Zardosi - Royal & Immortal Embroidery Form

"Old is Gold". This adage is the most appropriate for the Indian gold and silver embroidery- Zardosi zari work.

The use of gold and silver threads, beads, stones, and imaginative designs has made it one of the most sought after glittering art to decorate fabric.

The word "zardosi" is made up of two Persian terms, 'Zar' meaning gold and 'Dozi' meaning embroidery.

The history of Zardosi embroidery in India dates back to Vedic times. Zardosi is an art which creates magic on the fabric. It reflects royalty and was known to adorn the attire of Gods and thus holds a distinguished place among all crafts. The common mango motif of
Zardosi has found a place in the wardrobe of Kings and Queens of various eras.

A Persian embroidery form, zardosi attained its summit in the 17th century under the patronage of Mughal emperor Akbar. But in 18th & 19th century the craft suffered a setback due to rising
industrialization. It was only after receiving independence in the year 1947 that the Indian government undertook steps to promote zari embroidery. Now, in the last 5 decades, it has seen a phenomenal progress in terms of revival of this golden art. In fact, now Zari constitutes an important part of handicrafts export basket, its export increasing to 16.83% in 2007.

The materials used to do the embroidery has also been commercialized to meet the demands of the consumer over the period of time and to reduce the cost, so as to make available to all. The fabric to be embroidered is first sewn on an embroidery frame called karchobi and is stretched uniformly, the design to be embroidered is then transferred on to the stretched fabric. The materials used in this form of embroidery are as varied as the stitches.

Metallic wires, kora, saadi, kinari, salma, badla, sequins, stones and other such materials are used today to add to the glitz and glamour of the embroidery.

Also items like shells, wooden beads, and plastic beads are being used today to enhance this kind of embroidery.

India has always been in the limelight of the global market for its varied and rich traditional fabric decoration techniques. Decoration can be introduced on garments through 3 techniques-painting, printing and embroidery. India excels in all these three techniques.

Indeed, the Indian traditional embroidery has withstood the ravages of time, impact of foreign influences and globalization of embroidery techniques to outshine many of its counterparts in today's market scenario.