ZARDOSI - A legacy from the Mughals

The Mughal era brought richness to textiles and costumes of India. The Ari work or Zardosi is a kind of hand embroidery believed to be introduced in medieval times during the reign of Muhammed Bin Tughlak. Embroidery done on velvet, satin or any other heavy material came to be known as Zardosi. The work is done by laying the gold threads over the material and is very heavy when the weight of the fabric and the metal wire used for embroidery are combined. Zardosi used to be a work of beauty combined with display of wealth, but today other metals are used instead of gold.

The earlier artisans of zardosi used only exclusive resham thread and wire hand embroidery on materials. The designs were original and mainly of royal taste. Wealth was displayed in the garments worn by men and women. But today, we can witness a blend of the past with the present, the old with the modern, the north with the south and the east with the west. Zardosi has become a well-known and fashionable hand embroidery.

Commercial Street in Bangalore is a familiar name for the fashion conscious buyers. In the hub of this street, ducked in a corner is the Narayana Pillai Street Cross. This lane displays a series of more than twenty shops offering this kind of work. Most of them have been running the show for the past twenty to twenty five years. Ninety per cent of the owners and workers are Muslims. Each person showcases amazing talent in the designs and needlework. And to my surprise I could only see men do the work. A walk through the street tempts one to own an exclusive hand embroidered suit or kurtha.

Stopping by Shabana Embroidery and Zari Works which is the first shop in the lane, I could see various styles of embroidered materials hung in a row. The artisan sits on the floor behind the wooden equipment working on a piece of cloth, held taut with two long pieces of wood and thread to enable him to work easily. And the speed at which his hands move, with a small pencil like instrument with a curved needle at the tip, is a treat to watch. "This is a kind of frame we use to tie the cloth so that the material is stiff when we are doing the embroidery", says Ahemedullah. I was curious enough to try my hand on a piece of waist material and gracious! It needs a lot of patience and skill. The needle used is the smallest available, generally numbered nine.

Each piece is charged as per the design and the materials used for embroidery, they use a variety like zari, sequence, coree, beeds, or the shiny stones that look like diamonds. The clients can specify patterns and motifs to suit their budget and choice. "Normally for a simple zardosi work we charge anywhere between Rs 300 to 450/-. But for bigger works we charge more. For bridal wear we have embroidery costing up to ten to fifteen thousand rupees," says Masood Ahemad the owner of Shabana Embroidery and Zari Works.

The materials used to do the embroidery are bought from the city market at wholesale prices. The smallest work takes a day to be completed and the most exclusive one can take up to ten days. "I generally take work that I can finish by three days, because I like to work on new designs. I have been here from four years and have learned this zari work", says Ismail of Rahmatullah Zari Works.

"Earlier we had to depend mainly on Muslims and those from north India, because they were the ones who placed great value on this kind of workmanship but today it is different, even South Indians spend to get zardosi work done," says Ahemad. It was quite impossible to go away without standing at each workshop for sometime to admire the dexterity with which the hands weave magic with cloth and thread and wires.

So if you are looking for an elite Mughal look in your ethnic clothing, take a walk down Narayana Pillai Street Cross!

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