Phulkari 🌺
‘Phul’ means ‘flower’ and ‘kari’ means ‘work’🪡. Also known as ‘Gulkari’ a very inticrate needle work, along with bright colored threads mainly red, orange, blue, green, etc. The Phulkari embroidery first began in Punjab in the 15th century by the women of Punjab. It is the rural handmade embroidery tradition of Punjab and is also known as the folk embroidery of Punjab.
1) Thirma
Symbol of purity, worn by elder women and widows, but at times, the choice of white is made for esthetical reasons. Thirmas are a special group of Punjabi Phulkaris that have red/maroon/pink silk embroidery on an undyed white base. The entire category is rare and not easy to find. Some are so scarce that parallels are seen only in museums and never available for acquisition.
2) Darshan Dwar
Darshan Dwar Phulkari baghs are textiles offered to Gurudwaras Or temples by the Sikh community upon the fulfillment of wishes or at important life events. Compared to the other Phulkari baghs created as wedding textiles, the Darshan Dwar textiles are rarer in the world of textile collectibles.
3) Bawan Bagh
Another type of Bagh Phulkari, is the Darshan Dwar Bagh, meaning “The Gate from which one sees God. “ Made from a temple offering to thank God after a wish has been fulfilled. It has paneled architectural design. The pillars and the top of the gate were fulfilled with multi-colored triangles and diamonds.
4) Vari-da-bagh
When the bride enters the house of the bridegroom, the bridegroom’s father and mother gift a saree to her which is made by up of Vari-da-bagh. The base cloth will be khaddar and the color will be Orange-Red. The embroidery work will be done using either Gold or or Orange colored threads.
5) Sainchi
The usage of this one is limited to certain regions of Punjab, and usually the embroidery designs will be that of ‘Boxers’, ‘Agricultarists’, ‘Rural life’, ‘Animals’, etc. However, Sainchi phulkari is hardly seen these days.
6) Kaudi Bagh
Kaudi Phulkari was often worn by women wanting to increase their chance of pregnancy.
Among their patterns, this bagh includes chains of small white squares representing stylized cowries. From another point of view, the shape of these shells can remind of female genitals and make them become symbols of purity.
7) Meenakari
This Bagh, often made of Gold and White Pat, is decorated with small multicolored lozenges referring to Enamel work (Meenakari) or to “Diamond” Playing cards suit.
8) Panchranga Bagh
Panchranga means ‘Five colors’, this Bagh is decorated with chevrons of five different colors. The colors represent ‘Punjab – The land of rivers’.
9) Surajmukhi
Literally translated, it means ‘Sunflower’ 🌻 that refers to the main pattern of this Phulkari. Main colors used are yellow, reddish-orange, pink and gold.
10) Chope
Chope is another type of Phulkari, usually embroidered on the borders. It is gifted to the bride by her grandmother during some ceremony before wedding.
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