COMMUNITIES INVOLVED:
Today Aari is practised in many parts of India. In Kutch and Banaskantha it is the craftspeople of the Mochi community that create Aari embroidery for Shrujan.
The history of Aari embroidery shows that this embroidery did not belong to any specific community. Aari was a court embroidery (darbari bharat) done by male artisans exclusively for royalty. Aari had a strong presence in the Mugal court and continued to enjoy popularity during the British Raj when the European elite also became its patrons in addition to the maharajas and princes.
ABOUT CRAFT:
Aari embroidery is well known for its realistic, portraiture-like representations of flowers, birds, animals and other living beings.
Aari is the only embroidery that uses just one stitch – a very fine, flat and longish saankdi stitch. It is rendered with an awl – a thin,
hooked needle.