Suf gives identity to Pakistani migrant women

For 50-year-old Babro Ben, her art is her identity and she never wants to give it up, even though she has lost the sharp vision required for her intricate form of embroidery. Babro ben is among the 100-odd Pakistani migrant women working to preserve their age-old form of embroidery called ‘Suf’ at Kala Raksha Centre. The NGO is located in Sumrasar Sheikh Village of Kutch district in Gujarat. “It takes seven to eight months to complete a Suf-embroidered piece of cloth; a year or more if you are making a saree,” she says. Babro ben belongs to the Maru Meghwal tribe which migrated to Gujarat from Nagarparkar region of Sindh after the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Suf is a complicated form of embroidery, derived from the geometric triangle, usually done on cotton or silk. It originated in Sindh province, and unlike other form of embroideries, the artisans don’t draw the motifs first on the cloth. They conceptualize their designs and then count the number of threads they will compose the triangle in.

Among Maru Meghwals, a bride embroiders her own dress and also makes Bokani (a long scarf) for her groom. “Earlier, a girl’s embroidery skills would snag her a good match, but now we make designer clothes sitting here in this village. We have carved out an identity through our art,” says 27-year-old Sheela Ben, who has been embroidering for 15 years. She has been working on a shawl for three months “It will take another three months to complete it,” she adds. “In our community, embroidery is considered a women’s job; no man ever does it. They are farmers. But during off season, our work helps us make ends meet.”

For Suf work, artisans require an understanding of geometry and good eye-sight as one has to constantly watch each and every thread on the cloth. “Most women have to stop embroidery by the time they are 55 or 60 years old as they lose their vision,” says 60-year-old Rabari Ben, who now makes patches.

According to officials at the NGO, in the last decade, Suf has become highly popular among designers in India as well as abroad. “Several high-end designers, including Ritu Beri, and some highly popular online shopping portals including Jaypore.com have become our permanent customers,” says Ramesh Bhanani, who works at the NGO.

The NGO provides the artisans with high-quality textile. “This form of embroidery needs back-breaking labour. We give them high-quality cloth and threads so that they get the money they deserve,” Bhanani said. The NGO also helps them showcase their work in exhibitions and sales in different parts of the country. “We take the artisans to these exhibitions so that they can understand the nature and demand of the market,” he said.