It is for this combination of painting and embroidery that these works are also called ‘paintings in embroidery’.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. They are used for covering platters, as gifts for auspicious occasions and for offerings to a deity. There needs to be more focus on this,” he adds. “We end up stereotyping things.The exhibition, ‘Raas — Life to a Dying Art’, is on at India Habitat Centre till 8 April. One of the artists left a piece half done. That was one of the biggest challenges we faced. But in the end it is the same stitch, the same style of art. 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. Unlike these days, photography was not snap button factory readily available to everyone in the 90s. It took a lot of work. During weddings, rumals are exchanged between families of the bride and groom as a token of goodwill. There is no focus on the drawing part and there is a dearth of artists who can draw. It is a work of patience. Traditionally, women used to embroider upon these compositions using untwisted coloured silk floss. Another of these contemporary pieces got ruined twice and could only be made in the third attempt. 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.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.
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.Traditional designs depicting Radha-Krishna and GopisThe Chamba rumals are embroidered square cloths from Chamba in the state of Himachal Pradesh.A scene from a forest“One of the important things that also makes this art unique is the various shades used in the work. But today the council has at least 15 shades in every colour. Another challenge we faced was to get the artists to use natural silk again. Keeping it traditional and yet making a shift, the council has also tied up with artist Swati Kalsi to conceptualise contemporary designs. “The drawing has to be very clear. There were lot of overlapping images in the new drawings, which was a challenge for all of us. So when you say rumal, a certain picture comes to mind.”While the council could easily source muslin, sourcing silk floss in various shades was not that easy in the beginning. In miniature painting, a lot of focus is on line drawing.”The council’s efforts have provided employment to artists like Masto Devi who pursue this full time.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 one has to be very patient with silk floss that can break easily. But that is the beauty of Chamba rumal, it combines miniature painting with needlework,” shares Anjana Somany, president of DCC. So it has been a process of unlearning and relearning that way. It makes the painting come alive,” says Anjana. 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.A scene from a game of chausarPahari miniature artists, usually men, drew outlines on fine handspun and hand woven unbleached muslin. Similarly, a few visitors thought they had come to the wrong gallery because these works look like paintings. 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.A rumal from Krishna seriesThe Chamba rumal is unlike the regular handkerchief. They had got used to synthetic threads that wouldn’t break easily. But this was not always the case.”An average rumal takes around a month to be embroidered
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