Composition, Theme , Look and Style

Composition and Theme

There are few main motifs that give a unique look to Kashidakari. They have been used since 15th century and only minor improvements and changes have been made. There are motifs like Kalka and Chinar leaf Motif that are abundantly used in Kashidakari.
(Source- Traditional Embroidery of India)

(Image source- Traditional Embroidery of India)

Greater percentage of motifs are picked up from flora and fauna of kashmir. Flowers like lily, lotus, tulip and birds like parrots, kingfisher, parrot etc are the main source of inspiration in Kashidakari.

Primarily, the flower and the bird motif domionate while the slender, delicate stem and creepers mender all over.

It should be noted that animals and humans are not found in kashidakari.

There are different placements of kashidakari on a shawl or outfit amd has different names accordingly.
for eg, cluster of flowers in place is called kunj Butta or buta while the motifs running along the edge of shawl is called hashiya amd the borders on the either side of shawl is called pallu.
(Source- Traditional Embroidery of India?)

Look And Style

To me, Kashidakari is very intricate, very detailed, colourful, very floral and gives a very elegant, heavy and royal look.

There are several national and international fashion designers whose designs have been inspired by kashidakari such as Alexander Mcqueen, Prabal Gurung and Ellie Saab whose deigns are inspired from Kashida.

There are movies such as Kashmir ki Kali and Rockstar which feature actress wearing Kashida Designs.

Evolution

How Kashidakari has Evolved

Kashidakari has evolved a lot since it has been started.New designs are continuously added depending on fashion trends and tastes of people and their demand.  

Evolution In Motifs

There have many changes in the motifs designs that were used earlier and the motifs used now a days, the essence remains the same but the motifs used now a days are more stylised version of the existing motifs. 

  Evolution In Material Used


In earler times, kashidakari was done only on wolln fabric but with cahnging fashion trends and demand of people, from 19th century onwards, varieties of silk and cotton came into use.

The embroidery threads used earlier were fine quality woolen yarn. Gradually, woollen yarns were replaced by rich silk threads.

Now a days, the bright, gorgeous rayon threads, has entered the industry.
Even Cotton threads are used too.

It is interesting to note that at first only pastel coloured threads were used earlier, but now a days both the base fabric and the threads are dyed and bright or dark colours
 are used according to consumers demand.

(Source- Traditional Embroidery of India)

Socio- Culture

All About The Craftsmen!

Kashidakari is one the major cottage industry in Kashmir. It involves almost all the family members living near Srinagar. Surprisingly, this commercial art has been done by menfolk and has become a hereditary work that is passed on from father to son. A father has pass on his skills to his son. The boys in the family of 7-8 years old, begin their work of Kashida with a very simple stem stitch on an inexpensive shawl and continue to gain their skills by repeating the motifs on a small samples, beginning with outlining them. By the age of sixteen, he does attain the skills, hand delicasy and professy in the craft. After Putting  about twenty years of continuous practice, he will be recognised to take up fine work of Pashmina and shahtoosh shawls. 

Now you can guess how difficult it is for the workers to learn such an intricate work starting from such a young age!

I'll tell you about the other details in the next blog!

(Source- Traditional Embroidery of India)

Image Source- gatha.com

Origin and History of Kashidakari

How and when did Kashidakari came into existence?

By now, you must have some idea what kashidakari is and what it looks like. But since I've researched so much and have lots to tell, i'll start telling you Kashidakari's history and origin.

The Kashidakari industry Flourished during the reign of Zain Ul Abidin, during 15th century. He brought the most talented craftsmen from persia to revive the existing art. Those crafsmen brought a whole new different style which resembled a lot to that of Persian art. They designed new motifs and designs. Many of the Persian floral designs were artistically transformed into Persian Mugal Floral designs.

