The Eastern Thread:
Kantha


Image credit: Anavila

Kantha is an embroidery technique hailing from Bangladesh and done presently in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and parts of Tripura.

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Traditionally, Bengali housewives mended old clothes with threads from borders sarees and dhotis, and made colourful patterns with them.

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Essentially a craft done by women, Kantha textiles are often an amalgamation of entirely patched up cloths that are stitched together.

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Image credit: Anavila

Depending on the finished product, they were either known as lepkantha, sujni kantha or nakshi kantha.

In many cases, the entire cloth is covered with running stitches with beautiful flowers and depictions of stories, folklore.


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The embroidered cloth depending on the weave can be used as drapes like shawls or as throws and quilts.

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Due to aesthetic value over the years, the kantha craft has gained momentum in the modern times.

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Couturiers like Tarun Tahiliani have tried to revive the almost dying art of kantha in their collections.

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Designer Anavila Misra has built sustainable fashion label showcasing crafts like kantha as seen in her collections:
Folk and Mohenjodaro.

Image credit: Anavila

Bridal couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee also incorporated Kantha in his collections, namely the Curiosity, Art and Antiquity Project.

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