COMMUNITIES INVOLVED:
The Meghwaad Maaru community came to India as war refugees – a fact that has had a profound impact on the community.
During the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, the Indian Army took control of some areas in Pakistan, including Tharparkar. In their own words; ‘when we realized that the land would be given back to Pakistan after the war, we knew we could not continue to live there.
ABOUT CRAFT:
The Meghwaad Maaru community practices two embroidery styles – Soof and Khaarak. Soof embroidery is fine and delicate. It is known as counted-thread-embroidery style: there is no outline or drawing done on the fabric to guide the embroiderer. Khaarak is also a counted-thread-embroidery style. Unlike Soof, this embroidery is rendered on the right side of the fabric. Craftswomen
begin by plotting the squares and rectangles that constitute the grid of the geometric forms.
