SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 1

• Bihar is a state of
India which is situated
in the northern part
of India.

• It is 12th largest
state in terms of
geographical size at
38,202 sq. meter and
third largest by
population.

• Hindi and Urdu are

the official language
of the state. While majority of the people speak Bhojpuri and Magadhi, Maithili.
SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 2
• Bihar is a state which has rich heritage of art and
crafts. From generation to generation people are learning
from their predecessors and carrying on their culture of
craftsmanship.

• The crafts that survived were those which where strongly

fastened to our religious and social rituals.

• Among the existing crafts of Bihar - pottery,

wooden articles, stone wares, jewelry, lacquer
works, madhubani painting, tikuli art, sujani
embroidery, sikki art, wooden and clay toys,
textile fabrics and printing on clothes may
specially be mentioned.
SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 3
 • The word ‘cluster’ means a group of persons/things/species of same kind
doing or serving same kind of purpose.

• The cluster was been organized to study the craft of Bihar - Sujani
Embroidery. There were secondary research week and cluster visit weeks.

• Secondary Research - The secondary research which is known as the desk

research deals with information gathering from internet, books,
magazines, news paper articles, etc. , interaction with various
personalities who are directly or indirectly attached to the craft, local
market surveying, variety of Sujani products that are available, cost of the
products, brands which are selling the product, the popularity or
negligence of Sujani, etc.

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 4

• General information about the artisans :

 Length of involvement with the craft.

 What is their area of specialty?
 How long have they been practicing?
 Where they are trained, with whom and for how long?
 What they are currently producing?
 Do they teach others, and or pass on skills within their family?
 What are some of the challenges that they are facing in continuing with the
craft?

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 The journey started from NIFT Campus, 2nd
Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhi Maidan East,
Patna, Bihar.
 As the craft is practiced mainly in Muzafferpur district of Bihar in the villages like Bhusra,
Manipur, Dhanaur, Ramnagar, Bagha Khal, etc the craft cluster was located in village
Bhusra.

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 6

 The cluster was held in Mahila Vikas Samiti, Bhusra village in Muzafferpur Distt .

Bhusra Village Location

Name of the district - Muzaffarpur

Name of the block - Gaighat
Name of the village - Bhusra
Total population of the village - 4204

Bhusura Mahila Vikas Samiti

Mahila Vikas Samiti
Bhusra, P.O - Hasna
Via - Bocha, Muzafferpur,
Bihar
Pin - 843104

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 7

• Bhusra is the main center that coordinates with all the artisans in their village and
near by villages.
• The NGO Bhusra Mahila Vikas Samiti operates the training of the artisans, makes
artisan’s payment per order, helps providing raw material to artisans and takes
order from industry and passes it on to artisans to work on it.

Apart from Bhusra, 4 other villages were also surveyed where artisans of Sujani
stay and work.
They are - Manipur, Bagha Khal, Dhanaur and Ramnagar.

Manipur Village Location

Name of the district -
Muzaffarpur
Name of the block - Bandra
Name of the village - Manipur

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Distance from NIFT,
Udyog Bhavan, Patna
to Bhusra village,
Muzaffarpur :
96.9km

Bhusara is a small village

in Gaighat Tehsil in
Muzaffarpur District in
Bihar
State. Mushahari,
Gaighat,Muzaffarpur,
Kurhani, are the near by
Towns to Bhusara. Its
main Village
Panchayat is Bhusara
Panchayat

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 9

• Sujani is most popular form of conventional
art and craft prevailing in Bihar.

• It is a traditional quilt made in the rural areas

of that state.

• Created with the simplest of stitches, with

readily available fabrics and at times with
well-worn pieces of clothes.

• The Sujani works are generally crafted by

women in their free time at home.

• Today, the presence of various Craft

Councils, NGOs, designers, the craft has
traveled beyond the region of its birth to
urban markets in India and abroad.

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 • Traditionally, at the time of child birth,
patches of different colored cloth from
old saris and dhotis were sewn together
with a simple running stitch to make a
quilt called Sujani.

• Three or four sections of saris or dhotis

were laid on top of each other and
quilted with the thread that was
unpicked from the used garments.

• The stitch filling of the motifs was done

with a simple running stitch and the
outline of the motif was usually done
with a chain stitch in dark color.

• The quilt design depicts the mother’s

intentions and dreams for her new born.

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• Women stitch their experience, sorrows
and their realities on the Sujani, transforming
dull quilt into a testimony of their lives.

• Each Sujani tells a tale – the trauma of

being a woman in a man’s world, domestic
violence, female infanticide, effects of
alcoholism and gambling on a family and
similar issues.

• Social concerns like evils of dowry,

education of girls, lessons in health care and
AIDS are also depicted. Thus, each Sujani
becomes testament of personal trials or of
social change.

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 12

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 13
• This Sujani technique of sewing together layered pieces of old cloth is deeply rooted in two
ancient beliefs.

