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Fading designs

Tripat Kaur

Punjabi entrepreneurship has found expression not only in modern industry but also in traditional crafts. Phulkari, the traditional embroidery of Punjab, is providing livelihood to a large number of women embroiderers in the Patiala dist rict and the business is today worth crores of rupees.

However, rampant commercialisation of the craft, has reduced profit margins drastically and also craftspersons are paid a pittance. The other grouse of the workers in this region is that though the craft has become popular, the traditional nuances, that the embroidery was once famous for, are being lost.

Phulkari was brought to Patiala district by a few craftsmen who migrated from Bhawalpur, near Multan in West Pakistan after Partition. Traditionally, Phulkari is done on khadi cloth with only five colours _ green, fushia, rust or orange, c ream and bluish purple. ``If you do the traditional work that our ancestors used to do, then it would take three to six months to do one piece, which might sell in the market for Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. It takes a lot of time and hard w ork,'' says Kiran Chhabra, who was awarded the Kamala Devi Puraskar in 1996 for her Phulkari work. Her works have been exhibited at various exhibitions in the country.

According to rough figures, this industry has grown many folds since the time it was brought into the country by migrants. At that time it was mainly done for self-use or for the Rajwara families of Patiala. Today, over one lakh suits embroide red with Phulkari and thousands of dupattas and other items such as cushions, jackets, caps and so on are produced in the city every month.

Phulkari embroidery is very popular among rural women in the district especially in Tripuri, where girls start learning the craft from a very young age. It is estimated that it is the only source of income for more than 5,000 persons, most of th em women. However, the popularity of the craft, especially in the northern region, has resulted in low wages to craftswomen.

Walking through the streets of Tripuri one finds women embroidering while sitting on the cots in the streets. ``We hardly get anything, just Rs 35 to Rs 45 per suit. And a dupatta, which might take a month for us to embroider, might fetc h us only Rs 500, in spite of the fact that we know it'll be sold in the market for as much as Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. We don't have a choice. This is the only skill we have,'' says Roopmati.

If they do not work at these rates, the work will go to someone else. A shopkeeper says that there is a virtual mushrooming of people doing business in phulkari, thus reducing the profit margin to as less as Rs 10 per suit. Businessmen doing business in large volumes could sustain themselves but it was difficult for others to make both ends meet.

Most of the embroiderers and shopkeepers agree that in these circumstances it is very difficult for genuine or skilled labour to sustain itself and has led to degeneration in the quality of work. ``What passes off as phulkari today is nowhere nea r to what we used to do or what we had learned from our mothers or aunts. We used to work without chapai and we used to make bags in which the embroidery is so intricate that you are not able to see the cloth at all,'' says Ram Piari, a 90-year ol d craftswomen who stopped working a few months ago and is considered one of the last doyens of the craft.

``In our times we used to be taught embroidery by our mothers and aunts. We used to make it for our trousseau or for other girls in the family. It used to take us months to finish one piece since the work is very time-consuming. We also used to do a lot of lace work, which was very popular at that time. Though we used to strive for perfection our ancestors had taught us to leave some imperfection like unfinished corner or use of different colour in the work so that the work doesn't invite the evil eye. Nowadays nobody believes in such things,'' adds Ram Piari.

``Traditional work is not at all done now. You may find some craftswomen who still indulge in the original craft. Nowadays even French knot work and Sindhi embroidery are passed off as phulkari. Foreigners who come to the exhibition ask for traditional work, and so I think there is definitely a market out there waiting to be tapped. However, it is the widespread commercialisation of the craft which paradoxically has also led to its downfall,'' says Kiran, who is also the grand-daughter of Ram Piari.

Reminiscing about her younger days, Ram Piari says, ``The work that they do today is not even mediocre from our standards. Sometimes it can't even be called Phulkari. But I have the satisfaction of doing good quality work and teaching the same to my daughter and grand daughter. I can no longer do embroidery since my eyes have become very weak.''

The traditional hand-made thread used is not even available these days, though according to some craftsmen, the traditional thread is still available in Pakistan. The motifs used are generally geometric or floral.

There is no denying that Phulkari is a booming business in Punjab and the State Government should help entrepreneurs in getting subsidised loans and provide assistance in marketing the product. ``Most craftspersons involved in this business are unedu cated and it is nor possible for them to handle cumbersome paper work for getting loans,'' says Gurpreet Singh of Gurpreet Phulkari Emporium.

Phulkari has a tremendous earning potential, and can rake in even foreign exchange. This could usher in prosperity to the craftspersons of the area. Good remuneration to craftswomen will also help in the revival of the traditional craft of Phu lkari.

``Despite rampant commercialisation of the craft there are still some people who do good work and they should be encouraged by the Government. The Government should help these craftswomen in exhibiting their work in various exhibitions. A servic e outlet could also be opened by the co-operative,'' says Ram Piari.