By Ines Keane
A finished piece of Kutch embroidery moves when the light does. Small mirrors, called abhla, catch it and throw it back across dense stitching.
“Kutch embroidery” is not one craft but many. The region has well over a dozen styles, each tied to a community: the Rabari, Ahir, Mutwa, Meghwal, Sodha Rajput, Jat and others. Each has its own stitches and motifs. Roughly 6,000 women are reported to work in the craft, which says something about how embedded it is in the region’s domestic and economic life.
Communities moved into Kutch over centuries from Sindh, Baluchistan and further west, bringing stitches and motifs with them. The Rabari are reported to have come from Sindh as early as the 14th century. The style that grew from that mix has been described as a composite, unlike others then in use in Kutch. Mirror work is not owned by one group. Rabari embroidery uses mirrors in many shapes, set against chain stitch, and Ahir work is also known for heavy shisha. Garasia Jat women work counted geometric patterns based on cross stitch, studded with tiny mirrors.
The stitch vocabulary has names. Rabari work is known for square chain stitch interlaced with buttonhole. Other named styles and stitches include Soof, Kharek, Paako, Heer Bharat and Mochi Bharat. Fabrics include cotton and silk, with the work done on a frame or held in the hand.
Kutch embroidery was registered as a Geographical Indication in March 2013, and its logo was registered in November 2015. The craft had been going for generations before the paperwork. What keeps it going is largely the same thing that started it: women stitching within their own households and communities, where the work also signals identity and status.