SUM I TA S I KKA ASSI STAN T PR OF ESSO R

UN I VER SI T Y I NSTI TU TE OF FASH I ON TECH NOL OGY

PA NJAB UN I VERSI TYCH ANDI GARH

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Bridal durries from Punjab- An opportunity to empower rural women

Introduction to punja durries

Punja durries are lightly woven rugs mostly used for beds and floor coverings.

Rural women of Punjab had been contributing magnificently to continue this traditional textiles.

They produce durries for their daughter’s wedding as a part of bedding collection.

Punja-a metallic tool

Punja weaving gets its name from a metallic claw‐like tool called punja in the local dialect, used to beat and set the threads in the warp.

Weaving

Weaving is done on very simple horizontal ground loom . Two heddle bars are used to create a shed. Instead of shuttles ,weft is wounded into guttian and is inserted with hands. Dyed cotton or wool are the raw material for weaving .

Objectives of the study

To study the traditional and contemporary motifs of punja durries.

To study the present status of the weavers in the Village Khuda Ali Sher, Punjab.

To find out the Punjab govt. schemes for upliftment of durrie cottage industry.

To find out the scope in increasing skilled work force in durrie weaving.

Hypotheses

The weavers might not be aware of design demands of market.

Entrepreneurs might not be finding durrie weaving as a lucrative opportunity.

The numbers of beneficiaries are very less as compared to the government schemes for the revival of traditional crafts.

Women are interested in adoption of weaving at home as a source of income generation.

Limitations

The study is limited to one village of Punjab.The study is limited to Punja Durrie Weaving

only. The study is limited to women presently

involve in weaving.

Research Design

The village has been selected on the basis of systematic study done on bridal durries of Punjab by Ann Shanker and Jenny Housego.

Survey method has been adopted for the research. Interview schedule has been prepared. Random Sampling has been done for the sample

size of 20 families.

Bridal durrie villages

249 in 32 districts

In 94 villages

1365 durries

1 village 102durries

TYPES OF MOTIFS USED FOR TRADITIONAL DURRIES

PICTORIAL DESIGNS - Employ a clearly defined scene drawn from nature, mythology or life rather than just containing naturalistic forms (eg. Garlands of flowers, human figures, etc). The scene may be highly stylised or abstract.

ANIMAL DESIGNS – Feature fairly realistic representations of an animal or group of animals (usually lions, peacocks, parrots, etc).

FLORAL DESIGNS – Employ a variety of leaf and floral motifs either in all over or repeating schemes, or set against an open or sparsely decorated field.

GEOMETRIC DESIGNS – A number of geometric motifs, which cannot be traced directly to either religious symbols or natural forms are also used in durrie designs. They are known by a variety of names in different parts of the weaving region.

MEMSAHIBSMEMAN

GORE

HEER RANJHA

JAGO

PICTORIAL DESIGNS

ANIMAL DESIGNS

HARE EATING COTTON

PARAKEETS

PEACOCK

DOG GILHERLI/SQUIRRELS

CENTRAL FIGURE BETWEEN CONFRONTED HORSES

LION AND PAIR OF CUCKOOS

COCK

BARASINGHA/SWAMP DEERMACHLI/FISH

GEOMETRIC DESIGNS

RHOMBOIDSSTEPPED LOZENGES

KISHTI/BOATGADVATEASETCOMB AND DRUM

LOZENGESNAGINI

Present status

There are still many women weaving similar durries for the dowry of their daughters and on order from their friends and relatives.

The motifs created by women of Punjab shows their self assurance and clear headed approach toward life.

The are quick and welcoming to the changes and can copy from contemporary cross stitch manuals.

For the colour they mostly rely on the availability and suggestions by family and friends.

Durries have never been sold in the market and are considered as priced possession .

Important Finding

Weavers in Khuda Ali Sher village have never comes across an opportunity to adopt it as source of income generation.

It was found that 8 out of 20 women are interested in adopting weaving as source of income generation.

They are not aware of the likings of urban families but all of the women who agreed to produce commercially are affirmative in weaving as per order.

