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'Come in, John' said the English woman to the itinerant Chinaman, carrying his wonder-bundle of textiles, hesitating at the garden gate. But 'John', as Chinamen were called, was afraid of the dog barking at him. The memsahib exhorted, 'John, don't you know the proverb - barking dogs don't bite?' With worldly wisdom the Chinaman replied, 'You know ploverb, I know ploverb, but does doggy know ploverb?'
Though the days of the British Raj in India, and of charming Chinamen, are long over, anecdotes about them, wrapped in nostalgia, still circulate. With India's independence in 1947 the British set sail for 'home', and a few years later, with China's change in government, Chinamen ceased their trips to India. For centuries, Chinese traders had conveyed exquisite linen, embroidered cotton and silk to India, which were much sought after. Parsi ladies, who lived in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in the early decades of the 20th century, recollect Chinamen on bicycles or walking with huge bundles. They would come home, ceremoniously open their wares on the verandahs and painstakingly display them. Among the textiles - a Parsi lady now in her 80s remembers - embroidered borders, for the Chinese knew the Parsi penchant for embellishing their saris with these finely worked fabrics.
A
lady's blouse from China
worked with kha-kha stitches akin to French knots
wth bird motifs. Late 19th/early 20th century. 40
x 36 cm.
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the image to see a bigger
version
The Parsis, followers of Prophet Zarathushtra (recent research dates his lifetime to 1200 B.C.), left Iran for India, and eventually settled in Sanjan, the western coastal state of Gujarat in 936 A.D. Over the centuries, while they retained their religious customs and beliefs, they gradually assimilated elements of local culture: Gujarati as their mother tongue, the sari draped in the Gujarati style as the woman's garment. Primarily occupied in agriculture, the Parsis saw the possibilities of employment and growth in the urban development of Mumbai by the British. Many families moved south to the islands in the 18th century where they gradually engaged themselves in commercial, industrial and mercantile activities, especially in the then flourishing trade with China in cotton and opium.
By the early 19th century, Parsis owned shipping companies with Mumbai-built ships and plied a profitable trade with China. Their assimilation of western culture, life style and education brought them closer to the British. Parsi traders travelled to the Far East, traded in China and Hong Kong, and returned with many beautiful Chinese artefacts, which are seen in Parsi homes even today. But perhaps the most coveted were the embroidered Chinese textiles brought by them. For interestingly, it was the Indo-Chinese trade that gave the Parsis a sari uniquely theirs: the embroidered gara. And it is another fascinating story that three brothers from Gujarat travelled to China in about 1856 to learn the nuances of Chinese silk weaving. They created the other quintessentially Parsi sari: the tanchoi.
Sari
border
Early 20th-century satin stitch. Chinese silk and
silk thread. 7.5 x 680 cm.
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the image to see a bigger
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Appreciative of Chinese embroidery, Parsi traders bought embroidered silks for their families and placed orders for embroidered sari borders, saris, blouses and pantaloons to be readied by the time they finished their business and were to return to India. As large textiles were embroidered by a group of workers - often one embroiderer specialised in a particular motif - even the most elaborate saris were completed in time. Jerry Kumana, a Parsi lady, who sources, restores and sells original antique Chinese-embroidered textiles remembers the excitement at home when her uncle set sail for China in the 1940s. She was measured for a blouse, but by the time he returned after the long voyage and time spent in China, she had outgrown the piece!
The embroidery was worked on a variety of Chinese silks. As Chinese textiles were originally woven on narrow looms, saris were composed of two separate lengths, stitched together to make-up the required width. These saris were referred to as do-patti or two-strip saris. On these lengths, borders, an endpanel and field would be embroidered. Over time, the word gara (from the Gujarati word for a sari) was associated with the Chinese embroidered sari, and the embroidery referred to as gara-embroidery.
Gara motifs were drawn from the rich repertoire of traditional Chinese textile motifs, the smaller ones were selected for gara-embroidery, rather than larger more dramatic motifs such as the dragon. Some motifs are linked to the 'trade patterns' depicted on textiles exported from China and India to Europe. The peacock with a trailing tail appears to be an Indian motif adopted by Chinese embroiderers for gara-embroidery.
A
lady's blouse, embroidered in China,
filled in with delicate embroidery. The direction
and fineness of the stitches give the birds and flowers
a sense of movement and lyrical beauty. Detail. Early
20th century.
