Aari Taari Hand embroidery work - India

'Aari Tari' Hand embroidery work

The Mughal Empire brought with it many treasures to India back in the 1500s. One of them were the skilled craftsmen who did hand embroidery work on the grandiose clothing the King and the Queens or should I say the 'Badshah' and their 'Begums' wore in those times. 

Today I visited one "Rahman Bhai" who has been doing this 'Aari Tari' work for the past 30 years. He is so skilled now that his hands can move about doing the embroidery work even with his eyes closed. When I asked him how he learned this art, he said he bunked school back  in those days and spent time with his Ustad to learn this art in Kolkotta. 

Look at the above apparatus for 'Aari Tari', called 'Adda'. The piece of cloth to be embroidered on is tied tightly and stretched in the 'Adda' and with the needle (specially hand made by the artisan himself - in the picture below), the hand drawn design is embroidered. 

Depending on the desired look of the design, a silk, metallic or woolen thread is chosen for the embroidery. As you can see in the video below, Rahman Bhai uses his right hand to insert the needle on the drawing and the left hand under the 'Adda' to hook the thread at the tip of the needle to create this beautiful art work. 

And that's the end product.

Thanks to Rags boutique for letting me in. :)