INSIDE ISSUE 105: GODHARIS

The joy of Quilting.

The simple running stitch for quilting is universally used in many countries. The running stitch embellishes the cloth with a surface design using it vertically or horizontally changes its effect on the surface. Women all over the world have adapted the quilting stitch and integrated many aspects of it in their cultures. In the visual arts, one tradition stands out prominently is the patchwork quilts known by different names in India. Used as both mattresses and covers, made by women for their children and grandchildren.  I have always been instinctively drawn towards fabrics. I delight in feeling the textures even when blindfolded, of a handspun cotton cloth or the feel of the smoothness of silk. I love the strong bright colours of Indian fabrics. I am convinced that each fabric gives out its own distinctive scent. This has been my reaction ever since I can remember.  Feeling of a handspun cloth is a delight and shakes my blues away.
The godharis are essentially made from everyday worn pieces of cloth, patched together to reinforce the torn parts. They add layer upon layer of saris to give durability and warmth. Born out of necessity, the materials are stretched to their limits, reinforced with stitches. This is a free style of art, as they use whatever material is available and intuitively a unique design appears. Using a heavy gauged cotton thread, a running stitch is hand-stitched through the multiple layers of cloth.  Each godhari is therefore unique in its own way.
The in-between-layers are filled with used trousers and shirts ripped open and laid out flat.  No figures, flowers, gods or goddesses are depicted in their quilts like the Bengal Kanthas. Most of the godhris are in abstract forms usin. ... by Geeta Khandelwal