The Craft Diaries - The Wazirs

The Wazirs

Finally, we visited the Wazir family at home to see their antique embroidery collection. They have devoted their lives to sourcing, researching and documenting hand embroidered textiles. What a treasure trove!

Each piece brings the story and culture alive. We learnt that an embroidered quilt belonging to a snake charmers’ family had embroidery of each of their snakes around it. We traced the progression of techniques used in various types of embroideries.

I admired the monochrome camel belts which took the herder three months to weave. We discussed the issues threatening embroidery in Kutch and how best they can be supported. He showed us a dazzling ‘disco blanket’ made by a tribe which four generations had worked on, representing each period in time so beautifully by the materials and techniques used.

The Shrujan Embroidery Museum was brilliantly curated showing many of the skills and techniques from tribes in the area.

There are around 200 villages still embroidering in Kutch. I wonder what treasures lie undiscovered…