A stitch in time
The Chamba rumals are embroidered square cloths from Chamba in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
The dying art of Chamba rumal got a breath of revival as the Delhi Crafts Council stepped in to bring back its glorious past as well as explore its contemporary themes.
From telling the tales of Radha-Krishna and chausar to depicting the current political scenario and modern weddings, the Chamba rumal has come a long way. But this was not always the case. Had it not been for the efforts of Delhi Crafts Council (DCC), the art of Chamba rumal would have been lost to cheap replicas and reduced to tourist keepsakes.
The Chamba rumal is unlike the regular handkerchief. “We end up stereotyping things. So when you say rumal, a certain picture comes to mind. Similarly, a few visitors thought they had come to the wrong gallery because these works look like paintings. But that is the beauty of Chamba rumal, it combines miniature painting with needlework,” shares Anjana Somany, president of DCC. It is for this combination of painting and embroidery that these works are also called ‘paintings in embroidery’.
The Chamba rumals are embroidered square cloths from Chamba in the state of Himachal Pradesh. They are used for covering platters, as gifts for auspicious occasions and for offerings to a deity. During weddings, rumals are exchanged between families of the bride and groom as a token of goodwill.
Pahari miniature artists, usually men, drew outlines on fine handspun and hand woven unbleached muslin. Traditionally, women used to embroider upon these compositions using untwisted coloured silk floss. The double satin stitch technique used is known as do-rukha and ensures exact duplication of the image on the opposite side of the cloth as well.
Talking about the initial challenges in this journey, the ex-president of DCC, Purnima Rai recalls, “Initially it was very difficult to even document these works of art. That was one of the biggest challenges we faced. Unlike these days, photography was not readily available to everyone in the 90s. Another challenge we faced was to get the artists to use natural silk again. They had got used to synthetic threads that wouldn’t break easily. But one has to be very patient with silk floss that can break easily.”
While the council could easily source muslin, sourcing silk floss in various shades was not that easy in the beginning. But today the council has at least 15 shades in every colour.
“One of the important things that also makes this art unique is the various shades used in the work. It makes the painting come alive,” says Anjana.
Pahari miniature artist, Prixit Sharma agrees, “The works that stand out are the ones that give a 3D effect; that comes from the shades and the way one manipulates the stitches. It is a work of patience.”
The council’s efforts have provided employment to artists like Masto Devi who pursue this full time. Keeping it traditional and yet making a shift, the council has also tied up with artist Swati Kalsi to conceptualise contemporary designs. Talking about the contemporary designs, Prixit says, “When the contemporary designs first came in and I showed the drawings to the embroiderers, they didn’t want to make it. It took a lot of work. One of the artists left a piece half done. Another of these contemporary pieces got ruined twice and could only be made in the third attempt. There were lot of overlapping images in the new drawings, which was a challenge for all of us. So it has been a process of unlearning and relearning that way. But in the end it is the same stitch, the same style of art.”
An average rumal takes around a month to be embroidered. “The drawing has to be very clear. In miniature painting, a lot of focus is on line drawing. While the art has been patented and there are schools for this style of embroidery in Chamba, the government has somehow overlooked the fact that this art is a joint venture between painting and embroidary. There is no focus on the drawing part and there is a dearth of artists who can draw. There needs to be more focus on this,” he adds.
The exhibition, ‘Raas — Life to a Dying Art’, is on at India Habitat Centre till 8 April