• First, cloth bound together by Sujani served a ritual function – it invoked the presence of a
deity, Chitiriya Ma, the Lady of the Tatters and stitching together these disparate pieces
symbolically embodied the holistic Indian concept that all parts belong to the whole and
must return to it.

• The second purpose of stitching pieces of old cloth together was to wrap the newborn;
• to allow it to be enveloped in a soft embrace, resembling that of its mother.
• In fact, the word Sujani itself reflects this principle – ‘su’ means easy and facilitating, while
‘jani’ means birth.

• Sun and cloud motifs signifying life-giving forces, fertility symbols, sacred animals, fantastic
winged creatures for protection against destructive forces, and other motifs to attract
blessings from the gods.
• Different coloured threads were also symbolically used, such as red, signifying blood, a life
force, and yellow for the sun.

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 • The fabric on which Sujani work has to be done,
• Needle
• frame
• scissors
• threads of required colors
• inch tape
• tracing sheet
• tracing wheel
• pencil 1.Pencil, sharpener and eraser -
• rubber 2.Tracing Sheet -
• blue chalk and kerosene. 3Tracing wheel -
4.Fabric -
5.Kerosene and Ujala -
6.A rough cloth -
7.Measuring tape -

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1. embroidery frame - to hold the fabric tightly
and it avoids wrinkles.
2. embroidery thread : Moon thread - used for
the filling of the background,
Anchore thread - use for the filling of motif or
stitching the outline of the motif.
3. needle - number 9 needle is used for the
embroidery stitches.
4. scissors - to cut extra threads

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 16

 Placing the tracing sheet
on the fabric.

Dipping the rough cloth in

The tracing sheet having kerosene and neel solution.
the design on it. Then, wiping it on the tracing
sheet which is placed on the
fabric.

Wiping with solution.

The liquid flows through
the perforated tracing sheet.

Traced Pattern Artisan traced the design on

the fabric
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Tracing done
Chain stitch :

This stitch appears like a chain on the

face of the fabric. It is worked from top down.
It is used for heavy outlines.
Filling of motifs can be done as well.
But here, in Sujani, filling is done by running stitch.

Running stitch :

The stitch is worked through by passing a needle in and out

of the fabric.
Running stitches may be of varying length, but typically
more thread is visible on the top of the sewing than on the
underside.

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 18

Finishing:

• Cutting of extra thread with scissors.

Washing and Calendering:

• When the article is ready, it is properly washed and calendered.

• It is done in washing and calendering unit of the production company

respectively.

Labeling and Packaging:

• Labeling and Packaging depend on the company. It is not necessary

that every Sujani product is labeled as Sujani.

• It depends on the amount of work done of Sujani on the product.

• In craft outlets, i.e. Angana, Harit Kala Kendra,etc., and exhibitions, the
products were labeled as ‘Sujani’ on them.

• Packaging were done at the workhouses.

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SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 20
G.I. – APPLICATION NUMBER 74

Applicant : Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of

Textiles, Government of India
West Block No. 7, RK Puram, New Delhi, India

Address : Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of

Textiles, Government of India
West Block No. 7, RK Puram, New Delhi, India

Geographical Indication : SUJINI EMBROIDERY WORK OF BIHAR

Class : 26

Goods : Embroidery

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 Comforter
Midnight water kimono jacket
Price - 9000/-

Cushion Cover
Pink Khadi Cotton Sujani Wall Hanging
Sling Bag with Sujani
Embroidery
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• Sujni production had virtually disappeared until it was revived in 1988 by ADITHI
and its products adapted to urban market. ADITHI works through the Mahila Vikas
Sahyog Samiti (MVSS), a small autonomous society, based in Bhusura Dist. Of
Mujaffarpur, Bihar. Sujani embroidery, once a household recycling device, is now
an expressive art form.

• Sujani is an industrious work. It need lots of patience. Skill is needed as well.

• Nirmala Devi was the first women to take the initiative in the Sujni project under
the Mahila Visas Sahyog Samiti.

• Today about 600 women from 22 villages around Bhusura are working under this
project

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Earlier it was named as Mahila Vikas
Sahyog Samiti (MVSS) but it has changed
its name to Mahila Vikas Samiti. It works
under ADITHI.
Ms. viji Srinivasan trained few woman on
Sujani to compete with the world by their
earnings through Sujani handicraft.
Nirmala Devi was one of them.
In the year of 1988, the NGO, MVSS was
build.
Now, it is called Bhusra Mahila Vikas
Samiti

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 24

About Mahila Vikas Samiti, Bhusra

 The NGO look forwards for more opportunities where they could promote the well
being of the villagers.

 They focus in women empowerment, health, civic education, and upliftment of the
conditions for locals.

 They also creating awareness

among people about human
trafficking, infanticides, AIDs
and female feticides.

