Chamba Rumal

     This craft originated, developed and flourished in the erstwhile state of Chamba in the 17 - 18 century AD, when the fascinating art of painting was at its zenith. Thus, the image of miniature paintings were transfared into kashidakari (embroidery), which took the pride of becoming the celebrated feminine craft tradition of Chamba. The pictorial handicraft of Chamba possesses distinct characteristic of its own, which differentiates it from other forms of embroideries in India.

     The craft of Chamba rumal was a joint venture in which the pahari painter drew the subjects on a piece of cloth and women embroiderers worked upon it withsilken threads , so the beautiful art work 'rumal' manifested as a result of joint venture . Here the fine needle replaced the painter's brush, fabric substituted for the handmade paper and the colourful threads for the pigments.

     The cloth employed for the embroidery was generally unbleached muslin or khaddar. The drawing was drawn in outlines with fine brush by the accomplished pahari painters, sometimes the female embroiders would prefer to draw the patterns and figures themselves.
     This resulted in two different styles on a same piece of artwork, one elegant and fine in draughtmanship and the other one some what coarse and bold in treatment. Muslin is the most common of all the fabrics being used for the chamba rumal. The fabric being light and easy to handle is preferred by the women folks for the do-rukha tanka (darning stitch).

     The figures as well as the floral patterns drawn on the Chamba rumals are filled in with the untwisted silk floss also known as pat. Sometimes, the women used to get the silk threads dyed selecting the tones and hues according to their fancy. The do-rukha stitch (a double satin stitch) , which as its name implies, can be viewed from two (do) sides or aspects (rukh). The stitch is carried both backward and forward and covers both sides of the cloth , effecting a smooth finish that is flat and looks like colours filled into a miniature painting. No knots are visible, and the do-rukha stitch is placed closely and side by side brings out such extraordinary effect that the embroidery comes out strikingly identical on both the sides of the rumals and the rumal can be viewed from both sides. It thus becomes reversible.
     A simple stem-stitch using black silk thread is used to out -line the figures. This outline in black thread is a marked characteristic, which is a conspicuous characteristic of the chamba rumal. After filling the colourful threads in the figures and floral designs ,these are finally enclose with a fine line worked out in black thread , which apparently lends the powerful affect as seen in pahari miniature painting. The line drawing in pahari painting is very important part as the pictures are finished by the fine and sensitive outlines after the filling of the colours. Similarly in the case of the Chamba rumals , after the figures are filled up with silken threads of different hues, the magical effect is achieved through fine outlines done in black thread in dandi tanka the stem stitch, which is also its most conspicuous feature. Other stitches like the cross stitch, the button - hole stitch, the long and short stitch, and the herring-bone stitch, as well as pattern darning, were also used occasionally.

     Many themes have been embroidered in the Rumal. Some of them  are scenes from famous hindu epics like Ramayana, Mahabharatha, hunting scenes, wedding ceremonies and processions, Krishna lilas.

     Animal and birds such as cows, elephants, horses, deer, parrots, peacocks, Cranes, partridges and sparrows have been frequently used in chamba rumals. These designs and motifs were drawn by the pahari painters themselves, whereas the folkish designs, in which the figures bear small rounded faces like parrot beaks, seem to have been drawn on their own by the women embroiders. Plantains , cypresses, willow trees , shrubs and plants (buti) and buds & flowers (phul) patterns etc. have also been extensivelly used in chamba rumals. Wild animal are seen  in the subjects depicting hunting expeditions in which horse and eleph-
ant riders are shown hunting the wild boars, deer, leopards, tigers and lions. cows with their calves are
also skilfully rendered in the rumals showing Krishna leela.

      It was customary to gift embroidered rumals in a girl's marriage. Hence, Subjects like wedding scen-
es were popular and were repeatedly embroidered. The rumal was considered one of the essential item
of dowry of the bride who learnt this craft at a very young age. It was considered and additional merit if the brides were well versed in the craft of embroidery. On wedding or other important occasions , these rumals
were worn both by men and women who hung them proudly on their shoulders.



Some of the hindu epic themes
Rasmandala : lord Krishna sitting in lotus
· Kaliya damana: Krishna killing the horrified kalinga sarpa
· Rukmini harna: the elopement of rukmini and her marriage is the zist of the theme.
· Sumudra manthana: the ocean was churned by devas(Gods)
· Battle of kurukshetra: pandavas occupy the left hand side of the panel along with lord Krishna on his chariot, kauravas on the right hand side and abhimanya is placed in centre of the panel, showing the picture of being caught in the chakravilu.
· Raga ragini: raga, the tune of song and ragni , the mode of song expressing the base for songs sung in a minimum of six versions.
· Ashta nayika: It expresses various moods and personality of Nayik and Naika.