Do You Know Why Were Initially Phulkaris Embroidered By Punjabi Women?

A Punjabi girl’s wardrobe is incomplete without a Phulkari. Phulkaris have become really popular in recent times. Today Phulkari is a term which is known to every girl in the country. It has widely spread from Punjab to other parts of the country. With the migration, Punjabis have spread their Phulkaris to other countries as well. Phulkari is not just a dupatta or chunni, it is rather an emotion.

Phulkari is embroidered in various designs especially in flowers on a piece of cloth. It is because Phulkari is derived from the word ‘Phull’ which means flower in Punjabi.  It doesn’t mean at all that a Phulkari has to be on a fabric of the size of dupatta only. Indeed, it can be on a suit, on a table cloth and on almost every fabric. Phulkari is actually  the embroidery but now days Phulkari has become a synonym to dupattas.

The reason to why Phulkari embroidery was started is very interesting. The moment a girl was born in a Punjabi family, mothers, grand mothers and aunts started the Phulkari embroidery. It was done with the purpose of gifting it on the wedding day of the girl when she grows up. Several folk songs have been made on this tradition.

Phulkari was always done for personal use and never for sale and purchase purpose. The number of Phulkaris which went along with the bride in ‘Daaj’ of the girl to her in laws was considered important.

So now you know the real reason behind embroidering Phulkaris. Those were all handmade then. Mothers and Grandmothers spent their entire life in preparing the best Phulkaris for their daughters.

But now, machines have come up to help in manufacturing of Phulkaris. Without a doubt, Phulkari looks beautiful on a girl. It can be considered as one of the essentials of a Punjabi girl’s wardrobe.