KUTCH TRADITION SPECIAL............ Rooted in tradition

Rooted in tradition

A new museum that  not only showcases the many embroidery styles of Kutch’s communities, but is also a fountain of traditional knowledge of this craft that may have otherwise been lost in time,

Something extraordinary happened in a dusty, arid village in Kutch earlier this week. About 1,400 women, some of whom had never stepped outside their villages, crossed the threshold to visit a new museum on the outskirts of Bhuj. The women, and not a politician or a local celebrity, were the stars during the museum’s opening week. “Because this place is for the karigars. And because it is Shrujan, there's ownership of the place by the women,” explains Ami Shroff of Shrujan Trust which commissioned the Living and Learning Design Centre (LLDC). “It is for them to come and see the work they do and verify it with what their predecessors did.” The newly-built Centre in Paddhar village is an animate tribute to the crafts practised by the various communities in Kutch. As its name suggests, the nine-acre campus is a place designed to impart training, conduct workshops, delve into research, explore new designs and showcase and exhibit the works of artisans and craftsmen practising embroidery, bell metal works, wood carving, toy making, etc. “In five years, we want this place to be the hub for all 22 crafts of Kutch,” says Ami. Already, the Centre is a treasure trove of the region’s embroidery. The first of LLDC museum's three galleries, which will open on January 25, showcases 16 styles of embroidery practised by nine different communities. The embroideries serve as identity markers for each community. For instance, the Ahir community’s embroidery, called Ahir, has particular stitches such as the saankdi (chain) stitch, the baavadiyo stitch the dhungo flower motif and so on. Likewise, the Meghwad Maaru community does the soof embroidery whose geometric and floral motifs are based on a triangle and done in satin stitch. Exquisitely embroidered 3ft x 4ft panels are a major component of the gallery and are based on traditional community design; the panels are juxtaposed alongside a living exhibit, say a ghaghra, that has the same kind of embroidery. “Each panel best represents the overall embroidery, the finesse of the work and the skill of the artisan,” says Abhishek Ray, the architect who has designed the museum. “So each panel would be studied not only for its motifs and borders, but also for its density, colours, stitches per sqm and so on.” The panels currently on display are just a handful of the 1,000-odd commissioned by Ami’s mother and Shrujan founder, Chanda K Shroff or kakiji as she is called throughout Kutch. “The panels were made between 1997 and 2002, by which time a lot of the original and traditional designs were being compromised or lost because mothers and grandmothers would teach these orally to their daughters,” recounts Ami. “My mother knew that in an urban area, one has access to museums, galleries and exhibitions. But what access does one have in rural areas?” marisha.karwa@dnaindia.net,