When I went out to visit some Gujarat villages on the festival of Lord Krishnas' birthday, some of the most fascinating people I met were from the Rabari caste. These proud people were originally nomadic, though most are now settled .
Before the 2001 earthquake many of their houses were finely decorated, this is one of the few that has remained intact. Sadly when reconstructing these traditional decorations have not been used
They are well known for their embroidery skills, as displayed here, this is this ladies' own creation. There are many stages in its development, first the yarn is spun from their own sheep, then woven, then it is tie dyed, as many as 3 or 4 times to get coloured dots. Last of all comes the magnificent bold embroidery
The day after visiting this inspiring lady , one of her neighbours bought me a selection of her headscarves saying she wanted to sell them as having lost her husband, she could no longer wear them. How could I resist, after much deliberation, I opted for the one I found the most beautiful. Very much like the one pictured here.
for more infomation on the Rabaris of Kutch
No comments:
Post a Comment