Hyderabad :

The bylanes of Charminar have series of shops offering Zardozi work. Most of them have been running the show for the past thirty to thirty-five years.

Stopping by Mohammed Haji at Laad Bazar, the artist, Mohammed Haji himself sits on the floor behind the wooden equipment working on a piece of cloth, held taut with two long pieces of wood and thread to enable him to work easily.

“Though in the beginning of my career, I used to do a lot of work on sarees, I mostly work on blouses now as people these days like heavy blouses,” says the 24-year-old, who started designing when he was in school.

Not being a family business, he got into the craft full-time after his class VII. “I started with helping my brother Mohammed Latif in my childhood as my mother would not like me wasting time. She asked me to pick up the skill as it would make a good source of income in future. I later dropped the idea of continuing schooling,” clarifies Haji.

He now has set up a separate workshop for himself in Laad Bazar and works along with one of his helper.

He says, “The way sarees are pre-designed these days has changed the fashion style.”

Today, we can witness a blend of the past with the present, the old with the modern. Zardozi has become a well-known and fashionable hand embroidery. “Earlier people would prefer heavy zardozi sarees. But now its limited to blouses only. Which in turn is affecting our income,” he rues.

The Zardozi work has not only kept up with modern embroidery but is also booming.

Ranging from gold to silver to the metal one, the craft though has changed with the passing time, Haji is more focussed on using the metal one, which he blends with zari, kundan, lace, chain, beads and resham threads. “But zardozi is what completes the design,” he informs.

Speaking about designs, he says, “Peacock and mango are the most popular designs which people prefer these days. They come up with their own designs. Sometimes if the customer has no idea about the design, I suggest them as per their material and the occasion. They add their own ideas to it and that’s how we brainstorm.”

Budget plays an important role while deciding design he says.

As his workshop is on first floor, there is not much footfall there so he generally picks orders from a nearby boutique.

The materials used to do the embroidery are bought from the city market.

The smallest work takes a day to be completed. “Gold, silver and antique Zardozi is in vogue now. Along with that, people also prefer using coloured ones,” explains Haji.

Each piece is charged as per the design and the materials used for embroidery. The quality check of the Zardosi, Haji says comes through years of experience.

The Zardosi works can specify patterns and motifs to suit their budget and choice. “Normally for a blouse we charge anywhere between `1,000 to `5,000. But for bigger works we charge more,” says Haji.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Pratima Shantaveeresh / December 22nd, 2014