PHULKARI

Carol D. Westfall Dipti Desai

Translated literally, the term "pulkari" means "flowering work". "Phulkari bagh" refers to the geometric, patterned surfaces resem - bling the plan of a Mughal garden. Today, the simple and sparsely embroidered headcloths known as "odhni" are called "phulkari", while the heavily embroidered cloths used for ceremonial purposes are referred to as "phulkari bagh".

Geographically, the phulkari is associated with northwestern India, especially with the states of Haryana and Punjab. Made from a coarse, cotton material known as "khaddar", the ground fabric is usually a rusty red colour. This is a shade considered auspicious and is used for weddings and other religious and special ceremonies. The embroidery is accomplished in a soft, untwisted silk floss called "pat". Each darning stitch is usually 1/4" in length, and is worked on the reverse side of the material. A traditional palette of colours would include white, gold, orange, green, and crimson.

The actual origin of phulkari stitchery is a continuing debate. Some sources credit the Jat community of southeast Punjab. According to Ibbeson, the Hindu Jats, who were conquered by the Mummaden tribes, originated the craft. After the conquest, the ground fabric which had traditionally been sparsely covered with embroidery, was completely covered. Thus, the embroidery became the cloth itself, rather than an adjunct to the surface of the fabric.

S.S. Hitkari refutes this theory, and believes that the Khatri community of Sikhs and Hindus originated the phulkari embroidery form.

In the 19th Century, we do know that the Jat women created phulkaris for their own personal use and that the Hazara women worked on

ARS TEXTRINA 6 (1986), pp. 85-100

phulkaris for wealthy patrons. In 1888, F.A. Steele commented on the disintegration of the craft due to British influences:

"So far the mistakes, such as they are, have, it appears to me, arisen undoubtedly from over refinement of the strong, purely decorative diapering of the original work. After these steps, in the fatal facility with which the native, despite his much vaunted sense of beauty, turns to the inartistic when it is presented to him. Manchester goods came into the market, ousting home - spuns in the more advanced districts, and the women began at once to work head-coverings to match the new fashions; hence, through endless variations, to what I have called the Manchester bagh".

Phulkari design has been divided into four main categories: phulkari, bagh, chobe, and shishadar. The phulkari refers to a cloth with em - broidered patterning spaced at intervals on the surface. When the entire surface is embroidered, it is referred to as a bagh. Chobe is a cloth in which the embroidery appears only at the edges and shishadar indicates the addition of circular glass pieces into the embroidered design. These pieces of glass are held in place by a buttonhole stitch around the circumference.

Several of the most popular designs have names attributed to the vege - tables which they resemble. Mircha bagh (chili), kakri bagh (cucumber), and gobhibagh (cabbage), are a few examples.

Some phulkaris are created for very specific occasions. For instance, the varida bagh is embroidered by the grandmother of a bride and is presented to the couple at the time of their marriage. The golden yellow embroidery is superimposed on a red ground, symbolizing fertility and happiness. A lozenge design covers the entire ground. Today, this bagh is considered a family heirloom and is draped over the bride immediately after the marriage rites have been completed.

A bawan bagh is derived from the Punjabi word for the number 52. The field is divided into 42 to 48 boxes or squares, each containing a different pattern in a number of colours. The borders are also em - broidered adding up to 52 different geometrical motifs. A ghungot

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bagh refers to a phulkari embroidered at the border and in the center of each side of the cloth.

Traditionally, the day a daughter was born into a family, work began on her phulkari. The cultural significance is best represented by Kamala Dongerkery, who wrote, "the value which the young bride attaches to the phulkari is not to be measured by its market price as a work of art, having regard to the material, labour, and skill which have contributed to its making, but by the filial tenderness, affection, and gratitude, which are the least return she can make for the best of good wishes and the most affectionate of thoughts for her happiness and prosperity that have been literally woven into the texture of the cloth with each single stitch that has helped to complete the design".

In times past, a Punjabi uncle of the bride would literally pick up the girl in her phulkari and deliver her to the wedding site. Eleven days after the birth of her child, the woman would don her phulkari and leave the birthing room. At death, the woman would be covered with the phulkari cloth. The cultural importance of this traditional textile cannot be overemphasized.

Particular motifs add symbolic content to the phulkari. The horse is a sign of manliness; the spinning wheel is the wheel of creation; churn - ing buttermilk symbolizes the earliest movement of heaven and earth and the churning of the oceans; the serpent represents control of creation and of fertility, and the peacock is a symbol of love and the coming of rain to nourish the fields.

The following photographs depict the stitching of a phulkari bagh as well as three exceedingly fine examples of this textile craft.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dongerkery, Kamala. "Romance of Indian Embroidery", Thatcher Co., Bombay, 1951.

Gill, Harjeet Singh. "A Phulkari from Bhatinda", Punjab University, Patiala, 1977.

Hitakri, S.S. "Phulkari,The Folk Art of the Punjab", Phulkari Publications, New Delhi, 1980.

Mehta, Rustam J. "Masterpieces of Indian Textiles", D.B. Tarapore - vala Sons and Co. Pvt. Ltd., Bombay, 1970.

Steele, F.A. Phulkari Work in the Punjab, Journal of Indian Art, Vol. #24. (The quote attributed to Ibbeson is taken from this article.)

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Carol D. Westfall is an Associate Professor in the Fine Arts Depart - ment at Montclair State College in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. During 1980-81, Professor Westfall was an Indo-American Fellow photodocumenting textile techniques as currently practiced by Indian artisans.

Research Assistant, Dipti Desai, has recently finished a degree pro - gram at Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York.

Carol D. Westfall Fine Arts Department Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, New Jersey

Dipti Desai Teacher's College Columbia Univeristy, New York

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Photo 1: The mother of S.S. Hitkari, author of "Phulkari, The Folk Art of the Punjab", with a rare phulkari from the family collection. Photo by C. Westfall, 1981.

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Pho

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Photo 3: Satin stitching a phulkari bagh surface. Photo by C.Westfall, 1981.

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Photo 4: Detail of the front (lower part of photograph) and the back (upper part of the photograph) of a phulkari bagh. Photo by C.Westfall, 1981.

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Phot

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Photo 7: A detail of the upper left corner of the phulkari showing a woman spinning. Photo by C. Westfall, 1981.

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Phot

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