Lambani items

Why is in news? Culture Working Group under India' G20 Presidency sets a Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Display of Lambani Items

As part of the 3rd Culture Working Group Meeting of G20 in Hampi, under its ‘Culture Unites All’ campaign, the Culture Working Group, Ministry of Culture has set a Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Display of Lambani Items’.

The unique exhibition on Lambani embroidery patches was inaugurated at the Yeduru Basavanna complex, Hampi by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs & Coal and Mines.

The theme for the exhibit is ‘Culture Unites All’. This display is titled ‘Threads of Unity’ and celebrates the aesthetic expressions and design vocabulary of Lambani embroidery.

Over 450 Lambani women artisans and cultural practitioners associated with Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra (SKKK) came together to create these items using GI-tagged Sandur Lambani embroidery having 1755 patchworks

This Guinness World Record endeavour is aligned with the PM’s campaign of Mission ‘LiFe’ (Lifestyle for environment) and the CWG’s initiative for ‘Culture for LiFe’, an environmentally conscious lifestyle and a concerted action towards sustainability.

Lambani embroidery:

Lambani embroidery is a vibrant and intricate form of textile embellishment characterized by colourful threads, mirror work, and a rich array of stitch patterns

It is practised in several villages of Karnataka such as Sandur, Keri Tanda, Mariyammanahalli, Kadirampur, Sitaram Tanda, Bijapur, and Kamalapur.

This rich embroidery tradition, predominantly upheld by the skilled women of the Lambani community, serves as a vital source of livelihood and sustenance, intertwining living practices with economic empowerment.

The promotion of this craft will not only preserve a living heritage practice of India but will also support the economic independence of women.

This initiative is congruent with the third priority of the CWG, ‘Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy’, as it spotlights the rich artistic tradition of Lambani embroidery, thereby promoting the creative economy of Karnataka and India.

The sustainable practice of patchworking is found in many textile traditions of India and around the world.

The embroidery traditions of the Lambanis are shared in terms of technique and aesthetics with textile traditions across Eastern Europe, West, and Central Asia.

This alludes to the movement of the nomadic communities across such regions historically, forming a shared artistic culture.

This interconnectedness of cultures through the craft makes it an ideal symbol for the campaign 'Culture Unites All'. Through this art form, we celebrate our shared heritage and promote dialogue and understanding among diverse communities.

Lambani Community:

They are also called Lambadis or Banjaras.

They were once nomadic tribes who arrived from Afghanistan to India, mainly Rajasthan (in the Mewar region) and then spread themselves across the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

They are believed to have assisted the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to carry goods to the southern part of the country in the 17th century, and that is when some of them settled there.

They speak ‘Gor Boli’ — also called ‘Lambadi’.

Since it has no script, it is written either in Devanagari or in the local languages, like Telugu or Kannada.

Many people belonging to this tribal group are bilingual or multilingual, meaning they have learnt to communicate in the predominant language of the region — whichever part of India they are in.

Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra (SKKK):

Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra (SKKK), registered as a Society in 1988, aims to revive traditional crafts and enhance the livelihoods of craftswomen by nurturing their skills, promoting their products, and thus ensuring a steady income.

Presently, SKKK works with approximately 600 artisans and has nurtured twenty self-help groups. It has evolved over the years and gained recognition for the Lambani craft, both nationally and internationally.

Over the years, SKKK has gained national and international recognition for the Lambani craft, earning the prestigious UNESCO Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts in South Asia in 2004 and 2012.

SKKK obtained the GI (Geographical Indication) tag for the craft ‘Sandur Lambani hand embroidery’ in the year 2008