Distance from Kolkata: 158 km 

Driving Time: 4 hours 

Road Trip: 1 day

Weaving the tales most commonly heard in regular Bengali households, Nanoor, a Community Development Block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum, portrays where hard work and dedication can lead us. Kantha stitch, one of the oldest forms of embroidery, has found a new lease of life and a spike in demand on a national level – thanks to the talented and industrious women of Nanoor. For a rendezvous with the artists themselves, Team WHEELS drove down to Nanoor, around 158 km from Kolkata where the revival of the traditional art presents a unique success story of its own.

Kantha The art of the Kantha stitch has been passed down from mothers to daughters in Bengali households for centuries. In recent times, the realisation of this cultural heritage intertwined with entrepreneurship skills has brought a new dawn to the village of Nanoor. Even though Bolpur, Ilambazar, Labhpur and Mangalkot are also renowned for their traditional Kantha, it is Nanoor that is leading the way. Nearly 1365 all-women self-help groups, comprising of 13,120 members under the National Rural Livelihood Mission launched as Anandadhara in May 2012 are involved in the art of the Kantha stitch today. This has not only revived the art form but has also presented the artists with an alternate source of livelihood. It is important to note that Kantha embroidery is not the primary source of income for these women. Like most places in rural Bengal, the primary source of income for these women and their household is agriculture but they devote a significant amount of time daily to Kantha embroidery

The most significant aspect of Kantha embroidery is the running stitch pattern that accentuates the various motifs. Earlier, layers of cloth were embroidered together to form the quilt which is still a common sight in Bengali households. Thread from old and discarded sarees and dhotis were used in the Kantha stitch. Today, Kantha stitch is done on everything from sarees, dupattas and ghagra-cholis to shirts, bedsheets and so on. A historical reference to Kantha can be found in a 500-year-old book called Sri Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita written by Krishnadas Kaviraj. However, it was poet Jasimuddin’s Nakshi Kanthar Math (The Field of the Embroidered Quilt) published in the year 1928 that brought Kantha into the mainstream and made the term ‘Nakshi Katha’ famous.

Nanoor Due to their aesthetic appeal, the embroidery products of Nanoor are a rage in markets across India. In the last four years artisans from Nanoor have represented their work all over India in various handicraft fairs and have won plaudits too. They are even planning to apply for a GI tag for Nanoor Kantha stitch.

To safeguard the art form and the artisans, and to bring in an entrepreneurial spirit, various workshops are conducted by Visva Bharati University, Khadi Gram Udyog and various non-governmental organisations on emerging design and marketing techniques. A two-storey building was constructed by the Nanoor Block Developmental Office a couple of years back where the self-help group ‘Kuliya Tantabay Samabaye Mahila Samiti’ led by Affunessa Begum works on Kantha stitch. Presently 650 artisans work under Affunessa Begum whose embroidery products fetch high values in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow and Bangalore markets.

To survey how a self-help group works, Team WHEELS visited the ‘Motipur Colony Srishti Mahila Swanirvar Dal’ led by Saptami Mondal in Kirnahar, 9 km from the BDO Office in Nanoor. On our way to Kirnahar 1, we were guided by Keka Nayek, Woman Development Officer of Nanoor. The road connectivity between the villages in Nanoor is exquisite. Passing between paddy fields, the roadway presents an immaculate view of the horizon. Nanoor is quite a sizeable block with villages a few kilometres apart from each other and good road conditions help in improved access.

At Saptami Mondal’s residence, we were showcased a large portion of their embroidery work. The business runs by supplying to boutiques and retailers in Kolkata. Saptami Mondal has been in the business for close to 14 years now and has won accolades from Kolkata to Kashmir. She visits Kolkata once a month and works in close proximity with the boutiques and retailers of the city to bring in business on a monthly basis.

Embroidery Process The Kantha embroidery process starts with the artisan making designs and printing them out on tracing paper. These tracing paper sheets are then perforated along the design lines with a needle and are kept on the dress materials which are to be embroidered. A small piece of cloth soaked in a powdered ink and kerosene is then run over the tracing paper which helps in imprinting the design from it on the fabric. Thread work is then carried out on these design lines. Later, the dress is drywashed to remove all design marks before being sold to the retailers.