I first heard of this appliqué embroidery style of ‘Patti Ka Kaam” during my childhood in the city of Aligarh. My earliest memory is as a seven-year old wearing a peach-colored kurta and churidar dress with patti-work embroidery on “Eid”.
When my parents moved to Aligarh in 1967 from Bombay (now Mumbai), my mother was introduced to this traditional embroidery form, done mostly by the veiled women and girls, and it caught her interest. There were no shops selling phool-patti work in the city in those days. Traditionally, women worked on this embroidery in their homes on their own clothes and off and on at the request of interested patrons. She got together a small group of women familiar with the stitches and started experimenting with her own designs and creations on saris and many other items. She used different materials, embellishments and explored patti work on table cloths, napkins, curtains which was perhaps the first time this was used on household furnishings. I recall Mamma, as I call her, really enjoying herself discussing colours and designs with the women and girls sitting on the floor cushion in front of her low table with transparent design sheets and carbon paper in her work-room in our home in Aligarh. She would explain in detail aspects of design, colour combination and quality to the artisans and also listen to personal stories of their life and times. I never told her that as I child I was sometimes jealous of the time and attention she was giving to her artisan group.
This theme area of writing is new for me. In my career as an obstetrician & gynaecologist and now as a public health & development professional, my experience is limited to writing technical papers, documents and reports. My interest to develop this publication was sparked when, browsing through an article on embroidery crafts in India in an in-flight magazine, I missed the mention of this embroidery form which I had grown up hearing about in my childhood. Though perhaps I would not be able to do full justice to this work, I have nevertheless enjoyed developing this photographic journey. Attempt has been made here to explore the art of “phool-patti” through my mother’s work and innovations during the 1970’s and 80’s and get a glimpse of the artisans – the women and girls- behind the craft.
My warm thanks to family and friends who shared with me the saris, garments and items designed by my mother, some of them over twenty-odd years ago, which they still had persevered with care in their personal collection. These include among others, Nuzhat Husain, Farida Khusro, Shaukat Tariq, Talat Zamir, Feroza Salman, Asha Govil and Rafat Hai. The collection in this book would not have been possible without their contributions. Particular thanks also to my medical school batch-mates, Hameeda Tariq and Veena Govil, who helped in introducing me to the artisans and entrepreneurs for my interviews during my visit to Aligarh to research for this book. I am thankful to Yasmine Pawar for her suggestions and comments on the draft manuscript. I also benefited from conversations with entrepreneurs, project managers and artisans that included, among others Mohamed Athar, Seema Masood, Najme Asif, Azizuddin Tariq and Nargis. I take this opportunity to express my particular thanks to my father, Sultan Mohamed Khan, for his constant encouragement and support which has enabled his wife and daughters to explore new areas and achieve their dreams.
I hope this book, perhaps a first on the subject, will trigger interest and creativity among young as well as established designers to experiment with this traditional Indian craft of “Phool Patti” work and advance its scope, popularity and possibilities. All the designs and creative ideas by Saleha Khan in this book can be freely used, adapted and replicated to encourage promotion of phool patti ka kaam for the advancement of its artisans. All proceeds from the publication and sale of this book are for SAFAR (Supporting Action For Advancement and Rights), to contribute towards expanding income generation activities for women that Saleha Khan initiated in her hometown in Gwalior.
