KASHIDA- Embroidery of Western Rajasthan

K AS H I D A EMBROI DERY OF RAJASTHAN

DOCUMENTEDBY ANNETKY/MADHURIMENON KERALAST ATEI NSTI TUTEOFDESI GN, KOLLAM

KASHIDA Craft Documentation on the Embroidery of Rajasthan Faculty Guide – P.T. Girish Documented by – Annet KY and Madhuri Menon Integrated Textile & Apparel Design Kerala State Institute Of Design, Kollam Study Conducted for one month Printed and Published in May 2017

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KERALA STATE INSTITUTE OF DESIGN, KOLLAM Kerala State Institute of Design (KSID) was established for the purpose of creating a vibrant design community in Kerala through synergistic partnership between artisan community, professional designers and general public. To realise this objective, KSID is supported by National Institute of Design Ahmedabad. NID support includes creation of a comprehensive roadmap for KSID through systematic plan of action to develop and strengthen the organisation, faculty development and offering courses developed by NID. One of the main objectives of KSID is to promote Design sensitivity in the community and impart values of Good Design in all sectors of the society.

The course Craft Documentation, gives the aspiring designers a chance to interact with traditional artisans, which would help in understanding design at a much broader level. The course also provides a platform to document the traditional crafts of India, that would help in reviving the craft as well as knowing one s nation better.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank Kerala State Institute of Design, Kollam for giving us an opportunity to document a craft which helped us in understanding the people, society and on a broader view, to know about our India better. We owe our profound gratitude towards Mr.P.T. Girish, the Executive Director, KSID for giving us an opportunity to work with Urmul Trust,the NGO which functions in Bikaner,Rajasthan.

This document would not have been possible without the help of Urmul Trust, Bikaner. Valued thoughts and suggestions from Mr. Arvind Ojha(Secretary,Urmul) and Ms.Prerna (Urmul,Seemant,Bajju) has helped us in understanding the system on a better level and they showed keen interest in helping us.

We would also like to express our gratitude towards the artisans, who are the significant players in this document. They were happy and showed interest to share their experience so that we would understand the craft better. They imparted us with the essence of Rajasthan and we had a great time interacting with them.

Also we are thankful and fortunate to get enough support and encouragement from our family and friends which was very essential for successfully completing this document.

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Pokharan fort

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PREFACE Story of joy and struggles!!

Rajasthan, the largest state in India is known in the whole world for its crafts. Plains, deserts, extreme hotness and coldness define the geography and climatic conditions of Rajasthan.

Innocence, hard work and willpower define the people of this state. What add colors to their lives is THEIR CRAFTS!!

Under such adverse conditions of the desert, they still continue to work with passion and perfection. In such a scenario, it is very important to study and understand the existence of these crafts and revive it. The crafts form a part of their life and lifestyle. Rajasthan, the land of Palaces and Forts contributes a lot to the rich heritage and culture of India.

Kashida means Embroidery. Kashida tells the story of lives of women in Western Rajasthan, India.

Their dreams, hopes, imagination, nature, people and their passion to live is depicted through Kashida. The lives of these artisans are comparable to the plants in the deserts of Rajasthan. Even without water, it tries to grow and survive in such an environment. Similarly, the women, the artisans doing Kashida, do their kashidakari with a lot of hope and passion. Hope for a better living, a better future for their children and to be independent.

As design always works for the betterment of the society, it is essential to understand how craft and society are related. Also, being the citizens of India which is rich in craft and also aspiring designers, it is important to study the heart and soul of the nation. This Documentation gives an insight on how the artisans broke the cocoon wound on them and portrayed themselves to the world. This also tells about the lifestyle, culture and beliefs which makes them who they are and their kashida.

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CONTENTS

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Rajasthan

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Bikaner

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Urmul Trust, Bikaner

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Bajju

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Urmul Seemant, Bajju

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Embroidery

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Kashida

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Kashida, in its Early Years

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The Creators, From Silence to Speech

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Artisan Profiles

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Clusters Visited

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Making of Kashida

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Motifs of Kashida

CONTENTS

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Stitches

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Family and Education

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Culture and Beliefs

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Traditional Architecture

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Interiors of Jompada

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Water Supply and Electricity

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Market

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Different Perceptions

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Future of Kashida

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Kashida, the story Continues

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Conclusion

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References

Architecture At Ramdev Mandir, Ramdevra

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RAJASTHAN

“Travel makes you speechless Makes you fear Makes you mad Makes you starve At last you become a storyteller!!

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”

Rajasthan is located on the western side of India, which is the largest state by area and shares border with the Pakistan. The state was formed on 30 march 1949 when Rajputana – the name adopted by British raj for its dependence in the region was merged into the dominion of India. Its capital and largest city is Jaipur located on the state eastern side.

Rajasthan is blessed with its rich heritage, art and culture. There are several communities of Rajasthan, who are involved in making products with leather, terracotta, wood, fabric and embroideries. And it is also called land of forts and mahals. While travelling through Rajasthan, long plain brown lands with small spine shrubs, camel rolling vehicles, beautiful yellow mustard field, dusky color small sparrows, Rajasthani music loudly playing tractors, men with bright red turban on their heads and an innocent smile on their lips, ladies wearing bright colored dresses and odhani covering half of their face, are the daily scenes. People in Rajasthan are very hard working and have got great will power. They speak Rajasthani (marwari) and Hindi. There are other dialects spoken such as mewati, malvi and jaipuri.

Rajasthan is also noted for its parks and wildlife sanatorium, there are four parks and wildlife sanatorium. Rajasthan is indeed a place of the kings and queens but also depicts lot on monuments of worship and peace for all the religions.

As said earlier, Rajasthan is a state rich in crafts. Jaipur and Jodhpur are famous for Jootis , the shoes made of animal skin. These are embellished with embroidery using special needles called Ari needle. Other products like bags, chair covers, belts, pouches are also made with animal hide. Woven carpets and Durries made of wool also form a part of all the households in Rajasthan. Puppets made of wooden head, painted faces depicting the people of Rajasthan is found to be a good souvenir. Pottery from different regions of Rajasthan have different look, feel and color differences due to the difference in the clay. There are lot of other crafts like mirror work, sculpturing, appliquĂŠ and embroideries.

Fairs and Festivals in Rajasthan help us in understanding the way of life and people on a better level. The Desert festival in Jaisalmer is the time when the sand dunes become alive. The Camel festival in Pushkar as well as Bikaner gives us an idea of how important is camel in their lives.

