Kantha is arguably the most well-known of all Indian embroideries. Most of us own a sari, a dupatta, a scarf, a stole, a kurta, a bedspread or a cushion cover done over with this embroidery, often times not even knowing that what we have is a Kantha.
Here’s a close up of the stitch.
Another Kind of Kanta Stitch
Kantha embroidery was traditionally done in West Bengal. Odisha and Bangladesh. The Kantha is a great example of up-cycled fashion. Old saris and dhotis were stacked up and Kantha embroidery was done along the edges with a simple running stitch, making soft quilts, bedspreads, blankets etc, especially for little children.
A Kantha bedspread
The wrinkled look is very typical of this embroidery.
Modern day Kantha can be found on saris, kurtas, stoles and more.
· A Dupatta
Fun Facts:
I found two theories about the how the word Kantha might have been derived. The first says that it came from the Sanskrit word, Kontha which means rags, as originally Kantha was made from left over bits of cloth. The second traces it to the word Kant, meaning neck, linking it to the story of Shiva drinking the poison. Much as the second pleases my whimsy, my personal preference is for the first as I cannot find anything that connects the stitch to the throat of Shiva.
Kantha Embroidery, an origin story:
I found one that goes like this- Lord Buddha and his disciples used old rags and patched them up to make a sheet to cover themselves at night, thus giving birth to the Kantha.
Literary References:
The earliest mention of Bengal Kantha is found in the book Sri Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita by Krishnadas Kaviraj, which was written some five hundred years ago.
There the poet says, Sachi, the mother of Chaitanya, sent a homemade kantha to her son at Puri through some pilgrims. The same kantha can be viewed even today at Gambhira, Puri, displayed in a glass case.
A more evocative one is the famous poem, 'Nakshi Kanthar Math' by the well-known Bengali poet Jasimuddin on Nakshi Kantha, which has been translated in English as the 'The field of the embroidered Quilt."
This a tragic folk tale which centres around Rupai and Saju. Rupai is a young peasant, who falls in love with a girl named Saju in his neighboring village. They get married. But after a quarrel and fight with some peasants of another village Rupai flees home. Saju, the young wife becomes alone. She waits for her husband to return to her. Days pass and he doesn't return. Filled with despair, she starts to make a Nakshi Kantha (an embroidered quilt). She stitches into that Nakshi Kantha the tragic story. More days pass and the quilt is complete but still no sign of Rupai. The heartbroken Saju dies. On her deathbed she requests her mother to put the Nakshi Kantha on her grave. Her mother fulfils her last request. Thus the field gets the name Nakshi Kanthar Math.
Here is a reading of the poem:
A Kantha Sari
There are 7 different types of Kantha stitches. There is the Lep Kantha, which is used to make warm, padded quilts. Then there is the Sujani Kantha, which is used to make bed covers for ceremonial occasions. Baiton Kantha is used on covers meant to wrap books and other precious objects. Oaar Kantha is used on pillow covers, while Archilata Kantha is used for covering mirrors and usually comes with colourful motifs and borders. Durjani Kantha is small pieces used to make the insides of a wallet, and the last kind is the Rumal Kantha, which is used to cover plates, and come with a lotus motif right in the centre
I have not been able to identify these stitches accurately, so I shall resist from posting pictures labelling them.
An intricately embroidered piece, especially silk, can be highly -priced and if you feel you would like some guidance or help when buying a Kantha, check this site out:
Until the next story...
Comments
Post a Comment