Gota aur Lucknow
The breathtaking piece of embroidery without which no bride’s wedding attire will ever be complete is known as ‘Gota’. It is a piece of art which has almost become a necessity in Indian bridal wear, not a single wedding costume goes untouched by the beauty of Gota. It is a type of embroidery that is crafted using the appliqué technique. It is done by weaving silver or golden zari threads onto the fabric and thereby creating an elaborate pattern. It involves placing woven gold cloth onto fabrics such as georgette or to create different surface textures. Silver & gold is now replaced with artificial metals due to the high cost of the precious metals. Gota embroidery is commonly used for women’s formal costumes like gharara, lehnga, suit, sari, rupatta, etc. It is believed that gota originated in India and was made popular during the Mughal era. Lucknow is a major centre of gota in the world. In Lucknow, the gota work was introduced more than two centuries ago and is used along with ‘kinari work’.
Lala Ram Charan Lal Gota Waley is one of the oldest gota shop in Lucknow, established in 1885 and has some exquisite forms of gota. While talking to Mr. Anil Kumar, we learnt about the intricacy of this craft; he also shown us the original gota of gold & silver which is also exhibited in the attached photograph. It is believed that Lucknow is the main centre for the traditional handmade gota embroidery, which is facing a slow decay due to competition with the machine made gota. There are various types of gota like ‘bel’, ‘katwar’, ‘bakdi’ and ‘lais’, each having its own type of pattern. The process of making gota is tedious and involves proficiency. At first the desired pattern in traced on the fabric. The pattern is then made on ‘kalabattu’ or ‘tilla’ using daily sewing needle. A handmade gota nearly takes 6 hours to complete and is then stitched to a suitable coloured cloth in order to give a complete look. The designs on gota are inspired by the Awadhi form of art, which includes flowers, decorative motifs, jail work, animals and birds like peacock, parrots, elephants, etc. The beauty and richness of gota is one of a kind. Lucknow’s handmade gota is among the finest form craft in the country. Its magnificence and richness attracts number of designers from across the country !
Credit : Intern – Nishita Banerjee