Camel was the only mode of transport during the earlier days in Rajasthan. Camel is called the Ship of the Desert .Camel festival includes buying and selling of camels, camel dance, camel dressed up so beautifully in mirror works, appliquĂŠs wearing anklets, neck pieces and so on. Kite festival is another unique festival in Rajasthan. The festivities continue to be held in different places in Rajasthan all around the year. Other common festivals like Diwali, Holi, Janmastami, Durga Puja, Makara Sankranti are also celebrated.

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PEOPLE AND RELIGION Hinduism is the most popular religion followed by the people of Rajasthan. They worship the tridevs(Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara). The second most popular religion is Islam which accounts to 10% of the population. Jainism is followed by a large number of people who are mostly traders and wealthier class of the society. Followers of Dadupanthi also form a major part of the population. They are strict vegetarians and abstain from liquor. Christians and Sikhs form a minority in Rajasthan.

The important communities of Rajasthan are Rajputs, Jats, Brahmans and the traders. Rajputs belong to the martial race, Brahmans are the priests and teachers while Mahajans , the traders form the backbone of the villages. Jats and Gujars are the agriculture community.

Women in Rajasthan wear long flowing gaghras with chunky silver jewellery; this creates an offset against the dull and barren landscape. Men would tie turbans on the head, mostly with bright colored tie-dyed fabrics. The style of tieing differs with the caste or region they come from. [1] DEMOGRAPHICS According to final results of 2011 Census of India, Rajasthan has a total population of 68,548,437.

Rajasthan s population is made up mainly of Hindus, who account for 87.45% of the population.

Muslims make up 10.08%, Sikhs 1.27% and Jains 1% of the population. [1]

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TOPOGRAPHY Rajasthan has widely varying topography through the state. Major part of the state has arid and dry lands, some of the land with thorny scrubs and trees. The extensive topography also includes rocky terrains, sand dunes, plateaus, wetlands and wooded plains. The hilly regions include the Aravalli hills, Thar desert, plateaus include Vindhya and Malwa, fertile lands of Mewar. There are also forest regions, rivers and salt lakes present there CLIMATE Like topography, Rajasthan has varying climate. The state experiences extreme hotness and coldness. There is a pre monsoon season in the month of April to June, which will be the hottest season of the year. Later temperature comes down in the months of July to September, when there are chances of rain happening, even though Rajasthan receives very less amount of rains. Months of December to March experiences the winter, January being the coldest month. The temperature varies from 8 degrees to 28 degrees in winter and 25 to 50 degrees in summer. The coldness would increase while moving from town or cities to villages. Humidity is less in Rajasthan but they experience a lot of dusty winds.

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FLORA AND FAUNA The Flora and Fauna of Rajasthan particularly belong to arid regions and biologically they are modified to survive with less or no water. The forest vegetation that accounts for 9% in Rajasthan is deciduous and has thorny trees, grasses and shrubs. Trees belong to the family of acacia, bamboo , khejri and teak. All the plants present there have thorns and the leaves are grayish green in color. While looking at a piece of land, it does not bring in a lot of colors, indigenous flowering plants are less. Some of the trees has flowing branches while some stays in an upright position. The leaves of the plants are long and thin so that there is minimal loss of water and some remains as branches. The desert climate provides space for lizards and serpents to survive there. Rajasthan consists of 23 species of lizards and 25 species of serpents. The fauna also includes the Indian Gazelles. Antelope, Wild cats, silver foxes and so on. Also there are around 450 species of bird varieties including migratory birds present in Rajasthan. [1] ECONOMY OF RAJASTHAN Agriculture forms the major part of the economy as 70% of the population is involved in farming.

Now Rajasthan is a producer of wide range of products like synthetic yarns, cement, chemicals and fertilizers and electronic items. Most of the industrial development has been taking in the public sector, in industries like mining, utilities, insurance and banking. Tourism also helps in boosting the economy of Rajasthan

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Junagarh Fort, Bikaner

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BIKANER Bikaner is a city present in the northwest of Rajasthan, India. Bikaner lies 330 km away from the capital city of Rajasthan i.e. Jaipur. The city was found and built by the King Rao Bika in 1486 who was a rajput. The place were the city is located belonged to Nehra Jat. This was taken by Rao Bika to built the city, hence the name became Bika-Ner. After Rao Bika, major developments took place in the city with the rule of king Rai singh. He won many wars and rebuilt the Junagarh Fort which was initially built by Bikaji. A lot changes took place with the succeeding rulers. Now the city has a number of forts and mahals which allows us to study the architecture and life of Rajas. [3] Bikaner is situated in the middle of the Thar Desert which made it the trading hub to other states of India like Gujarat and also Central Asia. According to 2010-11 censuses, there are 951 inhabited villages and 100 uninhabited villages in Bikaner district. [4] Since Bikaner is surrounded by Thar Desert, it has got a very dry and arid climate. The temperature goes up to 45degrees during summer and drops down to zero degrees during winter. Bikaner is well served with roads connecting to main cities in the northern India like Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Agra, Haridwar and so on. The public transportation facilities include auto rickshaws, buses, tempo travelers, jeeps and trains. People traveling in Camel carts are very typical to Rajasthan, which could be seen in Bikaner in large numbers. Train services spreads across different cities in India in south, north, east and west direction.

Bikaner has a large market, near the Junagarh Fort,with shops selling each and everything require for a living. There are streets selling only sweets, steel vessels, fabrics, dupattas, beads, embellishments, plastics, lights and so on. The streets remain busy all day, especially during Sundays. The place attracts a lot of tourists..

The main attraction of Bikaner is the Junagarh Fort. The Fort stands in the middle of the city and proves to the best place to study about the lifestyle of people. The fort has temples as well as museums inside it. The other tourist spots include Lalgarh palace, Gajner Palace, Bikaner Camel Safari, Jain Temple, Deshnok Temple, Havelies and much more. Even though Bikaner is called as a city, it is a place of traditions, culture, architecture and history.

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Junagarh Fort, Bikaner

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URMUL

“The

Oasis of the barren land

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Urmul Trust, a Non Government Organisation was started in 1984 to reach out to the underprivileged and marginalized communities, especially women and children in Western Rajasthan. The initial aim of the organization was to facilitate good health care and education to the vulnerable people. Later on, Urmul started working towards improving the livelihood of the people. Income Generation projects were initiated through which people were brought together to work strengthened their capabilities, made them self reliant and the projects were handed over to the communities finally. [5] Sanjoy ghose , an Indian :rural development activist known for his pioneering contributions to community health and development media started Urmul in 1986 with the chief objective of empowering the local people to address their own development needs.

