Faradi to Lucknow - Suf and Chikan Duets
Faradi toLucknow takes Artisan-to-Artisan to the next phase. Somaiya Kala Vidya was eager to try a women group next. Jaspal Kalra, a native of Lucknow steeped in chikan embroidery and doing his PhD on teaching design to chikan embroiders, was a natural partner.
Textural white on white chikan enjoys a robust market, supporting an estimated 1.2 lakhs women artisans. Yet most work is for a lower end market. With commercialized production, women rarely see the final products on which they work, nor their work onceprinted patterns are washed away. Wages are minimal. Many of the traditional stitches have been all but lost.
Somaiya Kala Vidya believed women could derive more from their work by learning to use design.