick? What other things did you make?

SD: We had to take six-seven dōra and ply it together to give a thickness. We also made daliya from sikki.

SP: Where did you buy your material from and did you used to get it? Did you write a description for the material? Did you ever visit a fair and bought these materials yourself?

SD: We were not allowed to go to the market, so I used to ask my brothers to bring needle, thread, fabric for me. It was a steel needle, I don’t know where it was made but it was strong enough. I had my own wooden box for keeping my needles and thread. I used to describe the colour, fabric type on a purja. I used to go to Durga Puja mela every year and I did buy a few materials from there.

SP: When did you get married? For your wedding did you make anything new?

What all things did you take with yourself? Did the groom side ask you If you knew embroidery? Did your in-laws place had a trend of embroidery?

SD: I was married in 1960. Whatever I made at home I took it with me to my sasurāl. Bed sheet, takiya cover, tablecloth, āsni, sikki dauri, petari, pauti. Yes, when they came to see me they asked me if she knows embroidery and I said yes.

Compared to my parent’s house, my in-laws house didn’t have much embroidery practice. Girls and women from neighborhood used to come and learn from me.

SP: Did you charge for teaching? Why do you think that in your sasural embroidery was not so popular?

SD: No, I never took any fee from them. It was free of cost. In my in-law’s house, there were less women/girls and more men. On the contrary at my parents’ house my father was six brothers and they all had daughters, so they used to teach us, and it was an important practice in the household.

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SP: Did your parents encourage you to do this work? Why did you do this? Why did you ever feel boring?

SD: My father and mother used to encourage us a lot. It was a trend at that time and we wanted to learn more and more designs and stitches. We were enthusiastic about embroidery and we were happy to do it. No, we never felt it as a burden.

SP: Did you make anything for your kids? When did you started making gendri?

What was the process?

SD: When your māmā and mā were born I made shawl, āsni, takiya ka khol for them. I also made gendri during that time. I layered old used cloth in with new cloth and stitched it together. I used to pull the weft from the cloth, get dōra from the market and with that I used to stitch it at the same place from where weft was pulled out, which created a design.

SP: What kind of material did you prefer? Did you make saree for yourself?

Who did more work in red table cloth? Crochet border was done by whom? Where did you get your inspiration from?

SD: I preferred cotton. Only sari was made in silk. I had made a silk sari for myself.

With a katpincil I drew on the fabric before embroidery. In the red cloth I made motifs and other designs, I also did the crochet border. I used to get my inspiration from books, refer to others works in my family and of friends.

SP: For festivities did you make anything special?

SD: For Chhath puja people do make embroidered pieces, with floral designs in the center and crocheted hanging jhālar as a border.

What did you feel when you first hold the needle what did you feel?

SD: I loved holding a needle, I never faced any trouble. People get enthusiastic whenever they learn new things like reading a new book similarly, I was attracted towards embroidery and I started learning it.

SP: How was the society at your time? How was the environment for the women?

How was the time around partition and independence? Did you learn English, when?

SD: Society was very good, everyone respected each other, for women as well it was good. We had only one restriction that we could not go out to study to another State. People around were aware that women need to be educated. In my childhood days (5-7 years) the British Raj officials used to come to my house and collect mālgujari (land tax). I started reading English from grade 7. There were

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teachers who knew English and they taught us simple words. I thought that I have to learn English alphabets and letters.

SP: Did you want your daughter to only learn embroidery?

SD: I thought that embroidery was an asset for home decoration only and this won’t do much good to my daughter, so I really wanted her to get good education as well.

Interviewee 2: Kiran Kumari (mother) SP: When did you start working on embroidery?

KK: I started learning embroidery in 6th grade.

SP: Who taught you?

KK: My mother, your nāni taught me, I looked at her doing this and I started learning.

SP: What was the reason for learning embroidery? Where did you learn it?

KK: I was interested from childhood and I used to see her doing embroidery, so I did it.

It used to be done at home and I had joined a course of home science where I learnt it SP: What is home science? Did you enjoy it?

KK: Grih vigyan. I enjoyed this course.

SP: What was the first embroidered pieces that you did? Did you do it because of the subject of Home Science or was there any other reason?

KK: Trying to recollect, she said I made a woolen shawl. I started making samples on small handkerchiefs then made tablecloth, bed cover. I had interest that’s why I started making it, class was just an pretext.

SP: When you were getting married, did the grooms side ask you if you know embroidery? Was is an important skill? Did you take your old work, or you made something new with you in your marriage? Can you name those items?

KK: I got married in 1988. Yes, during marriage, I was asked if I knew embroidery.

It was important, at that time people loved it. I used to do embroidery from my pre-teenage, so I had a collection which I took with myself to my new house (sasurāl). I made a few new items like tablecloth, dressing table cover, bed cover, sofa cover.

SP: For how much time did you live in your village? Did women in your village work on embroidery?

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KK: I lived in my village for 5 years. Women in my village used to do embroidery, my grandmother used to make embroidered pieces and framed it.

SP: Why do you think they did embroidery?

KK: To decorate the house. My grandmother learnt embroidery from her mother.

