Chikan Embroidery of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh, was and is the centre of chikan embroidery, renowned for its
timeless grace and its gossamer delicacy, a skill more than 200 years old --- exploited,
commercialis but not dead. In fact, the craft is alive and struggling to regain some of its
former beauty and elegance. Chikan embroidery is done on fine cotton fabric. The
garments are first stitched and then embroidered, whereas skirts, saris, and table linen are
first embroidered and then finished. A study of the origin of chikan reveals that this form
of embroidery had come to India from Persia with Noor Jehan, the queen of the Mughal
Emperor Jehangir. The word chikan is a derivative from the Persian word 'chikaan'
meaning drapery. Some, however, insist that the craft migrated from Bengal. What we
know is that chikankari came to Oudh when Mughal power declined in Bengal and the
artisans moved to the Oudh durbars, seeking employment and patronage.

History of Chikankari
We find references to Indian Chikan work as early as the 3rd century BC. Megasthenes, a
Greek traveler, has mentioned the use of flowered muslins by Indians. There are different
versions as to the origin of Chikankari embroidery work in India. It is said that a traveler,
who was passing through a village in Lucknow, stopped and requested a poor peasant for
water. Delighted at the hospitality of the peasant, the traveler taught him the art of
Chikankari, which would ensure that he would never remain hungry in life. Lucknow city
is the most renowned place for Chikankari work. Another explanation credits Noorjahan,
the queen of Emperor Jahangir, with the introduction of the Chikankari embroidery work
in India. The craft flourished under the benign nawabi influence.
The ladies of the harem vied with each other in making white embroidered caps for the
nawabs in order to be noticed and favoured. Earlier garments were so fragile that they
had to be discarded after a few washes --this explains why early samples of chikan
garments are not available. With the British influence, designs became more formal and
items other than ethnic apparel began to be created. This brought a formalisation of
designs to a large extent, which resulted in an export market. These items found a place
in the prestigious homes in Europe and England, specimens of which are still available.
The bel or creeper was the most commonly used design; individual motifs or butis of
animals and flowers were also made. Fish (mahi) was a very common motif in Lucknow
and used widely because it was the emblem of the Court of Oudh.
There is a popular legend that a courtesan in the Nawab of Avadh’s harem was a master.
He was so impressed by the work, that he started a workshop where this style of
embroidery would be developed further. The Nawab were the setters of fashion. The
other humbler nobles and Zamindars would imitate them in every way.

The design to be embroidered is printed on the fabric with wooden blocks, using fugitive
colours, which are commonly made by mixing a glue and indigo with water. For extra
fine designs, brass-blocks are sometimes used.

In chikan, the needle is held in the right hand while inserting it into the fabric, the left
hand supports and controls the thread so that the stitches take the right shape. In
traditional chikan no frames were used (though they are used now); the portion of the
cloth to be embroidered is placed over the index finger of the left hand, supported by the
rest of the fingers, leaving the thumb free. The needle is pulled away from the
embroiderer who starts from the nearest end and finished at the farthest end.

There is a discipline and method in the application of the stitches. The darn stitch is
worked on rough cotton fabric to fill angular designs and to cover the surface of the
fabric, while satin stitching is done exclusively on delicate fabrics like silk, muslin, or
linen. In chikan some stitches are worked from the wrong side of the fabric, while others
are worked from the right side. It is however unique in its discipline in as much as
stitches designated for a particular purpose are used only for that purpose --- they are not
replaced by other stiches. For example, the chain stitch (zanjeera) will only be used for
the final outline of a leaf, petal, or stem.

Different specialists work with different

types of stitches. For example, open work
or jaali is not done by embroiderers who
do the filling work - each worker
completes his/her bit and the fabric is then sent to the next embroiderer. The wages for
each job are fixed separately.

Chikan embroidery has a repertoire of about 40 stitches of which about 30 are still being
used. These can be broadly divided into 3 heads - flat stitches, raised and embossed
stitches, and the open trellis-like jaali work. Some of these have equivalents in other
embroideries, the rest are manipulations that make them distinctive and unique. They
cover almost all the embroidery stitches of the country and have interesting and
descriptive names.

