ABOUT US

Kiash Hastshilpa is a brand that intends to bring the heritage art of Lucknow to your doorstep. Having lived my entire life in Lucknow, I never knew that in its very womb lie the most unique of the craftsmanship of the zardozi and aari hand embroidery. Most of us in Lucknow and elsewhere are well aware of the most visible art of Chikankari because of the mass appeal thanks to tinkering of the stitches to suit it for mass production. We also know that lucknow has a geographical indication tag for Chikankari ( it is a distinct sign given to a product because its quality, reputation, acclaim and other characteristics are intrinsically linked to its place of origin) . But very few of us know that lucknow also holds a geographical indication for zardozi or dabka work meaning the work has been done since ages in Lucknow and the most authentic of the artists (yes artists!!) making this are found in my city.

Though surrounded by the art of hand embroidery all through my life my first real encounter with zardozi happened when my very posh college friend from Delhi ( with it’s shahpur jat and chandni chowk) wanted a garara for her brother’s wedding from aminabad( our very own neighborhood market in Lucknow). I was puzzled as to why travel all the way to Lucknow for this. But then I was shown how the karigars of Lucknow weave the most fabulous zardozi magic.

This started the journey of my love for hand embroidered. I went after college into lanes and by- lanes of chowk, Aminabad and Nishatganj in search of the best of the karigars to make that dainty neck on my muslin kurta or that boota on my mother’s saree. The love affair was such that I kept returning to these by-lanes and many times came back with a treasure trove. During my internship ( yes I am a dentist too) I actually used to embroider to calm my nerves after a hectic day and I still have that cherished kurta that took me 6 months to embroider.Probably from here comes my respect for the karigars and their art and my attitude of never haggling over their karigari knowing first hand the effort it takes to make one single piece of hand embroidery.

For my wedding trousseau I came in touch with Tipu bhaiya who made me those fabulous aari work chiffon sarees in customised colours. They are still one of my prized possessions. I made yearly visits to him to get something customised but then somehow I lost touch. Sometimes when you are desperately looking for a Plan B .. you are thrown a lifer out of the blue. For me that opportunity came in the form of Shahid bhaiya who was looking for work during the lockdown and came in touch with me to discuss some pieces for my sister in law’s trousseau. Before him I went back in search of Tipu bhaiya who vanished into thin air. I was heartbroken to learn from people around his shop that he had to shut shop because of dearth of work. Machine embroidery and lack of patronage to his exalted art killed his livelihood in a way. But when I found shahid bhaiya, I thought maybe he can be helped the way tipu bhaiya couldn’t.

Shahid was working as a karigar for some designer whose name also he doesn’t know because the work was given to them by a contractor . Dissatisfied with his wages he wanted to come back home to a village 50 kms away from Lucknow. He wanted to work from there and stay with his family. I tentatively started giving him work as I had doubts about him given his age. We started with some samples and after the first one was in my hand we never looked back. And I never doubted his talent. The intricacy of the work and the accuracy with which he brought my vision alive was just fantastic. Since then we are a team and it is the best collaboration I have ever had.

I do visit his village from time to time and get to see how the conditions are difficult for these karigars and why they are leaving their art to become mechanics, farmers and e- rickshaw drivers. Others are abandoning Lucknow all together for greener pastures like Dubai, Hyderabad and Jaipur.. living away from their families often in difficult circumstances so they can afford better living conditions for them back home. Though it has been the mission of this brand to attain as much as work as well as remuneration for the karigars..listening to their stories just solidifies the resolve.

Thanks to all who supported us in our journey till now and thanks in advance to all those who will be kind enough to patronise us in future. Your love and trust keeps us going. So help us in bringing to you the finest of the poetry of hand embroidered clothes “Celebrate the lucknow artisans with out timeless sarees”