Various initiatives by Government for empowering women in PunjabAn artisan cluster for producing

handicraft/handloom products have been promoted by various schemes like

Ambedkar Hastashilp Vikas Yojana (AHVY)MAI BHAGO ISTRI SHAKTI SCHEMEScheme of Fund for Regeneration of

Traditional Industries-SFURTI Clusters for Khadi & Village Industries

Clusters in Punjab

S.No. Cluster Name Total Artisans SHGs1 Malout 200 15 2 Pathankot 136 11 3 Faridkot 250 20 4 Dera baba Nanak 0 0 5 Block Mukerian 120 10 6 Gurdaspur 0 0 7 Handiya 3336 25 8 Rangilpur 500 50 9 Jaintiur 500 50

10 Pakhpur 500 50

11 Saheed Bhagat Singh Nagar 350 25

5892 256

Source-Ministry of textiles

Durries available under cluster development for trade enquire

Cluster Name Total no. of artisans

Total no. of products

Total no. of durries

Saheed Bhagat Singh Nagar cluster

350 84 14

Successful model of Fab India

Making supplier a share holder is two way process of providing him retail platform and building community

The COC (community owned companies) model consists of value adding intermediaries, between rural producers and Fabindia.

These are owned by the communities, they operate from; a minimum 26% shareholding is that of craft persons.

Growth of handloom sector by community owned company

Design innovations by Fab India has made handloom products favorite and sought after by the urban people in India as well as abroad.

Fab India works closely with artisans by providing various inputs including design, quality control, access to raw materials and production coordination.

Punja durries are one of the well sought after products in Fab India .

Contemporary durries

Today the Panipat-Ambala durrie belt is famous all over the country and has various outlets, at home and abroad.

Researcher has still not been successful in coming across any entrepreneur dealing with manufacturing of Punja Durries in Punjab.

Conclusion

The durries are woven in a variety of pattern and designs that are unique to different places of Punjab. 

They are easy to maintain as they are lighter than normal carpets and so are easy to move and clean. Durries are available in various sizes and style as per need.

• They are usually made in rough, bold and pronounced folk designs with animal figures, flowers and other folk motifs. They are fantastically colorful and beautiful.

This part time activity in rural areas, has now been transformed into a flourishing economic activity due to significant market demand in so many states.

Designers like Shyam Ahuja and Neeru Kumar and Anand Sagar Khera have contributed in changing the product as per demand of urban consumers.

There is a need to encourage young entrepreneur for adopting weaving as business opportunity .

Community owned company model is safest and reliable for the future success of an organization .

But the original potential of women craft weavers has not been utilized in increasing the skilled workforce.

Lack of education, poor exposure to new technologies, absence of market intelligence and poor institutional framework has deterred the success of govt. schemes for development of handloom sector.

References

Chattopadhyaya, K.-Carpets and floor coverings of India by Taraporevala Gandotra.V,Shukul .M,Jaiswal.N- Introduction to Interior design and

decoration www.craftclustersofindia by Ministry of textiles. Prahalad, C.K.-The Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid , Dorling

Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd. 2010. Shankar ,A. and Housego, J.- Bridal Durries of India Mapin Publishing Pvt.

Ltd. 1997 Singh, R- The fabric of our lives ,The story of Fab India 2011 http://www.craftrevival.org/CraftArtDetails.asp?CountryCode=India&Craf

tCode=003723 Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine Fabindia Weaves in Artisan

Shareholders By Manjeet Kripalani on March 11, 2009

http://chandigarh.gov.in/dept_social.htmhttp://chandigarh.gov.in/pdf/anganwadi-centres.pdf

9 Chandigarh ICDSProject-II Village C.No.1 Khuda Ali Sher Village (Nature)Rural 1979 Neelam W/o Daljeet Singh Sangeeta W/o Harjeet Singh 9417694704 50 Chandigarh ICDSProject-II Village C.No.2 Khuda Ali Sher Village Rural 1996 Nirmal Kaur W/o Raja Ram Ranbir Kaur W/o Dharam Singh 9878311060 51 Chandigarh ICDSProject-II Village C.No.3 Khuda Ali Sher Village Rural 1979 Urmila W/o Krishan Kumar Daljeet Kaur W/o Gurjeet Singh 9888703802

AWC Number with the ICDS Project