From the state of West Bengal, comes the Kantha handicraft. In its simplest form, it is nothing but the humblest of stitches - the running stitch!! In olden days, this stitch was used in quilt making. Layers of worn out clothes would be covered by a soft, old, used cotton saree and these stitches were run all over the quilt so as to hold the layers in place.
Slowly, they started getting used in more decorative pieces such as table cloths, pillow covers etc. Now it has moved into the wider market, but is still made by hand. Many of us I am sure have a Kantha blouse or a Kantha purse or a Kantha saree!
My Kantha saree was purchased at the Murshidabad Silk House - Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan, in Gariahat Market, near Rash Behari Avenue in the City of Joy. The saree is a chocolate brown Murshidabad Silk (which is very light and almost like Tussar, aiding in both flexibility to do the embroidery, as well as keeping the saree weight low; as the embroidery tends to make the saree heavy) onto which the Kantha work was done by women trained from villages in and around Shanthi Niketan. The estimate on the time taken to do the entire saree is about 2 months by a single person.
There has been a lot of though process in the design. The motif repeated through the saree is that of flowers and creepers, all over the border and the pallu. Leaves form the pattern in the body of the saree. The height of the embroidery above the border continues to grow from the inner end of the saree, and as it reaches the pallu, it has reached the entire height of the saree. This gradual increase in the border reflects so very beautifully in the pleats in the front.
Here is a closeup of the pallu. Pretty much covered by thread work, there is hardly any free space left behind! I can't but imagine the patience of the person doing this work. It is a true labour of love in just two colors - pink and white.
I wanted to show how neatly the work has been done to keep the thread to a bare minimum on the reverse. By doing this, they have made sure that the maximum thread shows in the front. The stitches have to also be small enough in length so as to give flexibility in design. This truly is a work of art and a possession very close to my heart!
The silk retails at 500/- a meter and mine came with a blouse, totaling to 6 meters (Rupees 3000/-). How much do you think the Kantha work added to the cost of the saree?
Slowly, they started getting used in more decorative pieces such as table cloths, pillow covers etc. Now it has moved into the wider market, but is still made by hand. Many of us I am sure have a Kantha blouse or a Kantha purse or a Kantha saree!
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| Kantha on Murshidabad Silk |
My Kantha saree was purchased at the Murshidabad Silk House - Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan, in Gariahat Market, near Rash Behari Avenue in the City of Joy. The saree is a chocolate brown Murshidabad Silk (which is very light and almost like Tussar, aiding in both flexibility to do the embroidery, as well as keeping the saree weight low; as the embroidery tends to make the saree heavy) onto which the Kantha work was done by women trained from villages in and around Shanthi Niketan. The estimate on the time taken to do the entire saree is about 2 months by a single person.
There has been a lot of though process in the design. The motif repeated through the saree is that of flowers and creepers, all over the border and the pallu. Leaves form the pattern in the body of the saree. The height of the embroidery above the border continues to grow from the inner end of the saree, and as it reaches the pallu, it has reached the entire height of the saree. This gradual increase in the border reflects so very beautifully in the pleats in the front.
Here is a closeup of the pallu. Pretty much covered by thread work, there is hardly any free space left behind! I can't but imagine the patience of the person doing this work. It is a true labour of love in just two colors - pink and white.
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| The intense & intricate Pallu |
I wanted to show how neatly the work has been done to keep the thread to a bare minimum on the reverse. By doing this, they have made sure that the maximum thread shows in the front. The stitches have to also be small enough in length so as to give flexibility in design. This truly is a work of art and a possession very close to my heart!
The silk retails at 500/- a meter and mine came with a blouse, totaling to 6 meters (Rupees 3000/-). How much do you think the Kantha work added to the cost of the saree?