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the image to see a bigger
version
Chinese characters, which are taken to be the embroiderer's signature, appear on some saris. Of special interest are textiles with human figures. These may feature the revered Eight Immortals, who carry symbols of longevity such as the fan or lotus stem, in a panel filled with natural life, especially the Sacred Fungus, symbolic of immortality. Bamboos, birds, butterflies, blossoms fill in spaces and divide scenes. Some of the saris are so profusely embroidered that the birds and animals seem concealed in the meandering and flowering or fruiting vines that cover the field of the textile, and the details - slowly and delightfully - reveal themselves to the viewer.
Of special importance among flowers are the 'Flowers of Four Seasons': the plum blossom a symbol of winter; peony and orchids symbolic of spring and good fortune; lotus of summer; and chrysanthemum symbolic of autumn and longevity. The fast-growing and green bamboo stalks represent vitality and strength; and their recovering a straight stance after bending in a storm is indicative of a resilient spirit. The pomegranate full of seeds represents fertility, and the peach a long and healthy life. Of the creatures, the crane symbolises immortality; the horse represents speed and intelligence; butterflies indicate summer and joy; and the peacock nobility. Ribbons fluttering from the beaks of birds represent marital bliss.
A
lady's blouse, embroidered in China,
with kanda papeta (spotted) motifs spangled in the
body and a border filled in with birds and flowers.
Detail. Early 20th century.
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the image to see a bigger
version
Gara motifs were generally embroidered in satin stitch, long and short stitch, and the tiny kha-kha or seed-pearl stitch akin to a minute French knot. The kha-kha stitch forms a delicate textured area - as if the cloth is covered with beads, and was worked for complete motifs or the centres of flowers. Being a small stitch, the kha-kha proved to be a strain on the eyes, and satin stitch was more frequently worked. There are samples of textiles worked with satin stitch in neat two-sided embroidery.
Chinese embroiderers worked detailed borders and sometimes even the entire field of the sari. Late 19th century and early 20th century garas bear single-thread embroidery that is so fine and intricate that it practically merges into the ground fabric and almost covers it. So flat is the embroidery, and so elaborate the patterning, that Kumana likens the effect to that of a carpet, rather than an embroidery, and of their beauty she says, 'The Chinese needle workers were artists!' The slant of the stitch was consciously worked to infuse fluidity and movement in the motif from the feathers of a parakeet in flight, a butterfly hovering over a flower, or flowers bobbing in the breeze - thus giving the entire composition a lyrical beauty.
An
end-panel of a new gara sari
embroidered with the pattern of old Chinese motifs.
Designers are working on garas based on old gara motifs
on stronger fabric, which is more durable and colourfast.
2001. 120 x 17 cm.
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the image to see a bigger
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Most saris were red, black or purple and the embroidery was generally done with white or light silk threads using coloured highlights with striking effect. The subtle shading and lustrous silk strand created a natural effect in the motifs, and the dark textile provided a spectacular background for even the smallest kha-kha stitch. The edges of the garment - either straight or scalloped (the latter believed to be a European influence) were also often worked in neat buttonhole stitch. For blouses, the fabric would be cut out and then motifs for the neck, sleeves, border and field would be embroidered to create a meticulously designed and finished garment.
Garas from China needed much care to maintain: they could not be washed, as the silk bled. To protect them from insects, they would be wrapped in muslin or stored in wooden chests with peppercorns tied in muslin cloth and sandalwood sticks for fragrance. It was probably the effort needed to maintain garas, coupled with the appeal of French chiffons, georgettes and lacy fabrics, that led to a decline in their demand during the early and mid-20th century. Many old garas were cut up and used for the most routine attire such as housecoats. Of this regrettable loss, Naira Ahmadullah recollects her Parsi grandmother's remark in Gujarati that translates as, 'They are breaking up a ship to make a stool'! But fortunately during the past few decades interest and pride in wearing garas has revived. Designers have initiated and revived gara embroidery in India, replicating old motifs in colourfast materials.
Embroidering a gara takes several months, depending on the intricacy, fineness and elaborateness of the design. Though expensive, they are likened to buying a piece of jewellery, which can be handed down through the generations. Many garas, dating to the late 19th century are precious heirlooms of the past, a celebration of Indo-Chinese trade. Antique gara embroidery can still be bought, and its cost, Kumana says, depends on the condition of the fabric, the quality of its work and its rarity. Fortunately with the efforts of dedicated designers the fine art of gara embroidery - that originated in China and was refined to artistic realms by skilled Chinese embroiderers - has now been revived in India.
Brinda Gill is a freelance writer, based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. She contributes articles relating to Indian history, crafts and travel to magazines around the world.
This article is from Embroidery, Volume 54 No.3, © Brinda Gill