Never late to stitch a career

The sun streams in through the window of the single-storey brick house in Ramkrishna Colony, Dhaneti, Gujarat, and glints off the golden frames of Laxbiben Ahir’s spectacles. Her wrinkled hands embroider patterns on a piece of cloth with amazing dexterity, a result of 40 years of practice. Her sewing does not falter as she speaks about how her art changed from a family tradition to a form of livelihood.

A member of the Ahir clan, embroidery is in her blood. This needlework, characterised by its circular motifs taken from nature, has been around for over 500 years and has been passed down the generations. However, a skill, which came in handy to create beautiful dresses for weddings and other family celebrations, has now become a means for Laxmiben to earn a living and a business to her daughter Geetaben.

“We do not have pencilled lines on the cloth,” explains Laxmiben. “I have the pattern in my head and craft the thread to follow it.” Her daughter, who has studied in college, comes up with more innovative designs and the two women often collaborate on pieces. “A piece can take anything from a couple of weeks to six months to finish,” says the veteran seamstress and adds, “It depends on the design and how big it is. Ahir embroidery uses three styles of stitches and mirrors on cloth.”

Laxmiben recalls how her life changed after the Bhuj earthquake. After the disaster of epic proportions came the silver lining of a new home and her business. “The government gave us a new home in this society and the NGO workers showed us how we can use our craft to make money.”

She takes out her business card and explains further how the business works. “I do not sell my art in Bhuj because people may steal my designs. People know my name by now, so orders come in from Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other big cities.”

The epitome of success for Laxmiben was when Geetaben was invited to Ahmedabad to receive the President’s Award from APJ Abdul Kalam in 2003.

To distribute the work more evenly so that they are not the only ones stuck with the bulk of the work when orders come in, the mother and daughter duo regular embroidery classes for women of the village and then hire them for specific projects. Since the women understand the value of labour, they fix proper marketable prices, do not fall prey to middlemen and often reap in thousands for a single embroidered piece. In fact, Laxmiben and her daughter host occasional classes and workshops to teach students of fashion design institutes the art of Ahir embroidery.