Kasuti is a traditional form of folk embroidery practised in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

.An

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

of Kasuti work is reported by Kasuti work which is very intricate sometimes involves putting up to 5,000 stitches by hand and is traditionally made on dresswear like

Ilkal Ilkal is a City in Bagalkot district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The town is located in a valley that lies in south-east corner of Bagalkot district and is quite close to the borders of Kushtagi taluk of the Koppal district. Now Ilkal city ...

sarees, Ravike/ Kuppasa(Khana) and

Angi Angi (formerly Angie's List) is an American home services website owned by Angi Inc., a publicly traded subsidiary of IAC. Founded in 1995 by Angie Hicks and William S. Oesterle, it allows users to search for contractors to provide paid ho ...

. The

Handicrafts Development Corporation (KHDC) holds a

geographical indications A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

(GI) protection for Kasuti embroidery which provides

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

rights on Kasuti to KHDC.History of Kasuti is mentioned by

History

The history of Kasuti dates back to the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

period. The name ''Kasuti'' is derived from the words ''Kai'' (meaning hand) and ''Suti/suttu'' (meaning wrap/weave), indicating an activity that is done using cotton and hands.The origin of Kasuti is discussed by The women courtiers in the

Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in South India, southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted su ...

in the 17th century were expected to be adept in 64 arts, with Kasuti being one of them. The Kasuti embroidery features folk designs influenced by rangoli patterns of

. In Karnataka Sarees embroidered with Kasuti were expected to be a part of the bridal trousseau of which one saree made of black silk with Kasuti embroidery called ''Chandrakali saree'' was of premier importance.

Kasuti work

Kasuti work involves embroidering very intricate patterns like

gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' (Tamil language, Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu language, Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Malayalam language, Malayalam: ഗോപുരം) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate ...

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

, lamps and

conch shell Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends). Conchs ...

s. Locally available materials are used for Kasuti. The work is laborious and involves counting of each thread on the cloth. The patterns are stitched without using knots to ensure that both sides of the cloth look alike.A detailed description of Kasuti work is provided by Different varieties of stitches are employed to obtain the desired pattern. Four types of the stitches employed are ''Gavanthi'', ''Murgi'', ''Negi'' and ''Menthi''.A brief description of Kasuti is provided by ''Gavanthi'' is a double running stitch used for marking vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines, ''Murgi'' is a zig-zag stitch, ''Negi'' is a running stitch and ''Menthi'' is a cross stitch resembling fenugreek seeds.

Current scenario

Kasuti work has grown beyond its traditional boundaries to be used in other dress materials like the

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

silk saree.Mysore silk sarees using Kasuti work is mentioned by A Kasuti centre was set up in

Hubli Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of ...

by the Department of Social Welfare, Government of

to encourage the Kasuti culture and also provide a single roof for the

rural women Rural women play a fundamental role in rural communities around the world providing care and being involved in number of economic pursuits such as subsistence farming, petty trading and off-farm work. In most parts of the world, rural women work v ...

to showcase their craft. However Kasuti work is suffering from poor patronage with not many people willing to take the craft seriously; an indication of which is the closure of the ''Karnataka Kasuti'' classes by the JSS college in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merged ...

. Image:Kasuti.jpg, Kasuti embroidery work on silk depicting

ratha Ratha (Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*Hrátʰas'', Vedic Sanskrit: रथ, ; Avestan: ''raθa'') is the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot. The term has been used since antiquity for both fast chariots and other wheeled vehicles pulled by an ...

Notes

External links

Kamat's Potpourri - The History, Mystery, and Diversity of India
{{Embroidery Culture of Karnataka Embroidery in India Geographical indications in Karnataka

History

Kasuti work

Current scenario

See also

Notes

External links