Image source- Wikipedia.org

The demand for kashmiri shawls increased during the reign of Akbar in sixteenth century. These shawls were exported to european countries and were draped around the gowns of ladies in an Indo-European style. By the end of 19h century, the demand decreased because of high tax levied, change in fashion trends etc.

Image Source- Kasidadesign.com

Kashidakari- Introduction

What is Kashidakari??

While I have told you random things about my Delhi Haat trip and how I chose my topic, you must be wondering what exactly Kashidakari is, right? 

Well, you must seen the images in my previous blogs and you must be thinking , that, "oh! yes, I see these kind of embroidery in shawls and carpets all the time!" Then yes, you are correct. But I'll more about this in details.

Kashida, also known as Kasida, is one of the oldest forms of embroidery that originated in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashida embroidery is created by using thick colored threads as well as beads to create different patterns. Most kashida motifs that are used to create this form of embroidery include motifs that are inspired by nature such as vines, birds, leaves and flowers and this is one of the defining aspects of this form of embroidery. Created with a type of a chain stitch, this embroidery is used on thick and warm fabrics such as silk, cotton and wool and on garments as well as home decor items such as rugs, cushion covers and bed spreads. More often than not, the fabric that is used is usually white or cream coloured while the threads can be as colorful. Thus, when it comes to be being easily identifiable, kashida embroidery designs are one of the most unique styles of embroidery in India.

Image Source- Kashidadesign.com

Field Trip To Delhi Haat

Trip to Delhi Haat

Well, before i start writing about anything, let me just introduce myself to you all. This is the first blog that i'm writing (ever) and the reason i'm doing so is because this is something that i got as an assignment in my communication studies class. Okay, so, I'm Ananya and I'm studying fashion designing in Pearl Academy, Noida. I'm in my foundation year and 'Research' is a major study that we need to do before we execute our ideas practically as complete knowledge in any field is very necessary.

So, after a short winter vacation, our 3rd module begun. In our first class, the teachers briefed us about the entire module and told us exactly we had to do and what the end result should be and what all things we are supposed to learn along the way.

The main thing that we were supposed to do is pick a form of art or craft from the list of all the Art, Craft and design movements. For this, our Cultural studies teacher Roopali ma'am taught us about the difference between these three movements and how important they actually are. Then she told us about the difference between an artist, craftsman and a designer. We were taught about all this so we could have an idea which topic to choose and how we will proceed with our research.

So, the first week was dedicated to choose a topic and in order for to do so, we were taken to Delhi Haat and Crafts Museum. Sadly, as i wasn't really present on those days so i had to go afterwards with my friends Mohit and Akankshika. When I went there and as I entered, I was blown away by the ambience of that place. It was like the whole India was submerged in a small little place called Delhi Haat.

There were so many new things to see there. Every stall had a different craft form to sell from a different part of India. As we got to talking to the sellers, we got to know how lengthy and tedious the process was to make one single piece of craft. Everything was so colourful and bright and it all suited the atmosphere.

Selecting My Topic- Kashmiri Kashidakari

How I came to select Kashidakari as my topic

The last blog of mine was about my trip to Delhi Haat and how my module started. When i went there to Delhi Haat, of all the things there, one craft form really caught my eye. That was Kashidakari, the colours and the embroidery was something really beautiful to look at. I decided there and then that i would take Kashidakari as my topic.

As I got to research more about Kashidakari, I realised how old this craft form is and how beautiful it is. The thing that appealed the most to me about Kashidakari is how graceful the embroidery is with it's floral motifs designs. The pastel colours, the dark colours and the bright colours all adds to the appeal of kashidakari. The first thing that came to my mind is the graceful and heavy look it gave and reminded me of Mughal Kings for some reason. Then i got to know that this art form flourished during Mughal Reign. 

I talked to my teachers and since no other person in my class had taken this, I chose this as my topic. I collected Information from different websites, books and even went to Cannaught Place in Delhi so that i could visit the Kashmiri Stores that sell shawls and other things too of kashidakari.