The art of #needlecraft is as ancient as the Vedas themselves, for it is mentioned in this sacred text that one of the accomplishment of a woman was the art of needlework. Many excavations dating as far back as 3rd. millennium have yielded crude forms of needles, awls used by cobblers as well as embroiderers. The Indus Valley civilization crude female figures do seem to be clad in what looks like embroidered waist garments. Embroidered veils and upper and lower garments adorn the Apsaras in the Ajanta cave murals, and the Buddhist Toranas show tree sprites called Salabhanjikas in bustiers with designs on them as well as their waist garments are embellished too.
“ Each region of our country has its own unique embroidery tradition, like the Phulkari of Punjab, Kantha of Bengal, Abhala of Saurashtra and the exquisite Kasuti of Karnataka which originated in the old provinces of Karnataka dating as far back as 7th. century A.D.”
The needle craft has had an unbroken tradition in our country with varying types of embroidery in each region depending on the local traditions and beliefs. Ritual cloths in temples and for other purposes are also finely embroidered with figures of gods and goddesses and their vahanas, floral and animal and bird motifs, as the cloths covering the bullocks and horses and temple elephants and of course temple Chariots are beautifully adorned with appliquéd cloth hangings. Initially, used to strengthen and join old fabrics, embroidery has evolved into an important craft now, an expression of refined skill of mainly womenfolk. The rich variety of Indian needlecraft includes any number of stitches and techniques and worked on a variety of fabrics with fine silk and embellishments of beads, mirror, coins, buttons, shells, Metallic thread, and sequins are added to make the embroidery extraordinarily beautiful.
Kasuti is a counted thread embroidery from Karnataka
Karnataka has been influenced by various cultures, Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina, and Islam and many folk traditions. The Kings encouraged both Shaivism and Vaishnavism and Sakti worship had its claimants too. The various dynasties, the Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, Rashtrakutas, Pallavas and the famed Vijayanagara dynasty encouraged art and architecture and music during their reign. They were patrons of many temples and the sculptures in the temples of Karnataka speak volumes of the artistic traditions of this region. This sparked the imagination of the women to create motifs resembling temple gopuras, chariots, the processional elephants, the sacred Tulsi plant, the ritual floor drawings in temples and homes, and borders resembling fine anklets worn by the women. The temple tanks, the deepasthambas or lamp towers and the Palanquins in which the Utsava murtis in the temple were taken out in a procession during festivals were also used as embroidery motifs.
Traditionally the tribal women of Belgaum, Hubli, Dharwad and Bijapur districts of Karnataka worked the #Kasuti embroidery on a black #Ilkal Sari with a red border called Kali Chandrakala to be given as gift to the brides in their family and a choli or sari blouse called Kanas from Ilkal was embroidered with Kasuti stitches for a mother to be. These saris and blouses were worn on special occasions like weddings, and festivals. Even the domestic animals like the ox were rewarded for their selfless service with a Kasuti embroidered cloth covering their backs. Basically, the original purpose of the Kasuti was ritual in nature.
It has gone commercial now with mass production of Kasuti embroidered saris and modern wear like tops and skirts, #Dupattas, etc and few notice the symbolism of the different stitches or its ritual significance. The Kasuti resembles the western cross stitch and the traditional Kasuti was embroidered in such a way that it was reversible, with no wrong side to it. The thread used was single and only a skilled needle woman could execute fine work.
Traditional Kasuti motifs are geometric in design and as in cross stitch, is executed by counting the threads of the fabric, and the designs are worked along in such a way that it finishes at the point where it started. The weft and the warp threads were counted and an exact count of stitches calculated and the eyes of the embroider has to be acute to get a fine finish. It is a painstaking and exacting labour for the women. No knots were allowed to mar the work. Like the western Samplers or small squares of cloth on which the stitches were preserved in a framed hanging, the original Kasuti were done on small hand- towels called Panchas, typically worn in North Karnataka. The embroidery was done by women and the traditional motifs were augmented with their own inventive genius, like stylized birds and animals, flowers and plants, dolls, etc. Till recently it remained a domestic art form until it spread to other parts of India and easier methods were adopted to mass produce Kasuti articles like bedspreads, napkins, shawls, lamp shades, small bags, etc.
Traditional Kasuti has four types of stitches- Ganti, Muragi, Neygi and #Menthe which means knot, zig zag, weave and fenugreek seed. #Neygi went out of hand work as the modern weaving techniques can produce woven butis and other designs in the loom itself. #Murgi is the most admired and the most difficult stitch of the four. #Ganti is a double running stitch used extensively in Kasuti work for marking vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines.
#Kasuti remains Karnataka's pride and joy and rightly so. Its popularity is unlikely to wane in many years to come. The reason is plain to see, it is at once elegant, beautiful, traditional, and ageless in its charm.
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