SP: Did these women work as a group/sit together? What was the timing for them to work?

KK: All women used to sit together and work in the afternoon.

SP: Did you continue embroidery in your in-laws? Did people do embroidery there?

KK: I still worked in my in-law’s house and everyone used to do it. I had a knack for it, so I did it.

SP: Do you think embroidery is important?

Where did you move from Bihar to? Did you embroider in Silliguri as well? Did you learn from each other?

KK: When dad got posted to Silliguri I embroidered there too. We used to learn from each other.

SP: When did you make this red table cloth? Is this your work only or anyone helped you? Where did you get the inspiration from? How much did you take to do this? How much work did you do in this?

KK: I made this table cloth with my mother when I was in class 9, as it was a heavy work and time consuming. I got my inspiration from a friend’s house. I saw a piece there, I liked it, so I thought of making this. Stitch name is Kaaj stitch. It was very time consuming it took me 3 months. Mother made most of it. I made a few flowers and rest ma made.

SP: How did you choose the material, what was the process?

KK: I wanted the material to be of good quality and it looks good. It should be durable.

SP: Any reason for choosing this color? Where did you buy this fabric from? Why did you choose white thread?

KK: Red color is my favourite and its auspicious. I bought this from Naveen vastralay situated at Tower Darbhanga. I really wanted to buy red color. It brings happiness. Red and white gives a contrast, it looks better. Other color could have been subdued.

SP: Why did you choose the kaaj stitch? How did you make the design?

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KK: Kaaj stitch looks/suits these flowers. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a copy, I changed the designs from what I had looked at. Their material was also different.

SP: Why the crochet border? Was this your idea?

KK: Crochet border looks very nice and it was my idea to use this border.

SP: What embroidered things were in trend during your time of marriage?

KK: Curtains, table cloth, rumal, dining table cover.

SP: Did you use this table cloth all the time or over an occasion only? Did you use it for any festivals, like Chath?

KK: I mostly used it on special occasions like a party at home or in pooja.

SP: What is the importance of this red table cloth in your life? If you pass on this to your next generation what do you want them to do? What do you expect from your next generation?

SP: This table cloth is lucky for me. I will pass it on to next generation and if you could retain it well, preserve it like a dharohar, and add on more motifs.

KK: Did you visit any fair? Did you buy any material or embroidered objects from there?

KK: I used to go to fairs in Durga pooja. I used to buy sofa covers from Sonepur mela.

SP: When did you decide to make handkerchief? Did grandmother make hanky for you? What did you make for yourself?

Rumaal I started making from class 3. Mother used to make it for me and I also made it for myself. I used to do motifs on my frock.

SP: During your stay in village did you buy any material?

KK: I never bought things from village mostly from town. Have you forgotten embroidery? SP: What kind of threads did you use and why?

KK: I have not forgotten, once learnt cannot forget ever.

SP: What kind of fabrics did you buy? What was the reason for that material?

KK: Fabric should be nice, cotton was my preference. Cotton looks good and it supports the embroidery very well. I used silk or cotton threads, as per the design and what I liked.

SP: The handkerchief that you made for me where did you get the inspiration from? What kind of design did you make on my handkerchief?

KK: I saw my friends doing the handkerchief, so I started giving it to you as well.

I used to make small florals on it.

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Interviewee 3: Supriya Gupta (maternal aunt) SP: Where were you born? When did you get married, how many kids do you have? How old is he?

SG: I was born in Vaishali, Bihar. I got married in 2002. I have a son. He is eight years old.

SP: When did you start learning embroidery? Did you go to any professional class? Where was this? Was it your own initiative? Who took you there? Where were you staying at this moment? What was the name of this institute?

SG: I started learning embroidery, sewing and knitting after grade 12. I went to a formal class to an institute, my elder sister told me to learn embroidery as it will be good for me. That time I used to live at my uncle’s place in Darbhanga and this institute was nearby, Runa institute. Embroidery is primary, one should know this skill. With embroidery one can make things for kids. I got interested and I started making things.

SP: What were the class hours? What was the process?

SG: I used to go for 2 hours, 2-3 days a week. I started with paper drawing, cutting, then cloth cutting. Simultaneously I learnt embroidery stitches. I made tablecloth using dhaage ka kaam. I made topi, flowers, borders on rumāl. I also made corners on bedsheet. I used to make designs on my own. I used to write words on rumāl. I enjoyed this work.

SP: How many people were there in your batch? Were they all women? How old were they? For how many years did you go there? Were there women from all castes and socio-economic background?

SG: All were girls, four-five of them. Some were older, some of them were of my age, around 16 to 25 years old. I went to class for 2 years regularly. It was not a rule that I have to go to class every day, it was at my disposal. They were from different castes.

SP: When you were getting married during the process where you asked if you know embroidery? Were you asked to show your work to them? Were your friends also being asked such questions?

SG: Yes, they asked. And I used to say yes. Yes, they were also asked, this was a part of our culture, all girls know it.

SP: Why do you think learning embroidery was important to you or why is it important? What all did you learn in your embroidery classes? Did you ever think

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why I am doing this? Did you ever think that you can use this as an opportunity for employment?

