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Nita Ambani is a huge patron of Indian craftsmanship, and for the inauguration of the Shiv Mandir at Gir, Saurashtra, last week, the Chairperson of Reliance Industries chose to spotlight Kashmir’s traditional handiwork. The Ambani matriarch slipped into a shaded Jamevaar sari by Tarun Tahiliani, embellished with the finest Khashida embroidery in pearl, ochre, and deep red tones.
Taking to Instagram, the designer mentioned, “The choli – a contemporary reinterpretation of classic couture – featured an optical-illusion effect with delicately curved borders and a striking Jamevaar back. The look was completed with rare and vintage Golconda diamonds from her personal jewellery collection.
For makeup, Nita Ambani chose to keep it simple with peach and coral tones – a light flush on her cheeks, a wash of colour on her lips, and brown smokey eye paired with a red bindi. A loosely tied braid cascaded down her back, adorned with a wreath of red and white flowers.
Even though Kashmir is known primarily for its Pashmina and Kani textiles, artisans working with kashidakari embroidery and jamevaar (also known as jamawar) continue to provide household income to support the local economy.
Jamevaar is a blend of cotton and Pashmina wool, while Kashida is the general term for Kashmiri embroidery. Kashida embroidery is done with thick coloured threads and beads to create different patterns. Created with a chain stitch, this embroidery is used on warmer fabrics such as silk, cotton, and wool, as well as on garments and home decor items like rugs, cushion covers, and bedspreads.
When it comes to kashida work, there are more than one type of embroidery that can be used to create different looks. One of the most popular styles is the Sozni embroidery. This embroidery is created so skillfully that the patterns and kashida embroidery motifs can appear on both sides of the garment in varying shades of colour. Sozni embroidery uses the fly stitch, stem stitch, and darning stitches.
In fact, Kashidakari is used as an umbrella term for many different embroidery techniques, including crewel or ari work, rezkar, tilla, sozni, and dori work. Ari embroidery uses aari to fill motifs with chain stitch or zalakdodozi, open work or doria work, buttonhole stitch or vatachik, and gold work or talibar.
The motifs are inspired by their surroundings and by what the artists saw. They are inspired by birds such as parrots, woodpeckers, and kingfishers; the floral motifs are inspired by lotus, lily, saffron flower, iris, and tulips. The other designs include grapes, plums, almonds and cherries. An important motif in the Kashmir region is the chinar leaf.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.
