Kasuti is a very intricate traditional form of folk embroidery practiced in the state of Karnataka, India. It sometimes involves putting up to 5,000 stitches by hand and is traditionally made on dress wear like Ilkal sarees, Ravike and Angi.
Kasuti was always a domestic art. Traditionally, when Kasuti embroidered on the family’s clothes, it was a habit to give them as presents. The mother trained her daughter from a young age in this technique. It is a traditional art that passes from one generation to the next. The fine handwork, color combinations, and complex designs that machines have not yet been in a position to make have gathered favor in foreign countries.
Origin
Kasuti embroidery is one of the oldest Indian practices. It has its roots in the 7th century A.D. Although it was first only present in the Dharwad region. Over time, it has expanded into other parts of Karnataka as well as South india. Initially, only women did this job, and to date, women form a vital element of the cottage industry of Kasuti.
The name Kasuti is derived from the words Kai (meaning hand) and Suti/suttu (meaning wrap/weave), indicating an activity that is done using cotton and hands.
History
The history of Kasuti dates back to the Chalukya period. The women courtiers in the Mysore Kingdom in the 17th century adept 64 arts, with Kasuti being one of them. The Kasuti embroidery features folk designs influenced by rangoli patterns of Karnataka. In Karnataka, Sarees embroidered with Kasuti were part of the bridal trousseau of which one saree made of black silk with Kasuti embroidery called Chandrakali saree was of premier importance.
Process
Kasuti embroidery patterns demand a long time and typically require more than one artist to maneuver properly. The only thing about this type of art form is that artist needs to count each thread on the cloth. This approach ensures a very complex and gorgeous look of the finished artwork.
Types of Stitches
Kasuti has four types of stitches: the gavanti stitch or double stitch, the muragi- or zig-zag stitch, the neygi or darning stitch and the stitch hent or cross-stitch.
Gavanti :
This is a double running line and backstitch. The name comes from Gaonti, which in the Kannada language means a knot. Most of the designs are geometrical.
It is the most prevalent stitch and on both sides of the fabric, the designs seem the same. On the way back while stitching, the lines or motifs should be finished by filling out the white areas in the loop.
Neygi :
The Neygi stitch is a common running or darning stitch. It has the impact of a woven design in general. Neygi is in fact an offshoot of the word Ney, which means to weave in the language of Kannada.
The finished design looks like woven patterns and so the right and incorrect sides are not the same.
Muragi:
Murgi resembles a ladder step, as the stitches are zigzag running stitches. It is alike Gavanti since they’re both neat with the design on both sides of the garment looking similar. The length of the stitches is consistent and the space between the stitches is identical.
Menthe:
It is the standard cross-stitch. The name seems to have come from the same word in the Kannada language meaning fenugreek seed.
Menthi usually looks heavy and needs a great deal of thread, therefore not used extensively. The background sections of the designs are often covered using this menthi stitch.
Motifs and Patterns
The several sorts of patterns employed are another significant distinctive feature of this embroidery style. The motives may be light and scattered but that is highly unusual. Often they are interconnected in incredibly gorgeous, three-dimensional designs with exquisite and creative appearances. Inspired rural styles are also very popular among various female embroiderers who like to create household sceneries in combination with stylized forms for wedding sarees.
Temple architecture, south India’s gopurams, chariot (rath), lamps, conch shells, palanquins, flowers especially the lotus, and animals are prominent themes for embroidery. Bird patterns like parrots, peacocks, swans, and squirrels. The sacred bull, the elephant, and the deer are animal motifs. Kasuti’s other designs include cow, cradle, flower pots, and tulsi Katte (katte means the space for the holy Tulsi plant). Horses, lions, or tigers are rarely observed, but cats and dogs are never seen.
Revival and Exhibition
Now Kasuti is a choice for clothing, sarees, pillow coverings, door curtains, cloth for the tables, and other kinds of textiles. Dharwar, Hubli, Kalghatgi, Gadag, and Mundargi are Some the localities that still make Kasuti . Department of Social Welfare, Government of Karnataka set up a Kasuti center in Hubli, to encourage the Kasuti culture and also provide a single roof for the rural women to showcase their craft. Women work in a cooperative society, with the regional handicraft Institute, Bhagini Samaj, and Janata Shikshana Samiti, organized to help them make a living. Over 500 women work in this age range between the ages of 18 and 55.
The Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation (KHDC) holds geographical indications (GI) protection for Kasuti embroidery which provides intellectual property rights on Kasuti to KHDC.
However, Kasuti work is suffering from poor patronage with not many people willing to take the craft seriously; an indication of which is the closure of the Karnataka Kasuti classes by the JSS college in Dharwad.
References
Kasuti Embroidery – A Traditional Fabric Art of Karnataka (caleidoscope. in)
Kasuti – Wikipedia
