Project to revive the dying traditional art of Phulkari initiated-Dr Ritu Lehal
Gurpreet Kaur/ royalpatiala.in/ Patiala
On behalf of Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi, Dr. Indu Agnihotri approached Dr. Ritu Lehal, Director, Women’s Studies Centre, Punjabi University , Patiala to initiate a joint project on the traditional handicraft of Punjab, particularly in Patiala region.
The title of the project is Phulkari : Reviving and Sustaining the Traditional handicraft of Punjab. The total time period of the project will be six to nine months. The main objective of the project is to revive the dying traditional art of Phulkari. This project intends to take some active, focussed and sustained measures to reignite the financial viability of being a Phulkari Craftsman. Such focussed approach to revive the traditional handmade Phulkari will serve numerous purposes.
On the one hand, it will lead to economic empowerment of women in the Malwa region of Punjab by providing them self employment opportunities, while, on the other hand, such actions will be beneficial in preserving the cultural heritage of Punjab. There is a dire need to study and address the issues and challenges faced by traditional handmade Phulkari embroidery sector so as to revive and sustain this traditional folk handicraft.
The primary data will be collected from two different sources. Firstly, personal interviews will be conducted to get the opinions of a few craftsmen whose families have been involved from generations in making handmade embroidered Phulkaris residing in Tripuri town of Patiala. Secondly, data will be collected from the women who have availed training in Phulkari embroidery from various centres established under schemes of the government and NGO’s in rural areas of Patiala district.
The project will be funded by Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi. The statement of undertaking has been signed by Dr. Neetha Narayana Pillai, Acting Director, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi. The project team will constitute of Dr. Ritu Lehal, Director Women’s Studies Centre, Punjabi University , Patiala, Dr. Gurupdesh Kaur, Associate Professor, P.A.U. (Krishi Vigyan Kendra), Patiala, Dr. Harpreet Kaur Kohli, Assistant Professor, Department of Distance Education, Punjabi University ,Patiala and Dr. Harpreet Kaur, Associate Professsor, Departmnet of Distance Education, Punjabi University, Patiala.
