The famous Chikan embroidered garments of Lucknow are hung for drying at Dhobi Ghat by river Gomti : Lucknow, India.
Chikan Embroidery of Lucknow.
Lucknow was and is the centre of chikan embroidery, renowned for its timeless grace and its gossamer delicacy, a skill more than 200 years old. In fact, the craft is alive and struggling to regain some of its former beauty and elegance. Chikan embroidery is done on fine cotton fabric. The garments are first stitched and then embroidered, whereas skirts, saris, and table linen are first embroidered and then finished. A study of the origin of chikan reveals that this form of embroidery had come to India from Persia with Noor Jehan, the queen of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. The word chikan is a derivative from the Persian word 'chikaan' meaning drapery. Some, however, insist that the craft migrated from Bengal. What we know is that chikankari came to Oudh when Mughal power declined in Bengal and the artisans moved to the Oudh durbars, seeking employment and patronage.
Dhobi Ghat at the bank of river Gomti.
“Dhobi” means a special community specialized in washing clothes, and “Ghat” means a place at the bank of a river or water pool where people take their bath or wash clothes. The Dilliwal Shaikh are a community of Muslim Dhobis, who are found in the cities of Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India. They are said to have migrated from Delhi, some three centuries ago. They are specialize in washing the “chikan cloth”, a special type of fabric found in the Awadh region, Lucknow.
The famous Chikan embroidered garments of Lucknow are hung for drying at Dhobi Ghat by river Gomti : Lucknow, India.
Chikan Embroidery of Lucknow.
Lucknow was and is the centre of chikan embroidery, renowned for its timeless grace and its gossamer delicacy, a skill more than 200 years old. In fact, the craft is alive and struggling to regain some of its former beauty and elegance. Chikan embroidery is done on fine cotton fabric. The garments are first stitched and then embroidered, whereas skirts, saris, and table linen are first embroidered and then finished. A study of the origin of chikan reveals that this form of embroidery had come to India from Persia with Noor Jehan, the queen of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. The word chikan is a derivative from the Persian word 'chikaan' meaning drapery. Some, however, insist that the craft migrated from Bengal. What we know is that chikankari came to Oudh when Mughal power declined in Bengal and the artisans moved to the Oudh durbars, seeking employment and patronage.
Dhobi Ghat at the bank of river Gomti.
“Dhobi” means a special community specialized in washing clothes, and “Ghat” means a place at the bank of a river or water pool where people take their bath or wash clothes. The Dilliwal Shaikh are a community of Muslim Dhobis, who are found in the cities of Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India. They are said to have migrated from Delhi, some three centuries ago. They are specialize in washing the “chikan cloth”, a special type of fabric found in the Awadh region, Lucknow.