The first Kasuti sari I owned was teal blue with white motifs from Prasiddhi in Bengaluru when it was still called Bangalore and I love it. There is something rough and ready about the Kasuti that I like. The embroidery uses familiar motifs — a rangoli, a flower shrub, a chariot, a swastik. But nothing prepared me for the kind of work I saw at a recent exhibition of Kasuti saris at Kanakavalli, Coimbatore. What was even nicer was meeting the lady who had brought the collection here. Aasha A. Savla is has an obvious love for the nearly 2,000-year-old traditional embroidery from North Karnataka.
While the aforementioned sari I bought all those years ago couldn’t have cost me more than a few hundreds, the first sari Aasha showed me was a little more than three and a half lakhs. The shock must have shown on my face because she was quick to point out the thread work that filled the six yards of silk. “ Each motif you see here has 950 stitches. It has taken nearly a year to complete the work. Intense concentration and focus is required and the entire sari is done by a single woman.”
That caught my attention. According to Aasha, each sari is usually done by the same person, as otherwise the difference shows up. The women, who are between 20 and 60 years of age, work from home. Of course after they are done with their chores of cooking, cleaning, washing and caring for the various members of their families. “It is not something that can be done casually. It needs complete dedication,” Aasha reiterates. I take a closer look and realise how much toil has gone into the making of this beautiful piece of art. It is nothing less.
Aasha says that Kasuti embroidery was taught to little girls as soon as they could hold a needle and thread. They were encouraged to embroider their own trousseau! “There are different kinds of Kasuti needle work. Zavari, Negi and Manthi are some of them.” Aasha holds out a black sari where the motifs look like they have been woven into the fabric. That is how fine Kasuti can get.
But it is the same old story that besets handicraft. No patronage, no incentives and no appreciation. “When I started I had four women, the numbers swelled to 125 and now it is down to 25 again,” she says. Mushrooming malls, indifference to traditional work and ridiculously low wages are some of the reasons why it is difficult to convince women to keep doing the embroidery. “Sometimes, other jobs pay better or the in-laws or the husbands do not want them to continue with it. Or quite simply day-to-day work — the kind we are all so familiar with — does not give them the time they need to dedicate to this needlework,” says Aasha.
Aasha was introduced to Kasuti as a new bride in Hubli, and she was hooked. Her first Kasuti was an off-white silk with multicoloured motifs. Since then she has travelled the country, met weavers and designed her collections. “There is no handloom I have not worked on,” she says. From Ikat and Patola to Chanderi and Bhagalpur silk or indeed the gorgeous Kanjivaram, all have been embellished and enhanced by Kasuti work. “Awareness is the only hope for Kasuti. If people understand its intricacies and its history and younger people take pride in wearing a Kasuti sari, only then will it survive and flourish,” she says. What she leaves unsaid is that otherwise it will disappear forever.
The collection at Kanakavalli was exquisite. The work was outstanding on the Tussars, Chanderis and no nonsense cottons. “One Kasuti is a must for any girl’s trousseau,” smiles Aasha and I make a note to call my daughter and ask her when she plans to wed. She is going to get one for sure. So am I.
Aasha is happy to do the Kasuti work on your old silks. Or you can commission a sari too if you want. She specialises in other kinds of embroidery too. She is working on her website that will soon be ready. In the meanwhile you can call her at + 91 94481 22564 or write to her at shobhann@gmail.com
