Majha, the cultural womb
Many believe that the Majha belt had immense bearing on the cultural life in Lahore and its peripheral pockets during pre-partition days. As Amritsar was a thriving trade centre, Lahore earned the sobriquet of the Paris of Orient as it defined the cultural and fashion trends in the days of yore. Even today, trends and designs of this area continue to have a deep imprint of the pre-independence Lahori culture. The new designs of salwar-kameez, find their way into Punjab via the Majha belt through the popular Pakistani TV serials, which have a widespread viewership.
However, the designers better known as 'masters' employed in the clothing units prefer moving to metros to work in various fashion and export houses carrying on the ‘pollination effect’ to the world market. Those who choose to stay back are languishing in poverty. Nevertheless, designers all over the country are using the Majha textiles and designs abundantly. The original designs and patterns are altered to suit tastes of the modern generation, flaunting the sensual curves of many a damsel. Quite naturally then, certain variants of the traditional Majha textile designs have created ripples in the modern day fashion scenario.
Machine Magic
Conventionally, Majha belt has been famous for machine embroidery, practised here since several decades. The influx of migrant labourers from other states, like Bihar and UP, into Punjab has had an effect on styles and patterns of machine embroidery. This art has developed out of manual production of fabrics under the influence of traders from Italian city of Genoa.
Embroidery is done on fabrics such as cotton voile, linen, terrycot, woollen, tissues and net fabrics. Selection of fabrics(solids, self prints and prints) depends on factors like market trends, quality and cost.
Majha designers in metros are using tissue threads for ethnic and bridal collections though cotton and synthetic threads are also used. These designers prefer to engage their kith and kin as co-workers so that their designs are not imitated or copied.
Typically, floral motifs or geometrical designs are worked out horizontally, from top to bottom.
Kashmir charisma
Another set of craftsmen carving a living in the area are the Kashmiri migrants, who came ages back to take refuge in this fertile hinterland when their own homeland was hit by a famine. They settled in and around the cities of Amritsar, Lahore and Nurpur of the undivided Punjab. The "Kashida" work used on textiles in Punjab is thus carrying a typical influence of Kashmir. These immigrant artisans from the hills preferred Amritsar as it was a hub of shawl trade and a centre for supply of raw materials. Thus manufacturing and trading of Kashmiri shawls came to flourish as an organised business in Amritsar. However, the original Cashmere shawls continued to maintain their superiority over those produced in Majha.Domineered by fashion gurus, Kashida work today, is not confined to shawls alone, but is also done on blouses, sarees, dupattas, stoles, ponchos, suits, dress materials and almost any article of domestic or personal use. Though generally satin, stem, chain, long and short stitches are used but occasional use of herringbone, buttonhole and darning stitches is also made use of. The holy city of Amritsar has earned fame in the national and international markets for satzni, vata chikan, do ranga and do rookha styles in Kashida work.
The threads used in the embroidery are mostly staple, woolen and silk though designers may prefer synthetic threads to increase durability and slash down costs for the Kashida work, which otherwise could be exorbitant. For a medium sized work, price may range from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000, depending upon the intricacy of the design, base fabric and motifs used. The motifs are inspired from Kashmiri flora like the chinar leaf, cone, cypress, parsley, bunches of vines and cherries, to name a few and they are arranged according to the will of the customer.
The Kashmir effect is also visible in the woolen shawls being prepared in this belt. The pashmina and shahtoosh stuff came from Kashmir hills. The typical Amritsari styles in shawls are embroidered jacquards and jamavars.
Ari Art
Besides, the Kashmiri work, the region is traditionally well known for 'ari work' (chain stitch done using a special needle called ari). Ari work is mostly done on shawls. It is a coarse form of Kashida, which produces kashida look-alikes though at cheaper rates. Besides ari work, puff work is also in demand, occasionally when clients aspire for something different.
A bet on net
Net is delicate and beautiful open construction fabric held together by knots or fused thermoplastic yarns. Most of the net-manufacturing units started 70s are qualified professionals who picked up the techniques of warp knitting from West Germany. Net is being manufactured today on imported Raschel machines. Designers use net fabric for lace, embroidery, beading or decorative works. Conventionally, floral, geometric, plaid and checks were made but now designs are made according to market trends and customer demands. The latest innovation in the shawl market is the stole with lesser width but equally varied designs and colour use. With more and more designers going in for ethnic wear, the stole market is picking rapidly. Even in the local and nearby markets, fashion houses and stores are using stoles in acrylic and viscose as accessory to salwar-kameez replacing the traditional dupattas or odhnis.Transcends time and borders
The traditional designs of Majha, smartly changing and adapting themselves with the times, are likely to remain in vogue in times to come. The influences from across the border would continue to permeate the barbed fences to be imbibed in Punjabi textiles, which adorn the people all over India. You see, art knows no borders and beauty, no boundaries.