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Urmul s Work is guided and run by the spirit, trust and passion of the people to bring about the changes by their own efforts. Their area of work includes the districts of Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Urmul works over 1000 villages in the desert state of India on the aspects of Health, Education, Livelihood and Mother-Child Care.

Urmul Trust is a decentralized organization which has several family organizations working across the stretch of the Thar desert. They are Urmul Setu, UMBVS, Urmul Seemant, Urmul Jyoti,Urmul Khejadi, Vasundhara and Abhivyakti. [6] BAJJU Bajju is a place which lies 100 km towards west of Bikaner, near to the India- Pakistan border.

The geography of the place is in such a way that there are large stretches of deserted land with less vegetation and villages are scattered all around. Initially most of the men used to be herdsmen as people used to rear cows, sheeps and goats.

After 1987,Bajju became larger, wetter and populated with the help of Indira Gandhi Canal.

People started cultivating the land. Now the places have occupations like Pottery, Milk Production, Kashidakari, Animal rearing and Farming. Bajju has started growing into a small town which has market selling anything and everything with companies having showrooms of tractors and other farming machineries.

Also Bajju act as a connecting point for the villages situated near it for travelling to Bikaner, for sales, hospitals and medical facilities and education as there are schools and colleges in Bajju.

Bajju Market

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1 Urmul Trust , Bajju

URMUL SEEMANT,BAJJU Urmul Seemant is situated in Bajju, a hundred kilometers west of Bikaner. URMUL Seemant focuses on children, organizing collectives of women and other community groups to oversee and actively participate in implementing various programmes. URMUL Seemant works on Income Generation Projects to empower, both socially and economically, women artisans who decorate and accentuate fabric with their traditional craft of Kashida. All the work from distributing fabrics among themselves, collection of products, quality checking and timely delivery is done by women themselves. [7] EMBROIDERY

Embroidery was started in India in the states of Gujarat and Punjab initially. Rajasthan shares its border with Pakistan. During the wartime, along with people, crafts had also migrated to Rajasthan. Embroidery is practiced throughout Rajasthan on different materials including fabrics and leather. Jaisalmer is a trading hub for embroidery and mirror works. Embroidery is seen on saddles for camels and horses. The craft is done on jootis, bags, belts and other leather products. Traditional Rajput paintings have sceneries embroidered. The Living Fort of Jaisalmer showcases a lot of patchwork, appliquĂŠ and embroidery. The traditional textile used in temples of Rajasthan called Pichwai of Nathdwara also has embroidery done on it. Cream, green, yellow, white and black are the colors used for doing Pichwai. Embroidery is part of their clothing too. Lehenga skirts, roofing of the tents, decorative are all embellished with embroidery. [8] Embroideries that are prevailing in neighboring states of Gujarat and Punjab are Phulkari, embroideries by different tribes like Banni and Rabari. Phulkari produces a flowery surface, with simple damask designs, it forms geometric shapes. The Banni embroidery which originated from Gujarat draws its inspiration from architecture and is well depicted through minute embroidery patterns. Silver floss is used as thread in this craft. The Rabari embroidery belongs to Rajasthan as well as Gujarat. This style of embroidery is used in bags, accessories and home furnishings.

The embroidery gives a pictographic representation of their mythology, culture and lifestyle. [9]

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1 Artisan At Work

KASHIDA

“It is

very mystic to see, how elegantly a strand, stitches together the tradition, perception,

passion and the delusion

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�

Kashida means Needle Work or Embroidery in Hindi. In Urdu it means hard work. Kashidakari is a traditional craft performed by communities in Bajju, KolayatTehsil, Bikaner district. The craft has the rich history of many generations of women from ancient Rajasthan performing the Kashida. The artisans performing this craft are women. This was started as a traditional way of recycling fabrics. The communities being poor, started embellishing their old clothing with Kashida to give a new look. They used threads which were raveled out from pieces of waste fabrics, spin them together, and used it to do embroidery. The craft is practiced by girls from their childhood at the age of 12-14 yrs. Kashida helped in beautifying their fabrics as well as their lives.

Almost 700 women from 11villages are engaged in this craft. This craft is carried out by artisan communities who haves migrated from Pakistan to Rajasthan during 1971. So the craft traces back its roots to the land of Pakistan. There are two types of Kashida – Soof and Sindhi. Soof Kashida is still done in Pakistan. The communities in Bajju embroider sindhi kashida. Sindhi style kashida is one in which a grid is made with thread going criss-cross and locking the meeting points of the threads. It has raised and bold effect. The stitch is done through the threads forming the grid. The embroidery forms a separate layer on the surface.

Kashida is a way of life for them. They make maximum use of the materials they have. Many layers of old clothes are darned together and kashida is done on that. They use this in their homes as quilts, as bed covers and as floor mats for children. The plastic rice bags which is available in the market is opened up, darned together and used as floor mats. Bands which could be worn on hands are made with beads and waste threads. Kashida is practiced by all the women in the family – daughters, mothers, grandmothers and so on. It is a skill which is transferred from one generation to other. Kashida is all about up cycling and sustainability.

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KASHIDA, IN ITS EARLY YEARS Even though Kashida has its roots back in Pakistan, it started in Kolayat Tehsil, Bikaner, Western Rajasthan by the refugees who migrated from Pakistan during the war which took place in 1971. The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan during the Liberation war of Bangladesh in East Pakistan. In order to support democracy in East Pakistan, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi intervened the civil war in Pakistan. India did face a lot of pressure from East as well as West Pakistan like Crush India Campaigns India won the war, and Bangladesh was an independent country.

During this time, a widespread genocide against the minority Hindu population in East Pakistan forced India to accept around 10 million refugees in 1971.[10]Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided them with shelter, food and health facilities. There came the artisans doing Kashidakari.