The main flat stitches with their traditional names are:

Taipchi: Running stitch worked on the right side of the fabric. It is occasionally done
within parallel rows to fill petals and leaves in a motif, called ghaspatti. Sometimes
taipchi is used to make the bel buti all over the fabric. This is the simplest chikan stitch
and often serves as a basis for further embellishment. It resembles jamdani and is
considered the cheapest and the quickest stitch.

Pechni: Taipchi is sometime used as a base for working other variations and pechni is
one of them. Here the taipchi is covered by entwining the thread over it in a regular
manner to provide the effect of something like a lever spring and is always done on the
right side on the cloth.

Pashni: Taipchi is worked to outline a motif and then covered with minute vertical satin
stitches over about two threads and is used for fine finish on the inside of badla.

Bakhia: It is the most common stitch and is often referred to as shadow work. It is of two
types:

(a) Ulta Bakhia: The floats lie on the reverse of the fabric underneath the motif. The
transparent muslin becomes opaque and provides a beautiful effect of light and shade.

(b) Sidhi Bakhia: Satin stitch with criss-crossing of individual threads. The floats of
thread lie on the surface of the fabric. This is used to fill the forms and there is no light or
shade effect.

Khatao, khatava or katava is cutwork or appliqué - more a technique than a stitch.

Gitti: A combination of buttonhole and long satin stitch, usually used to make a wheel-
like motif .

Jangira: Chain stitch usually used as outlines in combination with a line of pechni or
thick taipchi.

The bolder or knottier stitches include the following:

Murri: A very minute satin stitch in which a knot is formed over already outlined taipchi
stitches.

Phanda: It is a smaller shortened form of murri. The knots are spherical and very small,
not pear shaped as in murri. This is a difficult stitch and requires very good
craftsmanship.

Jaalis: The jaalis or trellises that are created in chikankari are a unique speciality of this
craft. The holes are made by manipulation of the needle without cutting or drawing of
thread. The threads of the fabric are teased apart to make neat regular holes or jaalis. In
other centres where jaalis are done, the threads have to be drawn out. In chikankari, this
is not the case. Names of jaali techniques suggest the place where they originated from ---
Madrasi jaali or Bengali jaali ---- or possibly the place of demand for that particular jaali.
The basic manner in which jaalis are created is by pushing aside wrap and weft threads in
a fashion that minute openings are made in the cloth. Shape of openings and the stitches
used distinguish one jaali from another.

The source of most of the design motifs in chikankari is Mughal. Noor Jehan's personal
preferences and desire to replicate the Turkish architectural open-work designs is said to
have that led to the introduction of jaalis in chikan embroidery. The designs in chikan are
graded and used according to the stitches employed - murri ka buta and tepchi ka jaal ---
though terms like hathi (elephant) and kairi (mango) are also used to signify the shape of
the motif. It is however the stitch employed that is the established nomenclature.

The production process of a chikan garment, assuming it is a kurta, goes through several
processes. In each process a different person is involved. The final responsibility is,
however, that of the person ordering the manufacture, who is also usually the seller.
Chikan work involves several stages. The fabric is cut by the tailor into the required
garment shape, after which the basic pre-embroidery stitching is done so that the correct
shape is available to the block-printer to plan the placement of the design. The design is
printed on the semi-stitched garment with fugitive colours, and the embroidery of the
garment is then begun. After completion, the article is checked carefully since most
defects can be detected at first glance. However, the finer flaws surface only after
washing. The washing is done in a bhatti, after which the garment is then starched and
ironed. The whole cycle can take from one to six months. Originally, chikan embroidery
was done with white thread on soft, white cotton fabric like muslin or cambric. It was
sometimes done on net to produce a kind of lace. Today chikan work is not only done
with coloured threads but on all kinds of fabrics like silk, crepe, organdie chiffon, and
tassar.