Clothing has been a vehicle for storytelling for centuries, capturing the essence of a location's culture, heritage, and sentiment. Among India's many traditional styles of embroidery, Kantha is a type of sewn narrative that originated in West Bengal and Odisha states. Kantha embroidery is not only a skill but a representation of the women who create it, their lives, desires, and experiences. This lovely needlework, centuries old, has evolved from being a simple technique of quilt-making to a popular textile art form around the world.
Kantha embroidery, with its delicate yet forceful stitches, embodies love, courage, and resourcefulness. It transforms old fabric into pieces of art, making it an environmentally friendly and worthwhile craft. The motifs, themes, and designs embroidered in Kantha are not mere decorations—they tell tales of mythology and folklore, nature and everyday life.
Kantha embroidery is believed to be over a thousand years old, with mentions appearing in ancient Buddhist texts. "Kantha" is a Sanskrit word that means "rags" or "patched cloth." Kantha was originally a way for rural women to transform old, worn-out sarees, dhotis, and cloth into quilts, cushion covers, and shawls. Unused cloth was stitched in layers using the running stitch to create soft, lightweight fabrics that provided warmth.
The craft developed primarily in rural Bengal and Odisha, where women passed on the technique from generation to generation. Unlike other forms of embroidery commissioned or made for commercial purposes, Kantha was a domestic art, made by women for their families. Each piece carried the uniqueness of its maker, often telling stories of their moods, aspirations, and surroundings.
During colonial times, Kantha embroidery suffered because machine-made fabrics flooded the market. But thanks to the resolve of the artisans, it survived. During the 20th century, efforts by researchers and designers, including the identification of rural crafts by Rabindranath Tagore and work by NGOs, revived Kantha embroidery, bringing it back into mainstream textile art.
Kantha motifs are symbolically rich, articulating cultural belief systems, mythologies, and the artisans' daily lives. Motifs used in Kantha embroidery include human and animal figures and floral symbols which cover the surface from the corners. The central motif is typically a lotus. Different patterns like fish, birds, kalka, mandala, and scenes from mythological stories are also featured. The threads most commonly used are blue, green, yellow, red, and black.
Kantha embroidery is not limited to a single form. Over time, different types of Kantha work have evolved, each serving a distinct purpose:
Archilata Kantha: Covers for mirrors or toilet accessories with wide, colorful borders.
Lep Kantha: Heavily padded wraps made to serve as warm quilts.
Baiton Kantha: Square wraps used for covering books.
Durjani/Thalia: Quilted wallets made out of rectangular Kantha pieces.
Oaar Kantha: Used as pillow covers.
Rumal Kantha: Used as plate coverings.
Sujani Kantha: Decorative quilted Kantha used as blankets or spreads.
In recent decades, Kantha embroidery has gained global acclaim, transcending its historical position in quilts and domestic textiles. Now, it is a very popular textile art employed in sarees and dupattas. It is also used in the production of accessories such as bags, scarves, and shoes, as well as home decor items such as cushion covers, bedspreads, and wall hangings, adding an artistic element to interiors.
Some Indian and international designers have adopted Kantha embroidery, giving it a contemporary look while ensuring that traditional methods are still preserved. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Ritu Kumar, and other fashion trendsetters have integrated Kantha into haute couture, where it has become synonymous with sophistication and sustainability.
Kantha embroidery is not just an art form but a centuries-old cultural tradition. From its origins as a domestic craft to its present status as an internationally acclaimed art, it is a symbol of resourcefulness, creativity, and sustainability. The Kantha stitches don't only sew pieces of fabric together but also connect generations of stories, carrying on the artistic tradition of Bengal and Odisha.
With the world moving toward handmade, environmentally friendly clothing, Kantha has captured global attention, providing a blend of the new and the old. Whether in a centuries-old quilt or in modern fashion, the story stitched by Kantha remains an enduring symbol of art, history, and heritage.
Comments