Kashida was traditionally worked on by all the girls in family and given as Dowry to the bridegroom s family. A girl would start practicing kashida from the age of 12-14 yrs. Kashida was considered as mandatory in the dowry as it showed one s skill to beautify things. It was very important for a girl to learn and practice Kashida as it showed her hard work, dedication towards the family, her love for marriage. The bride or her mother would embroider the lehenga for her marriage. Each product made as a part of dowry narrates the story of the bride s wish to get married, imagination of life after her marriage, her dreams and her passion. Floral patterns with bright colors of red, green, yellow, golden and blues are seen in this Kashida. This has been a tradition which has been practiced by all women in Meghwal as well as Jat communities in the villages near Bajju. The tradition still continues in the villages. The girl has the complete freedom to depict her ideas through her Kashida. Following are few kashida products given during dowry.

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Gochna – a piece of embroidered square cloth used to wrap rotis while the husband goes to work.

Batua – an embroidered rectangle pouch in which wheat is given to the bridegroom s family, as a symbol of prosperity.

Panga –Embroidered Fan for the bridegroom An embroidered waist band which is to be tied at the waist of the bridegroom during the time of the marriage.

Takia, ring kept on the head for placing the earthen pots, wall pieces, torans are some other products There are traces of Kashida in the history of Bikaner. The museums in Bikaner showcase embroideries being done on lehengas, saris, kurtas and skirts.

These are mostly done with precious stones and gold zari. It gives us an idea how the design changes from flowy florals to geometric patterns .with the Arab influence the patterns changed to be geometric. It also shows the change from intricate to bold designs. The lattice structure of the windows, wall panels and the flora and fauna of Rajasthan has also affected the motifs on the fabric.

Gochna

Mirror Work

Skirt

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THE CREATORS

“The truly gifted woman, she works fast and fair, until the fast becomes faster

�

and fair becomes perfect!!

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FROM SILENCE TO SPEECH!!

Women are the creators of this craft. Kashida narrates the story of a woman s life. It shows the optimism in her mind even though living under such diverse conditions of the desert. Paru Bhai, who is more than 65yrs old, one of the oldest artisans, who is a jat, narrates her story like thisWe have been practicing kashida for years. My mother, grandmother, sisters, friends, everywoman I know used to do this. It is a part and parcel of our lives. After the war of 1971,we came to India. The condition of people was very pathetic. No house, no shelter, no job, we would wander and sit in the road sides hoping that someone would help us. Later our Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave us these lands, where we built our homes. Initially the health conditions of people were so poor. There was malnutrition; children were unhealthy as there was hardly anything to eat. The family started rearing animals like cows, buffalos and goats. This was the only possible job as the land was dry and arid and lack of water made agriculture a long lost dream. This was the time when Urmul came in to help us. They surveyed the whole village, about the health conditions of men, women and children. Medicines and awareness classes were provided to the people regarding the importance of cleanliness, healthy surroundings and self hygiene. Slowly the conditions were improving. The status of women in the family is that an ideal woman sits inside their home, looks after her children and also manages household works. She was not allowed to even come out of the house and enjoy the freedom. She was supposed to remain silent. A drought occurred in the 1987. It struck the livelihood of people badly. At that time Urmul happened to see our work of Kashida. They asked us if we could work for them. Initially an outsider interacting with the woman in one s family created problems. They thought that they would lose their family, their values. Urmul offered us training sessions, to work on fineness and educated them about the importance of the craft they are doing. They helped them to market their products and provided the women of these communities with a livelihood. Later on, men were convinced and women started coming outside the houses and got involved in the craft.

Kashida is our bread and butter. It gave us the freedom, we earn money, this helps in taking care of children and family in a better way and we do not have to depend on our husbands for everything.

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ARTISANS FROM MEGHWAL COMMUNITY

The women in these villages did not know that they created wonders with their hands. Kashida earned a different perspective – from a tradition to a product of income, of independence. The family started respecting and valuing their women. More than a tradition, learning and practicing kashida became a need.

Other than the traditional artisans, there are trained artisans too.

These women have developed the skill through training sessions given by Urmul Seemant, Bajju.

COMMUNITIES The main communities involved in this craft traditionally are Meghwals and Jats. Meghwal community is also involved in weaving. Both the communities give kashida as dowry traditionally. There are artisans from other communities like Panwar Rajputs who are trained to do this craft. All the processes are carried out by women themselves.

ARTISAN FROM JODHASAR

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ARTISAN PROFILES The lifestyle of two extremely different artisans is studied here.

Paru Bhai, 60-65 yrs, Village – Dandkala Paru bhai is one oldest artisan who has been working with Urmul. She has an experience of working for 35 yrs with Urmul, while she practices kashida from the age of 12.

She is one of the refugees from Pakistan in 1971. She has done kashida for her dowry. She is very traditional person who wears the ragdi as a sign of her marriage, silver jewellery and gaghra chunari. The odhani still covers her face. Very enthusiastic and passionate person, she lives in a joint family with her sons, daughter- in-laws and grandchildren. Paru bhai is known for her simplicity and loving nature. Her husband is a farmer and they have fields across the village.

PARU BHAI

Fula, 18yrs, Village – Gokul

She starts her day early in the morning at around 6am. Her daughter –in-laws help her with the household works. She would milk the cows, cooks breakfast and serves her grandchildren with food and sends them to school. After completing her household activities, she starts doing Kashida. There is a training center in Paru bhai’s house. So women from the neighboring houses would also come here, they have conversations, gossips and they keep working.

Evening she goes to the cowshed, takes care of them, feeds them and milks them. She has a special interest towards doing everything that comes her away. She does kashida till midnight with her daughter-in-law.

Fula is an innocent 18yr old girl from the village named Gokul and she is studying in 10th standard. She has not been exposed to the outside world. She is very much interested in music and listens to songs which come on television, in the nearby house. She likes talking to people and is very curious.

She has 2 younger brothers, one younger sister, mother and father. Her mother also does embroidery while father works in the fields. Sometimes there would not be any work for him.

Fula goes to school at 9am and gets back by 3.30pm. She studies in the village school which is just a five minutes’ walk.

She wakes up in the morning, helps her mother with household works and goes to school. She is the eldest in the family. She is a trained artisan in Kashida. She practices kashida after school, in her free time. She does this to help her family, earn a living.

The income she gets sometimes bring in a thought in her mind that why should she study, she is already getting paid. After her 10th standard she would not be sent out of village and study further, her dreams would stop there. Kashida at least gives her an income to support her family.

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FULA

CLUSTERS VISITED Five villages were studied were Kashida has been practiced traditionally as well as villages with trained artisans. All these artisans are converted to Self Help Groups and they manage work between themselves.

Deli Thalayi Deli thalayi is a village situated around 80km from Bajju. It takes around one and half hours of travelling in a bus. The bus passes through many villages.