“Jiyo” described as a “street smart word used to express faith in life” is an empowering
programme under the Asian Heritage Foundation supported by JSDF (Japan Social
Development Fund) to create new livelihoods in Cultural Industries, involving the skilled
but economically highly vulnerable communities of India.

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 25

• To build up social capital by organising the rural groups into revenue generating
enterprises, with linkages facilitated between self-managed cluster level institutions and
contemporary market forces, to set up artisan investment fund as economic capital and
to build creative capital through “design-led skill development and training in
management, are the aims of this project, the brainchild of designer Rajeev Sethi,
whose entire life has been devoted to the welfare of Indian crafts.

• Jiyo's Sujani cluster, Sujani Jeevika Swavlambi Sehkari Samiti Limited, was set up in
2011 after working with them for three years.

• The women were trained to create exquiste and innovative products for the
contemporary markets. Within 3 years, the cluster has expanded from 15 women to
180 women and girls, and is active in the Sarfuddinpur and Bhusra villages of
Muzzafarpur , Bihar.

• The cluster has created a gorgeous line of embroidered stoles and other wearables by
the name of " The College Fee Collection".Jiyo!s continious interventions supports
education of girls in the cluster who aspire to continue their education.

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 Skye Morrison

• Skye Morrison is a Canadian designer/ craftsperson,

educator, fieldworker,and curator and documentary
filmmaker specializing in material culture.

• She visited Bhusra village, Bihar in the year 1996.

• Skye Morrison Historic textiles, a contemporary genre was examined by Skye

Morrison, a Canadian designer specialising in material culture.

• Skye has examined how craftswomen of Bihar and Jharkhand pass down their
folksongs and legends, depicting them through a running stitch (sujni) and appliqué
(khatwa).

• These textiles tell stories of their lives,festivals, weddings and commerce, and more
poignant observations on topical subjects such as education, environment, AIDS, and
communal harmony.

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 Artisans

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 Lack of basic infrastructural facilities
 Illiteracy
 Lack of capital to showcase their talent
 Lack of exposure
 Difficulty in receiving loans
 Lack of government schemes and programmes
 No computers in the village
 Lack of market and effective demand
 Lack of training and transportation
 Mostly, problems are arising due to low level of education, poverty. irregular
employment opportunity.

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• Need to survey and knowing about the gaps
• Good training facilities
• Good transportation
• Developing good market in nearby areas too
• Formation of self help groups at the block level
• Arrangement of good infrastructural facilities
• Identifying good sources of raw materials
• Good technology for knowledge and time to time updates of the market
• Telephone, Radio and Internet
• Entrepreneurship development programme for the artisans at the block level
• Arrangement of Advertisement by the Govt. about artisans product so that it can
create market at inter – state as well as national & international at level.
• Arrangement of Exposure visit in International Trade Fair and other fair.
• Arrangement of Storage facility under the control & guidance of district industry
centre will provide economic security to the products of Artisanal Sector.

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 Marketing of Sujani

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SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 34
1. Sujani embroidery is a cultural heritage of India.

2. Sujani is G.I registered.

3. It is a kind of handicraft which requires lots of patience and skill for crafting the
embroidery which is developed on different varieties of products.

5. It employees artisans by virtue of which those artisans are making a living.

6. It consists of two simple stitches - running stitches and chain stitches with help of which
beautiful Sujani is made.

7. Simple motifs are used in Sujani.

9. Raw materials are easily available in the market.

10. Sujani embroidery products brings in foreign exchange by export market.

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11. Illiterate people can learn this handicraft.

12. Earlier, Sujani only depicted a story of a market, a neighborhood, a mother’s dreams,
etc.But now, apart from traditional designs and patterns, it depicts all social causes like
human trafficing, AIDs, importance of education, save water, etc.

1. Doing Sujani embroidery is very strenuous job.

2. Artisans loose their eye sight in the process of practicing Sujani for 15-20yrs.

3. Due to the intricate works, artisans get headache.

4. Inspite of the hard work artisans do, they receive only 40paise for an inch which have
approximately 150 stitches.

5. It's a time taking work.

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 1. Sujani embroidery products has the opportunity to exhibit itself in international
and national trade fairs and exhibitions.

2. It makes room for more employment opportunities in the handicraft sector.

3. Artisans when go to display their artifacts in various places, they get the
opportunity to know other handicrafts, different variety of products, interact with
other culture, get to know their clients, etc.

4. Every one has the opportunity to learn Sujani as this embroidery is the simplest of
all embroideries.

5. More designs and patterns can be explored.

6. There is huge scope of creating lump sum amount of market demand for the craft
with better advertisements, marketing strategies.

SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR 37

1. The art is fading away as people are losing interest in the craft. The value of it is
decreasing in the market.

2.Artisans are not interested in doing Sujani as they are not making any profit.

3.Kantha stitch is a threat to the craft which is so similar to Sujani and a great
competition with intricate floral designs.

4.As of less market demand, making of Sujani products have reduced.

5.Due to less attention of government, the craft is dying.

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