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Hand Embroidered Parsi Gara | ||||
| The Parsis are the followers of Zarathushtra and originally lived in Iran. When Islam spread to Iran, rather than accept conversions and the religious persecutions that followed, many Zoroastrians fled the country in 800 AD. Some landed on the western shores of India (in Gujarat) where they were allowed to practice their own religion and kept up their traditions. Here they mingled with the Indians, adapted their ways and culture and lived in harmony with the local population.
Sometime during the 1800's the Parsi's became leaders in various business. They owned ships and traded with China in spices, textiles and opium, returning to India with beautiful hand embroidered intricate Chinese silk fabrics known as garas. A variety of silk was used such as gaaj, paaj, crepe and ghat. The embroidery depicted the lifestyles of the days, scenes of royalty, market places, river fishing, flowers and birds. Motifs of Chinese pagodas and characters were also used symbolising the artist's signature. Some were custom made with reputed family crests embroidered onto the gara. With a ban on the selling of garas by Emperor Mao (which made them a precious comodity) people started making their own. The old garas could not be washed and had to be handled very carefully. The fabric would shred and the colours made of vegetable dyes would run. The garas were stored in intricately carved teak chests, with pepper corns tied in muslin cloth and sandalwood sticks, to keep away insects and moths that fed on the natural silk. Unused, the garas could deteriorate. Perhaps due to the extreme care necessary to maintain and preserve gara sarees, and with changing trends in fashion, the use of garas declined. Many old gara sarees were cut up without any thought of the value of this intricate art. Fortunately, before too much damage was done, Indian Parsi ladies rediscovered their old gara sarees. However, today there are but a handful of people who are actually creating new garas. Making a hand embroidered gara takes from 2 months to 8 months on an average, depending on the complexity and density of the design. The workmanship is most vital as the embroidery is so closely done, that the background colour surfaces as an outline. With the use of silk threads and synthetic fast colours that can be washed, garas are somewhat easier to maintain. Even so, the best way to store a gara is to wrap each one separately in white muslin and place it flat. They must not be hung. Silks, and particularly garas must never be stored in plastic. Buying a new gara is like purchasing jewelry which can be handed down to the next generation as an heirloom. When well looked after and properly stored, a gara can last about 300 years. In our progressive world of machines, who can say for how long it will be possible to get hand made gara sarees? It is only a matter of time, before the craftsmen adopt more lucrative and less painstaking methods. Hilla Mazda, an enterprising and creative designer from Chennai has managed to put together a group of craftsmen with whom she works towards continuing the art of creating stunning garas. Deeply committed to the art, she works towards creating an awareness to ensure that it does not fade away into oblivion. Her creations include copies of old originals as well as new designs with each gara being one of its kind, an original in itself. Prices and Ordering Information
Borders : Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 6,000 per meter |
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© 1998 The Horizons, 86-B, Santhome High Road, Chennai 600028, India. Email: info@thehorizons.com | ||||