Road is in such a way that only a single bus could pass that way at a time.

Dry lands, mountains and fields with mustard and wheat saplings are seen on the way. The bus stops in front of a shop selling household items on the road side, where the village is located. Even though the houses have electricity, there are no street lights. The village belongs to the Meghwal community.

They have a shiva temple near by the village, which opens on Mondays. In villages, a person knows everyone in their area. There is a small market which sells vegetables, fruits and tea shops selling tea and snacks. Here women do Kashida traditionally for their dowry. Now they do it as a source of income.

Still girls in this village do kashida from childhood for dowry. Women from 1020 families here practice kashida for livelihood. They are also given training in stitching by Urmul trust. These are sponsored programmes by Usha Group.

HOUSES AT DELITHALAYI

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2AD Dho AD is a village 10-12km away from Deli Thalayi. It takes 45mins to reach there.There are no vehicles on the road other than a few cows which had come out for getting little sunlight during winters. A few old men smoking beedis, wait at the entrance of the village, where the bus stops. There are no shops near the village. The people here are very caring and warming. The artisans here are traditional belonging to Meghwal community. Woman in all age groups practice Kashida. The village has a training centre where women come together, collects fabrics to be worked on and kashida becomes a part of their leisure time. There is school (up to 8th standard) and an Anganvadi in the village. All girls do not go to school here. But all of them do kashida. All of them have a Kaccha and a Pakka style house. The muslim community lives on the other side of the village. Most of the men are farmers here.

Jodasar Jodasar is a small village located 4km away from Deli Thalayi. Here most of the travel is by walking, as it is difficult to find vehicles on the way. They are less exposed to outside people. Still the people are conservative and speak only their traditional language Marwari.The Meghwal communities present here practices Kashida as well as Applique on fabrics.

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Dandkala Urmul’s Initial Income generation projects started in Dandkala. Dandkala is a village located 50km away from Bajju. Dry and arid lands with a little vegetation are the scenes while looking out of the window from the bus. It is a hilly region. Half way through the distance, there is a small market with a tea shop, after that there are no shops on the way. On reaching Dandkala, there is a shop at the entrance of the village. As most of the families in these villages have fields and farms, they get the groceries from there, fresh and pure. This village belongs to Jats community. They have been doing this craft since ages. From the traditional purpose of Kashida, it has turned into a source of income in this village. There is also a training center in the village so that women come together and work.

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Gokul Gokul is 3-4km away from Dandkala. There are no shops in Gokul. They get the groceries and other things from Bajju market. There are also vegetable sellers who comes in camel carts selling vegetables and fruits. The village is located a little way from the road. There are no waiting sheds or bus stops at any of the villages. Gokul belongs to Rajput community. Panwar rajputs forms the majority in this area. There is a minority of muslims present in this village. The women in the village is been trained by Urmul to do Kashida, as this would become a source of income for them.

All the villages gave a different insight on Kashida. 2AD values Kashida as tradition as well as a livelihood. Girls start making products for dowry with such passion and a lot of dreams. They love to speak about kashida and their thoughts attached to it. Education is secondary for them; most of the girls does not go to school. While people in Jodasar are not well exposed to other people as well as market. They are less educated and speak only Marwari even though they understand Hindi a little. They do their work neatly.

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Dandkala is a village which is well exposed to the outer world, were initial commercialization of Kashida took place. Here more than a tradition, they do kashida for livelihood, for income.

They respect Urmul a lot, designers as well as people provide them with work. Kashida has brought a remarkable change in the lives of women here. Gokul provides with a completely different experience as the artisans over there are still primitive.

The initial training includes learning the stitches, how to trace the designs, which colors to use where. It helps the artisan to get a color sensibility. Training is not just about kashida, it includes personal hygiene, educates them about Self Help Groups, society and other awareness classes. Urmul aims at all round development of these artisans. They are also given the freedom to work with their own creativity. Next levels of trainings are to improve the fineness of their work. Kashida shows the skill of the person to work with needle and thread. The quality of work is very important to earn them money.

The visit to these villages gave an opportunity to meet a wide range of artisans,of different age groups - from senior artisan like Paru Bhai(Dandkala),Shama Bhai(2AD), Mohini( Deli Thalayi), Chandini(Dandkala), the new artisans like Dariya(Gokul), and young girls like Lakshmi(2AD),Anu and Fula (Gokul). The meaning of kashida changes from person to person Tradition, wedding, livelihood, hobby and the key to reach heights.

TRAINING SESSION AT GOKUL

DARIYA

SINDHI KASHIDA WITH KANCH

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MAKING OF KASHIDA All the processes are carried out by women themselves. Traditionally kashida was practiced without drawing any designs. The woman would embroider whatever and however she feels like. Now they work in groups were a senior artisan traces the design and gives it to the artisans. The Tracing is carried out with the available materials they have at home. The design is drawn on a plastic sheet and holes are put according to the design with pins. Mixture of ash from the Chulha and water is used for tracing .This is made into a paste and dabbed on the plastic sheet by keeping it on the fabric. Dabbing is carried out using old piece of fabric available at home. When it dries up the design is formed on the fabric, it can be washed off easily.

They use hands to do measurements. The distance and size is measured in finger thickness. Use of measuring equipments is less. The skill and patience in these artisans gives such beautiful works in Kashida.

The raw materials needed are a piece of cloth, needle, thread and scissors. Threads used are anchor, dolly and Magika which is available in a variety of colors.

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Paste made of ash and water

Design traced on plastic sheet

The design after drying

Tracing of the design

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Sindhi Kashida on Process

Sindhi

Kharak

Kambhiri

Kanch

Pakko

MOTIFS All the motifs are nature inspired. The women embroider the trees, plants, birds and animals they see around them. They use bright colors and most of them are geometric shapes. As they see less of vegetation and animals, they use their imagination to fulfill the work. The motifs include trees, parrots, peacocks, leaves, flowers and camels. There are geometric designs which are inspired from architecture too. The kashida is bold and has an embossed effect. A lot of mirrors are also used in this embroidery. Mirrors are attached to the fabric as there is a belief that mirror reflects away the evil eye.