SG: It’s not important that all should know it. It’s about interest, you can make things for home, for kids, also start a business. It was never required of me but yes one can do business.

Did you buy all the materials yourself or did someone buy it for you? Did you tutor instruct you what to buy? What was the process? Did you make designs on your own? Or did your tutor instruct you? Did you enjoy doing this? Did you ever think that I should leave learning embroidery?

SG: I used to buy it myself. Teachers told us what to get for the class, but if I wanted to make things for myself I got it on my own.

SP: Can you explain about the process of learning embroidery in your class? How much time did you take to learn a stitch? What did you do with the stitch samples?

How did you document it?

SG: I used to make a small sample, practice on samples then make it on big cloth.

I used to take one-two days, maximum two days to learn embroidery stitches. I used to keep samples with me, I made a file, write all descriptions.

SP: Can you explain what all materials did you buy for your embroidery at home or in classes? Was there a special shop for this? Where was this? What was the cost for all the materials? What kind of fabrics you preferred?

SG: I used to buy resham ka dhāga, sui, round hoop. Without a frame/hoop embroidery is difficult. There were specific shops for these material at Donar chowk in Darbhanga. All materials would cost around fifty Indian rupees. Cloth prices were variable, hanky was for ten Indian rupees, table cloth was expensive.

I bought cotton fabric. It was suitable. Khadi as well.

SP: How did you decide what colours to buy, what fabrics to buy? Did you go alone to buy these materials? Did you also teach others new stitches? When you went to your village did you learn from your cousins? Was there any difference between their work or your work? Did they also go to class? Did you or they referred to any books?

SG: I decided the colours myself. I used to go alone or sometimes with friends and other classmates. I used to teach others as well in the class. I taught them sometimes, whatever they knew they told me and vice-versa. There was not so much difference. Cloth was better in town. Processes were same in villages and town. They did not go to any class, they learnt from each other. If someone knew

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any stitch they used to teach others. We used to refer to books. But it was not very helpful. Practically learning in class was better. There were specific books for embroidery.

SP: Have you forgotten this skill? How much time do you take now to finish a piece? Did you make anything for yourself? What kind of designs did you make?

Did you use that work?

SG: I haven’t forgotten much, I can do it. It’s out of practice so I would take a bit more time. Approx. one-two hours to make a pattern. I made a dupatta for myself.

I made a border, lehariya, buti designs on my dupatta. It was a white dupatta which I used as base.

SP: Did you visit any fair? Did you buy anything from there?

SG: Yes, I used to go to fairs, I never bought much because I could make it myself.

It was the same handicraft items, there was no point spending money.

SP: When Tarang was born, did you make anything for him? What all things did you make? Why do you think that a woman should make such items for their kids?

Does he ask anything to you about the pieces that you made for him? Did his school friends ask about this? How do you choose the colours for him?

SG: I made a cap, wrote name on hanky, tucked it on school uniform. It looks good on kids, my mother made it for me, it expresses love for the child. Yes, he asks me did you make it, it’s so pretty. Yes, he tells his school friends that my mother made it for me. Colour should suit and look good on him.

SP: Do women in your experience or locality do this work now-a-days? Why do you think that women/girls should only do this work or why only they should do it?

SG: I didn’t see it recently, but yes a few of them do make it. Yes, I like doing it, I can sit with them and make it. As per our culture, girls learn these skills, men do other things.

SP: Did your mother, grandmother did this work? What all items did they used to make?

SG: Yes, my aunt is very good at embroidery, my grandmother used to do it too.

They used to make tablecloth, bedsheet, scarf, write names on scarf.

SP: Did you make gendri (baby quilt) for him? What was the process? Did you learn this in class?

SG: Yes, we used to make gendri for infants. It’s made of old and soft bedsheets, cloths. It is like a gadda. I saw and learnt it.

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Consent forms:

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Notes Anthropocene: It is a term used to denote the ever-increasing influence of human beings on Earth.176 Especially the impact on environment that is causing climate change.

Interpretive approach: It acknowledges that material culture is not just something people create but an integral component of our personalities and our social lives, deeply implicated in how we construct social relationships.177 Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri: Local dialects from the state of Bihar, India.

Narratage: visual media where one of the players is a storyteller.

Sample or Sampler: Derived from the Latin word exemplum (meaning a model or an example for imitation), a sampler is a specimen of needlework skills embroidered onto a piece of fabric. Samplers allowed the needle worker to practice and learn new techniques and also to record stitches and patterns that could be used as a point of reference for future work.178 Sonepur Mela: The greatest fair in Bihar where, ‘[E]verything from a pin to an elephant was offered for sale’.179

‘Anthropocene | Climate Change | British Geological Survey (BGS)’ <http://www.bgs.ac.uk/anthropocene/> [accessed 11 June 2018].

177 Beaudry, p.7.

178 Leena A. Rana, ‘Stories behind the Stitches: Schoolgirl Samplers of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries’, Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture, 12 (2014), pp.158–179 (p.159).

179 Lillian Luker Ashby and Roger Whately, My India (S.l.]: MJoseph, 1938), p.103.

176

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