From Noor Jahan to new India, Chikankari has been a never-ending love affair

16 Aug

In our partnership with Etsy India, we spent a better part of 2020 traversing the country to find stories of creators and creations that came with a local heart and global demand. This search led us to the royal city of Lucknow, where we sought out Jasveer Ji, who introduced us to the craft of Chikankari.

Little did we know that searching for authentic Lucknowi craft would bring us face to face with the true Nawabi nature of the city.

Planning for having no plans

As we travelled from the land of Phulkari to the land of Chikankari, little did we know that the rain gods would have a different plan for our day. We had a tight schedule fixed. One day to shoot the city, its lovely people, and the beautiful craft of Chikan work. But on reaching Lucknow, we discovered that rain had overrun the town, and in Lucknow, this meant that very little would get done.

The artist, local crew, driver, hotel staff, and everybody decided that this would be a day to take a break; this included our leading talent. Not one to grudge a person on their well-deserved day off, we quickly got to work with the Etsy team to identify who we could work with to understand Chikankari and its nuances better.

Presenting the history of Chikankari craft

This frantic search on a packed schedule led us to the very knowledgeable Jasveer Ji, the maker of the IndiaChikan Etsy shop. From showing us techniques and patterns to educating us on the history and cultural influences through the ages on the craft of Chikankari, she spent the day helping us tell the story of this beautiful Indian craft form.

This video talks about the journey of the craft, of how it originated in Persia, was brought to India by foreign rulers and became a key livelihood source for a large community in Lucknow and beyond.

Watch the Journey of Chikankari here

While we had scheduled for a day to be able to shoot this story, the rains did set up back a little. This was when the Etsy India team stepped in as a true partner, ensuring that constraints or no constraints, we got to tell the story of Chikankari in the most authentic way possible. Our small team of 4 put in all of their effort to make this happen and create a beautiful journey for the craft and an excellent chance for the viewer to #DiscoverIndiaWithEtsy.