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MOTIFS

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STITCHES USED

Buttons made of thread

Sindhi Kashida

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FAMILY AND EDUCATION

“Life is a Beautiful Embroidery , stitched through different Experiences, The one word which sums up this Life, Is Family

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”

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Villages are like small groups of traditional circular houses put together, people belonging to same community lives in one village. The houses are spread over the land without a plan. Majority of the population follow Hindu dharma, while there is also Muslim community present in this area. Houses are build up of mud and wall is finished with cow dung, Each Family consist of 5-6 children, they are less exposed with family planning and all of them live together under a single roof. The emotional attachment between the family members is found to be very less in these villages. Everyone considers each other as a family, and the whole village performs as a single unit.

Still in these villages, families prefer boy children over girls. Even though there is a rumor of less number of female feticide and girl children being killed after the birth. Generally the rural people are less educated or illiterates. Gender difference plays a role in education as well in the state of Rajasthan especially in rural areas According to the community culture and values, Girls are married off at an age of 18yrs. Also parents prefer educating boys than girls. According to them, a girl goes to another family, educating her doesn’t benefit the family. Also as the economic status of the family, forces them to remain uneducated. Most of the girls studies in the school in their village till 8th or 10th standard, and they are forced to stop studying as going out of the village is considered bad by the community or society. After marriage, women are supposed to look after their family and get involved in household activities, also women moves to their husband’s house.

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Agriculture is the main occupation of the people there; they indulge in activities that range from cattle rearing to farming. Woman in the family does the domestic work and Kashida. Kashida can be sitting anywhere; it does not require a specific work space and this done as a hobby or leisure time activity. Every woman in the family practices embroidery from childhood. Men are the decision makers in their family. Now that women have also started earning, they are having a say in the family. Still it remains as a patriarchal society.

They mostly have food twice a day. Their staple diet includes roti made of wheat and vegetable curry. Bajra is eaten mostly during winters. Hot and spicy food is typical to these villages. The vegetables mostly used for the curries are potatoes, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, moong dal, channa and so on. Rice also forms the part of their diet. They do not prefer rice as it easily get digested and also rice requires large amount of water for cooking. They use mustard oil for cooking. Mustard is one of the main crops grown in the fields. The yellow flowers and leaves are taken and is cooked to make a curry out of it. They have breakfast and dinner, and dinner is their core meal. Villagers have tea four or five times a day because in desert area, water is not available in plenty. But they have a lot of cow milk available as they rear cows and goats. Hence they drink a lot of milk tea instead of water and other milk products. The tea has a flavor of pepper, Cardamom, clove and a lot of ginger along with tea leaves. This tea gives an energized feeling especially during winters. They clean their vessels with fine sand and a piece of fabric and butter milk is another famous drink in these villages.

Some people in Meghwal community eat non vegetarian food like egg, chicken and mutton. They do not have beef, buffalo and pork meat. Rajasthanis consider cow as a sacred animal. Gas fired stoves have not yet reached some villages but a few have presently started using these. They predominantly prefer fire wood because that is easily available in these villages. Chulha is the Indian stove which is kept inside the house or aangan(courtyard). Since all the houses in the villages have cowshed, cow dung is available in large amounts. Dry cow dung and wood is used for firing the chulha. Though electricity is available but it is often interrupted . So they depend on solar panels and kerosene lamps.

Chulha

Conservations in family

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CULTURE, TRADITION AND BELIEFS

“Myths are the True defenders of Nature”

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Rajasthan has a versatile culture in India, a population with deeply rooted tradition. Harsh desert with colorfully dressed and ornamented people, Rajasthan had very extreme climates land is deserted with limited vegetation. The clothing varies for different groups of women including married woman. Married women were Gagra and chunari while girls would wear salwar kameez with dupatta. The odhani which is used as veil by the women and bangles worn up to the shoulders are signs of marriage in Meghwal and Jat communities. The Jats also wear Ragdi (Tika) on their forehead which represents a married woman. Odhani is put on the head and the face is covered with this in order to show respect towards the elders. This tradition also developed due to the climatic conditions of the place, when it’s extremely hot.

Similarly men used to wear white kurta-pyjama in order to get rid of hotness. There are symbols of marriage for men in Meghwal community for which they pierce their ears and wear studded earrings. Women paint the walls of their houses with bright colors by taking elements from nature like flowers, plants etc.

Even though the houses are small, the people manage to have a small pooja space. Also there are small temples in the villages. People also build small temples in their premises, outside their house and do poojas. There would be poojas during special occasions of poornima, navarathri, holi and other festivals. Jats, Rajputs and Meghwals, all believe in tridevs and godess sakthi. Meghwals are devotees of a Hindu folk deity called Baba Ram dev. Baba Ramdev was a ruler from the 14th C, who is said to have miraculous powers and he devoted his life to the upliftment of the down trodden and poor people of the society. Ramdev is considered an incarnation of lord Vishnu. He believed in human equality be it high or low, rich or poor. He is considered as the chief deity of Meghwals. There are many temples built in his name all over the state. One of the famous temples is located at Ramdevra, which is 170km from Bikaner. People belonging to all the caste, visits this temple. The holy water from the bavadi (well) in the temple premises is believed to cure diseases like chicken pox and small pox. People from distant villages come walking to this temple and is believed to fulfill their wishes.

Images of dieties

Small mandir in the village

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Ramdev baba

1 Women at work

People in Rajasthan believe in co-existing with nature. They believe in power of nature and worships trees. In earlier days in order to prevent people from cutting trees; a piece of white cloth was tied to the trees. So people believed there was presence of god in the tree, never used to cut it. Later on, people actually started believing the myth and worshipped the trees. Once in a month, during Poornima, the whole family comes together and does Pooja they pray for the fulfillment of their wishes, washes out the bad thoughts in their mind and hopes for good. Coconut pieces with sugar balls are given as the Prasad. This helps in bringing together the family and also unifies them. They are kind to other humans as well as other living organisms. Every house, every shop on the road has an earthen pot along with a glass kept on it which holds drinking water. Anyone is free to take water from that and drink. Also small pots are hung on trees to feed the little birds. There is a complete sharing of ecosystem and resources taking place in these villages. This helps in preserving the ecosystem for the future generations. Cow is considered to be gomatha (godess), so killing cows for meat and other things is considered a sin and is punishable. The people believe in sustainability and living in nature’s way.

Pooja

Mixing of Prasad

Distribution of prasad

Matka with drinking water

Food for the birds

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1

During winter, small fire place is created on the road sides. People walking on the road, would come near it for warmth. The fire is shared by all the people. At homes, children would be seen sitting near the chulhas in the kitchen, for getting a little heat. As the houses are small and don’t have much space, they do not keep cradle for babies. Instead they tie an old dupatta, sari or a piece of cloth to the legs of the mancha(cot) and the baby sleeps in that and it is swung like a cradle.

