A Peek into West Bengal Women’s Art - Kantha

In West Bengal, Kantha is renowned as women’s art. It has cultural and religious significance as it was ceremoniously used in pujas, births, and weddings etc. Kantha art can also be traced in the Vedas, hence, it is regarded as an ancient art. It is also mentioned in the Sanskrit Grammar written by Panini around the sixth century B.C. The Ramayana mentions Chandrabati's Kantha stitching as one of the skills that Sita excelled. 

Taking a peek into Kantha’s history, it was the housewives who helped in evolving this art. Kantha is actually a type of embroidery. Hundreds of years ago, the Bengali housewives busied themselves with needles and threads, embroidering the initials of their better-halves on handkerchiefs, scarves and shawls. They also did embroidery on blankets, baby napkins, quilts, pillow covers, and sareesetc. The women would often narrate various incidents of their lives on fabric with stitches. Experts say that Kantha was a personal expression of art and craft for the women. The embroidery was practiced by women of all walks of life irrespective of class and status. The Kantha sarees are made of fine cotton and silk material. 

In Kantha sarees, the traditional running stitches accompany other stitches such as the chain, herring-bone, double herring-bone and cross stitch. Over the years, Kantha has commercialised. It has become popular and its demand has increased. Nowadays, Kantha sarees are creating storm in the fashion industry. One can easily get kantha silk sarees online. 

During earlier days, embroidery was very much part of the households & everyday lives. Moreover, every household has their own unique identity, caste and social status and this, interestingly, is depicted in their embroidery pattern.  Over the years, these styles have evolved. But, in the present times, modern women are no longer engaged in making Kantha or any form of embroidery. They don’t have the time. Lifestyles have changed and lives have also become demanding. Today, fashionistas have taken it up embroidery to a whole new platform. 

Kantha sarees – silk and cotton kantha sarees are a favourite with young women. They love the embroidery and the simplicity. Though the retailers or designers get a lot of acclaim or recognition for it, the artisans at the base level go unnoticed. Their sincere hard work, skills and talent are always overlooked. But not with Luxurion World; this e-commerce platform is highly involved with artisans at the ground level. Through their online platform, one can buy kantha stitch saris. Luxurion World promotes and upholds the artisans’ genuine skills and expertise. 

When it comes to kantha sarees, the artisans go through a step-by-step process. Firstly, they design patterns on paper. They make stencils of the patterns. Then they put the stencil to cloth and start embroidering. This usually takes time as it requires attention to detail. The artisans used coloured thread to make the embroidery look attractive. The colourful threads tell a story. When one goes to tourist or craft centres, they will find a lot of the artisans’ embroidery or kantha work on coin purses, hats, scarves, shawls, sarees, and kurtis etc. It is all very much charming. One can only imagine how much time and effort, the artisans put into their work. And the end of sale, it is all worth it. So when people go about bargaining low prices on kantha sarees, purses or hats, they should think about the artisans; the sweat and hard work that they put into it. It is the time that the artisans get their dues; they should get their much due acclaim rather than the ones who still in AC rooms dressing mannequins or walking the ramp.