Chikankari or Chikan, as it is better known these days, is a gift to Lucknow from the Nawabs of Awadh. These Nawabs were connoissuers of the best money could buy. Their attires reflected their taste. It used to be the source of livelyhood for several households a few years back. It was G.I.C. (Geographical Index Certification) certified so that this art belonged exclusively to this place and this was the only support we got from the past governments in all these years.
The old tales of negativity that artisans were not being paid accordingly almost ended by 2009. New generation artisans were trained by various fashion designers of highest repute. Being highly paid, these craftsmen worked harder to recreate lost stitches of Chikan. Their beautiful work found place not only in Lucknow but almost all of the world. The product which was earlier understood to be favourable in summers only found its place in bridal fashion too.
Many say that it had become expensive with the entry of designers but Chikan remained the least expensive hand work. It is still cheaper to many fashion houses’ attires in terms of time and labour involved.
The current government has not only brought MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), and as which was not enough, it also brought the NFSB (National Food Security Bill, 2013). These policies of the present government will not only make these village people lazy but idle and useless eventualy creating negative minds. MGNREGA gave guaranteed employment and NFSB is likely to give almost free food. With the pockets & bellies full it cant be expected to make Chikan further or at the same pace or the same price. Manufacturers are moving from this hand work to various machine embroideries to suffice which is adding insult to injury.
The idea to share all this with you is not solely for the purpose of making money, though money is always involved in almost every aspect of life, as is also in this cause. It must also be cleared that commercial Chikan kaari is not being discussed here. Real people involved in preserving this royal art includes artisans who really understand that this is an art which has come down these years and from generation to generation, who still are teaching their children about the stitches involved in making Chikankari. These people know that there is big money for their children if they learn computers or other jobs which can monetarily take them to higher levels of living.
Another section consists of people who sell the produce of these artisans, these people can be termed as gainers but it must also not be missed here that there is much much money that can be earned by following other businesses with this amount of investment, money or time. The last but not the least is high end buyers like you who spends generously to purchase and also recommend it to his / circle of family and friends.
We feel that the buyer is the real promoter of the work we do. Your satisfaction and good words are nectar of life to us. Feel like a prince / princess when buying a piece, you are buying a piece of royal patronage, a piece of history. By buying a piece you are buying millions of thanks, wishes of good luck and blessings from people involved in saving this art form.
krishna chikan 