The animals (cows, buffaloes and goats) they rear are not tied up in place, they are free to move around and nobody harms them. Children are also given the complete freedom to experience the nature, learn from their mistakes and they are not restricted from doing anything. They play in the sand, make toys with the available twigs there and play with birds and goats.

The hospitality and care provided by the people of Rajasthan is appreciable. They consider the outsider as a member of their own family, loves to interact with people. The saying Aditi Devo Bhava is very meaningful with these people.

Cow shed in the village

Animals found in the house premises

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TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE

“Circular in Shape, built on dusty Sands, the place where the Culture of the Land Started to Grow

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The hut like structure in which the villagers live is called Jompada. Jompada is the kaccha style of housing present in the villages. It is a circular structure made up of blocks made of mud and finished with cow dung and mud mixture inside and outside. The roofing is done with a widely available plant in that area called kemp. Kemp is dried first and used for roofing. The plant has other uses like it is used as a sabji (vegetable). Dried kemp is strong and flexible. It is spun into ropes and used locally. Also it is used as toothpicks. A unique feature of jompada is that it would be cold inside the hut during summer and hot during winter as the mud has the capacity to circulate air in and out of the structure.

2-3 jompadas put together forms a single house. One would be the kitchen, the other where the family would stay and the third is for the guests that would come home. There are jompadas or huts made up of only kemp to keep fodder for animals. The roof structure is made of bamboo.

The jompada has compound walls on four sides and a doorway through which a single person can pass at a time. Sometimes the doorway is closed with branches of trees, in order to prevent animals from entering the courtyard. These walls are also made of mud and cow dung paste. The floor is smoothened with cow dung and mud paste. This is a traditional way of preventing the sand dust raising from the ground and entering the house and its courtyard. Cow dung is also a insecticide, which prevents insects from entering the house.

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Jompada made for keeping fodder

Kemp

Mud walls of jompada

Ropes made of kemp

Painted walls of huts

INTERIOR Since the people lead a simple and minimalistic lifestyle, there is no furniture in the house. They have a cot locally known as Mancha. This is used to sit as well as for sleeping. It is a wooden frame with the seating made of woven rope. Rope is made of waste fabrics. They use steel and aluminum vessels and they only have vessels required for the family. Wooden pieces are attached to bamboo structure of the roof, for keeping the utensils. Clothes are kept inside boxes made of steel. Chulha is placed inside the jompada along with a space to keep the firewood.

There are regular visitors to the house, the small little birds. They keep on flying in and out of the house. When Chulha is fired, the smoke seeps through the gap between the roofing, and escapes into the air.

The people of Rajasthan have the habit of beautifying their surroundings. The walls of the Jompada are painted beautifully by the women of the house. They also paint designs on their aangan. Flowers, leaves, plants,and birds are the common motifs found on the walls, near to the doors and windows. The colors used are red, yellow, blue and green. As hardly any plants grow there, in the deserts, the paintings give a soothing, green and happy feel.

Most of the houses in the villages have sanitation facilities. Earlier open defecation was a problem in Rajasthan. This has been reduced with the coming of toilets and bathrooms. Even though open defecation has not been completely stopped, it has been reduced. Now it has made mandatory for all the kashida training centers in villages to have toilets. Lack of drainage system in villages is also a problem. The waste is thrown somewhere or released to open lands.

Shubh- Labh is written at door way of every house and every shop, hoping for happiness and prosperity. Every house has durries, as people sit on the floor for work, having meals, conversations and so on. They feel it comfortable and healthy. The doors are made of iron. Now there are pakka style house made of bricks and cement along with the jompada. Even while facing the hardships of the desert, people try to bring in optimism and hopes through their traditions.

Toilets and bathrooms in the village

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Mancha

inside of a jompada

pakka style of house

pakka style house with mud and cowdung walls

WATER SUPPLY AND ELECTRICITY Indira Gandhi Canal (started in 1985) provides water to the villages in western Rajasthan. Indira Gandhi Canal was one of the largest water projects in India. The canal runs through some parts of Punjab and Haryana and 650km through Rajasthan. [11]

The water is supplied every 15 days. The water reaches a common tank from the canal and this is supplied to individual tanks at the houses. This water is used for drinking and household activities. There are traditional ways of preserving water called Beri, underground water tanks in which rain water is collected. Trees were planted near the canal. This was done to improve on the conditions of the soil in the deserts, to make it suitable for agriculture. Trees such as Neem, Eucalyptus, Acacia, Rhoida, Khejiri etc were planted.

The canal helped in improving the socio-economic status of the people in villages. Women were able to save their time as they do not have to walk long distances to get water. They were able to dedicate their extra time for work. Also agriculture started to be one of the main occupations of the people. Milk production increased, health conditions improved and water was directly supplied to the fields. This increased the yield of crops and more people were introduced to farming.

Tanks for each house

Public tanks for Irrigation

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Electricity is produced mainly through wind and solar energy. There are large electric lines throughout Rajasthan. Electricity is produced through these sources as there is a lot of solar radiation available and relatively flat, undeveloped land is also available. The government has schemes that provide a solar cell where the 70% investment comes from government and 30% from the family. 2 bulbs and a battery are also given with this with one year warranty for these. There are other schemes in which 1 unit of a solar panel (of capacity 3HP or4 HP) is given for farmers in the villages. This scheme was introduced by NABARD and is subsidized at a rate of Rs.10, 800. Training is given how to use the solar panels to produce energy. Still this has not reached all the people in Rajasthan. While travelling through road, there are large areas of land were solar panels are installed in large amounts by the government to generate electricity. In areas of Jaisalmer, there are plain lands with wind mills installed. Still continuous power cuts are regular problems in the villages. Rajasthan streets and roads continue to be without lights.

Even though projects for creating electricity from Biomass was initiated in 2010,it has not come into action. [11] Biogas production and vermi compost is not practiced in most of the villages.

Now Urmul has training programs for farmers regarding vermi compost and how to produce it.

In villages it is easy to acquire firewood. So people do not find biogas plants necessary.

