How the border village of Barmer is an international supplier of unique embroidery

Pawani Meghwal holds up one of her embroidered pieces (Photo Credit: Parul Kulshrestha)

Though they were seen as those from a lower community, as outsiders often are, their embroidery has become world famous with numerous international exhibitions and export houses displaying their ware. Some scholars say the ‘bharat’ embroidery tradition that they employ is derived from the word ‘bharna’ which means ‘to fill’.

When we travel to Binjasar village, large swaths of desert brown greet us on either side, with the sparing khejri and ber trees providing relief for tired eyes. But sprinkled on the sands are grey, concrete houses that have long forgotten the conical huts that were once native to the region.

We meet 80-year-old Sangari Devi, wearing a fiery red ghoonghat, a sharp contrast to the earthy landscape itself. Between managing her great grandchildren who leap and gambol about their home, taking the cattle out to graze and ensuring there are rotis for the men when they return, she lays out a sky-blue piece of cloth on which is the outline of an elephant filled in with fine orange embroidery, with sequins and motifs that immediately connotes an India we have grown up seeing at tourist destinations. This piece of cloth could be a tapestry, a table cloth or perhaps even a tiny window curtain. Charpois lean against her wall, telling us that this house is always expecting visitors.

“I learned embroidery from my mother who learned it from hers. I have been doing this since the age of 10 years. I’ve never been to school but I learned everything at home to survive,” says a proud Sangari.

Although the Meghwals are not the only community who do embroidery in the desert district of Jaisalmer and Barmer, they are the ones doing it professionally for bharat embroidery. Their handiwork has found both domestic and international markets.

Binjasar has nearly 150 houses, of which 70 belong to the Meghwal community. So, it’s not unusual as one moves from one house to the next to see women sitting in clusters, working on their embroidery and applique. Their fingers are nimble and quick in rhythm with the glass bangles that tinkle on their wrists.

Craft revivalist and researcher Madan Meena, executive member, Kota Heritage Society, says, “Earlier, both men and women practiced bharat embroidery but now only the women do it. Oral testimonies do not really locate the origin of the craft but accounts point to the Persian desert,” he says.

Despite the rigorous life in the desert, women make space for creativity as they decorate their homes, work with the needle and craft objects with their hands. Sometimes, the intricate embroidery and appliqué take months. But it has never deterred a mother who is investing in her daughrer’s ‘daija’ (dowry), to patiently loop the thread through the needle’s eye and work on the cloth, one stitch at a time. When it’s time for the big day, the daughter will then have a collection of different bharat made by her mother.

Mumal Meghwal, Sangari daughter, pipes in as she recounts how her sasural (in-laws) judged her on the embroidered clothes and blankets that she brought with her. “More than gold and silver, handmade materials are valued in our weddings. For any wedding preparation, women of the family and neighbours sit together to prepare these gifts. I was given 15 hand stitched embroidered blankets, pouches, bags, odanis and blouses,” says 50-year-old Mumal.

Meena recounts, “They create the designs themselves, guided by their own talent, with nature as an inspiration. Many motifs and forms are interpretations of flowers and foliage found in their immediate surroundings, and often the names of the motifs reflect these organic influences. Most designs are geometric, with the counted threads of the fabric serving as a reference. The warp and weft function like a graph layout, helping the women plan the exact measurements and sequence of the embroidery.”

An hour’s drive from Binjasar is Chohtan, another village, where we visit a home; this time with faded pink walls. It’s a buffet of psychedelic colour, as women in ochre, pink and red ghoonghats lay out the work of their hands. Intricate embroideries in yellow, red, blue, green and purple could very well be table runners or bedcovers, with steel trunks holding the promise of more.

Pawani Meghwal holds out an applique bedsheet, with a tree of life design in a blue base colour, with a multicolour pattern). It has taken her nearly 20 days to complete, sometimes it’s a month. For this, she is paid Rs 1,500. For an applique pillow or cushion cover, the women get Rs 100 to 300 which takes about 10 days to make.

“In a month with small items we can earn Rs 1,000 and for bigger items, Rs 2,000, if we get lucky. There are no other jobs for us, and with this we manage our day-to-day expenses. Most of the men in our area work as labourers or do menial jobs,” says Pawani.

Mewaram Meghwal on the charpai seated with his mother, Kheti Devi; his wife Amari Devi is seated behind with their daughter – the entire family is in the business of stitching and selling embroidered fabric (Photo Credit: Parul Kulshrestha)

Hakam Ram Meghwal calls himself a designer for applique and embroidery work and is the bridge between the store and the women. “I have been doing this work for more than 40 years. Everyone in my family does embroidery. I get a client and then hire women from all over Barmer to complete the job. Recently, an organisation that works for artisans paid a good amount so I paid the women Rs 3,000 per piece of clothing. There is demand in the market but not enough people who will loosen their purse strings,” he says.

Giriraj Parihar, who has a shop in the old city of Jodhpur, says, “Such handmade work is much in demand especially among tourists. Such embroidered jackets, bags and sheets are the textile identity of Rajasthan. To an Indian customer we sell a Barmer applique bedsheet for anywhere from Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 but for foreign customers there is no limit; we can charge up to Rs 20,000.”

Parihar mentions that there are now craft factories in Jodhpur where men are employed to do these jobs for Rs 15,000 a month. “The handicraft business from Western Rajasthan earns easily Rs 100 crore annually. Since the employees are usually farmers, it happens only for six months a year though,” he says.

But for the women, it is a way of life. It’s what gets them status in a family, earns them a basic income, adds colour to their lives and honours the work of their ancestors. It also emphasises a popular proverb in the region that they stand by: ‘Nar to hunar, ni to khar ro khar’ (a person without artistic talent is an ass).