Phulkari is a form of embroidery which originated in Punjab. It is also practiced in the villages of Haryana. Phulkari work is usually done on dupattas (scarves), odhnis (long scarves used to cover heads) and shawls. These are generally worn with ghagra and choli (skirt and bodice) during the winter season. According to folk lore, phulkari work was originally taken up when a girl was born and it was to be given as a part of her bridal trousseau during her wedding. The embroidery took years to complete owing to the detailed work which made phulkari so unique. Phulkari work is seen as embroidery that involves threads of emotions.
A famous Punjabi song mentions Phulkari:
Saambiya Sandook Vich Paiyan Phulkarian
Ni Maaye Tere Moh Diyan Tandan Bhot Pyarian
Folded with love and kept away in trunks
Mother, your love’s essence is sweet
Phulkari embroidery is generally done on cotton fabric with bright and colourful silk threads using darn stitch. It is an ancient craft that has traditionally been dominated by women. The patterns of phulkari embroidery are generally geometrical.
Women used nature as a source for creating floral motifs such as genda (marigold), surajmukhi (sunflower), motia (jasmine) and kol (lotus).
Bird and animal motifs like the peacock, parrot, cow, goat, and elephant are also embroidered over phulkaris. Some women took inspiration from the jewellery pieces they owned like the necklace, bangles, and jhumka(a type of earrings).
These designs were specifically made using yellow-colored threads to denote that they were made of gold.
Women of Punjab, in the past, used different colors and motifs and embroidered a phulkari following their imagination. The different colors and motifs carried a symbolic significance and had meanings and stories behind them.
Red: The color red was mostly used in the base fabric. It symbolized happiness, prosperity, love and passion. Red also signifies blooming flowers and sunlight that gives us life.
Yellow: Yellow and shades of yellow are used in great quantities for the Phulkari. It is a symbol of happiness, liveliness and success and fertility. It has a special significance in Punjab and Haryana since it is the color of wheat and the mustard flower.
Orange: Orange color is a symbol of cheerfulness and creativity. It produces a mystical effect on the mind and suggests wonder. It is also a symbol of affordability and low cost.
Green: Green color is a symbol of freshness, nature, a clean environment, holiness, harmony, and honesty. The green color has a calming and restful effect.
Blue: Blue color is a symbol of nature and truth. It is also a symbol of water and sky. However, it was not often used.
Textiles and crafts play a pivotal role in the social and economic life of the people of Haryana. Women here are particularly experts in making valuable textiles without any formal training. Textiles not only carry out the needs of daily life but also act as a mode of self-expression and an important source of income generation.
The city of Panipat is known to be the textile hub of Haryana. One of the famous textiles from the state of Haryana is Panja Durries woven on two parallel bars of the loom. Durries are rugs used for household purposes. It gets its name from a claw-like tool called panja in the local dialect. This tool is made of metal and is used to beat and set the threads. Some of the other tools used to create Durries are Kaath, Gurad, Taana and Tayri.
Panja durries are a common object found in almost every household in the villages of Haryana. Durries stand in close comparison to carpets as they have a similar weaving process but the final product is different on various accounts. For example, durrie is much lighter as compared to a carpet. The motifs used in durries are more geometrical whereas carpets have more floral motifs. The designs, therefore, are skillfully woven into stripes, checks, and squares.
Traditionally, durries were made mainly for two purposes - one, as a thin mattress and the other for floor covering. Women would weave durries whenever they would be free from agricultural and household work. This textile art was essentially practiced as a leisure time activity by the rural women of Haryana. Given the climatic conditions of the state of Haryana, thick fabrics are preferred over fine ones.
Thus, the cotton thread famously used in Haryana is thick and it is called Sooth in the local dialect.
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