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VEGETATION

“Beauty of the desert, is the absence of Greenery”

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Rhoida

Pomogranete Plant

Flowers of Rhoida

Lemon

Thumba

A weed in the desert

Mustard Fields

The vegetation is little, as the place is dry and arid region. In most of the plants, leaves are modified into thorns. Grayish green and brown are the colors of Rajasthan. Mustard and wheat are the major cultivation in Rajasthan. There are other seasonal crops like groundnuts, green gram and gram. They also cultivate vegetables and fruits like potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, lemon and oranges. Following are a few of the commonly found trees in RajasthanKhejiri Khejiri is a small medium sized tree found in the desert regions. Khejiri plays a vital role in preserving the ecosystem of arid and semi arid regions. Khejiri is worshipped by Bishnoi community in Rajasthan and a valuable companion for the crops in the fields. It helps in nitrogen fixation in the soil. It is the state tree of Rajasthan. [12] Rhoida Rohida also called as desert teak. It grows on arid and semi arid regions and on gentle hill slopes. Its wood is strong, tough and durable. Rhoida is an excellent wood for furniture. The wood is also excellent for firewood and charcoal. Cattle and goats eat leaves of the tree.

Thumba It is a commonly seen creeper in Rajasthan. It has a yellow fruit which is a good feed for goats and it is also used in the preparation of medicines for diabetes.

Khejiri

Khejiri leaf

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Lemon Plant

Abhiyakti showroom at Bikaner

Different Products at Showroom

Showroom at Urmul Seemant ,Bajju

Kurta and Skirt on Display

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MARKET Kashida products are sold only through Urmul Trust. Urmul Seemant has a showroom which sells Kashida . Product range includes kurtas, tops, dupattas, palazzos, saris, bags, pouches, cushion covers, bed sheets and men’s wear which includes shirts and kurtas. Urmul attends exhibitions throughout India like Dastakari Haat and they also has a brand called abhivyakti .

Abhivyakti has a showroom at Bikaner. These products are also sold at showrooms of other NGOs. The artisan also goes for the exhibitions, so that they get an idea about what the customer wants and how to sell their products.

Each artisan gets paid according to the number of pieces she has embroidered. The payment starts from Rs.5 at the minimum and it also depends on the intricacy of the embroidery. The income varies from at least Rs.80- 150 on a daily basis. Each artisan earns Rs.4000-6000 on monthly basis. If the artisan works a better pace, she would be able to earn more. The income depends on the artisan’s hard work, interest and perfection of work.

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DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS Compared to other embroideries found in Gujarat, Punjab and other states in India, Kashida in western Rajasthan is very bold and a colorful embroidery. Different products have different motifs. The products embroidered for marriage have more flowy patterns while most of other products use geometric patterns. Rajasthani women have the habit of beautifying the surroundings, be it the dress they wear, their houses or anything they find around them. They decorate the camels with a lot of embroidered bands; they also make their own accessories.

The hard work and will power of women in these villages are appreciable. They take a lot of inspiration from nature and make maximum use of all the products. Shortage of water has affected the lifestyle of the people in Rajasthan. They use other alternatives instead of water like they drink a lot of milk tea and buttermilk as a part of their diet. They know the value of the natural resources be it water or any other sources. Their myths allow them to sustain the environment they live in and preserve it for the future generations. The myth regarding the tree which has been mentioned earlier, actually means that trees are essential in places where the climates are extremes; it provides us with shade during summers. The craft and lifestyle of the people are interconnected. This lifestyle of making maximum usage of things and up cycling materials has paved way for crafts like Kashida to reach the outside world.

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FUTURE OF KASHIDA

“It is Branching out like a tree, blooming, reaching heights and flying High

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KASHIDA- THE STORY CONTINUES In a country like India, the demand of handcrafted products would never die. Kashida may lose its traditional importance as the time passes by. Interestingly men are also showing their concern towards kashida. Mothi, a 21yr old boy from the village named Gokul, he is studying Bachelor of Arts, does beautiful Kashida. He was always interested in helping his sister in doing kashida. Kashida gives him happiness; everybody encourages him to continue this. Now nobody tells it’s a girl’s thing as it has earned them a living, it’s their bread and butter; it’s his cup of tea. He attends training sessions and makes embroidered products. While some of girls get interested in doing kashida as they could earn an income from this. They feel earning an income is more important than education.

Even though Meghwal community also earns income from this, they like to continue this as a tradition also. They feel proud to show the kashida they have done for their dowry.

They are passionate about their craft. While in villages like Dandkala, were jat community is present, Kashida has lost its importance as tradition. Nobody does kashida for dowry; they do it for income, not to be dependent on their husbands. But there are some innocent faces who does embroidery with passion. A teenage boy helps his grandmother with kashida, he is shy to talk, but his work speaks for him. While looking from a distance, it seems like the tradition is slowly dying, but it is still getting passed on from one generation to another knowingly or unknowingly.

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CONCLUSION Rajasthan was a complete new experience. Innocent and hardworking people make the population of Rajasthan. Even though the climatic condition is dry and arid, the colors, their craft, culture and tradition is what gives them the energy to move forward in life. Kashida is one such craft, which gave the women in western Rajasthan, the courage to voice their opinion in the family, to break the cocoon surrounding them. This craft has empowered the women and added value to their lives. The visit to villages gives a new direction on how sustainability and love towards nature is a part of their daily routine. Kashida is a part of their life style. This has given them the opportunity to dream.

These dreams have evolved as the time passed by. Initially it was about their marriage and now it is all about earning an income, to be independent. Kashida has made them what they are; it has been an oasis in their lives, which gives them the power to survive in the adverse conditions of the desert as well as family. It is the story of their living.

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REFERENCES

1. [http://journeymart.com/de/india/rajasthan/culture.aspx]

2.[http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/rajasthan/geography-history/geography.html]

3.[http://bikaner.rajasthan.gov.in/content/raj/bikaner/en/about-bikaner/history.html#]

4. http://bikaner.rajasthan.gov.in/content/raj/bikaner/en/about-bikaner/location-andarea.html 5. http://www.urmul.org/who-we-are/the-beginning/

6. http://www.urmul.org/urmul-family/

7. http://www.urmul.org/urmul-family/urmul-seemant/

8. [http://www.indianetzone.com/22/embroidery_rajasthan.htm]

9. .[http://daily.indianroots.com/indian-embroidery-types/]

10. http://topyaps.com/facts-about-1971-war

11. [http://resurgent.rajasthan.gov.in/focus-sectors/new-renewable-source-of-energy]

12. [http://www.gits4u.com/agri/agri5khej.htm]

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