Here's The Life Of Chikankari Artisans

Sitting in a room and playing videogames during winter vacation , I've received an Email from my college course leader that I have to do research on different art and craft, design movements, tribal and folk art. 

Hola! I am Mohit Ranjan and I am here to take you through my journey of a college assignment. 

I have always loved to learn and know about new stuffs around the world. 

When I received the mail from my course leader, I was so excited to explore and know about things.

I told my parents that I got assignment and they suggested me that it would be better if i do research about my city art and craft and its culture. 

So, the journey started next day! I got an idea to visit the older part of lucknow to know about Chikankari. Nazrana chikan shop has been famous from decades in lucknow, So i talked to the owner of Nazrana chikan and he was ready to show his factories where the chikankari work is done. 

He told me about all the process of getting a chikankari garment, but i was not satisfied with this this much of knowledge about it and asked an artisan that where is chikankari work done in nearby villages ? and he gave me the address.

Second day! I visited a village called Mizwan Village , according to the address given by artisan. 

There i found that mostly chikankari embroidery work is done by women only.

So, I met a lady whose name was Tabassum, She was married at the age of 16 and had gone through a lot. She never went to school, was pushed into early marriage and then had to go through the heartbreak of a broken relationship, all in her teens. That’s when she decided to take up chikankari with the intention of supporting herself. She mastered the art craft under the guidance of notable tutors. However, earning a decent living through chikankari seemed like a distant dream.

Tabassum told me that mostly women from muslim community practice chikankari embroidery to support themselves, who makes only 2500-3000 rs per month. 

Tabassum told me about a man who transformed the lives of all the artisans, it was jaspal karla , a professor of fashion design , is the founder of Sangraha Kala Foundation.  The organization not only conducts a four-month training programme in design for chikankari artisans, but also connects them with prospective buyers through an online platform, thereby making entrepreneurs out of them. Their sole motive is to bring about positive changes in the socio-economic conditions of these artisans.

So, at last i realized that social reformers like jaspal karla is very important for our society and we should inspire from people like him. 

At last a quote from shaukat tangewala came in my mind that "लखनऊ ही एक ऐसा अनोखा शहर है जहां चिकन खाया भी जाता है पहना भी".