A cluster is defined as a geographic concentration(a city/town/few adjacent villages and their adjoining areas)of units producing near similar products and facing common opportunities and threats.An artisan cluster is defined as geographically concentrated (mostly in villages/townships)household units producing handicraft/handloom products.In a typical cluster,such producers often belong to a traditional community,producing the long-established products for generations. Indeed,many artisan clusters are centuries old Artisan.

About Mahmoodabad Block Cluster:-

Mahmoodabad Block Cluster falls under Uttar Pradesh State in Sitapur district.

The Mahmoodabad Block cluster is able to form 212 plus Artisans & 16 SHGs supporting the strong work force.The mobilisation gains momentum day by day.

Hand embroidery:-

Lucknow,in Uttar Pradesh,was and is the centre of chikan embroidery, renowned for its timeless grace and its gossamer delicacy,a skill more than 200 years old --- exploited, commercialis but not dead. In fact,the craft is alive and struggling to regain some of its former beauty and elegance. Chikan embroidery is done on fine cotton fabric. The garments are first stitched and then embroidered,whereas skirts,saris,and table linen are first embroidered and then finished. A study of the origin of chikan reveals that this form of embroidery had come to India from Persia with Noor Jehan,the queen of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. The word chikan is a derivative from the Persian word 'chikaan' meaning drapery. Some,however, insist that the craft migrated from Bengal. What we know is that chikankari came to Oudh when Mughal power declined in Bengal and the artisans moved to the Oudh durbars,seeking employment and patronage.

Chikan embroidery has a repertoire of about 40 stitches of which about 30 are still being used. These can be broadly divided into 3 heads - flat stitches, raised and embossed stitches, and the open trellis-like jaali work. Some of these have equivalents in other embroideries, the rest are manipulations that make them distinctive and unique. They cover almost all the embroidery stitches of the country and have interesting and descriptive names.   The main flat stitches with their traditional names are:   Taipchi: Running stitch worked on the right side of the fabric. It is occasionally done within parallel rows to fill petals and leaves in a motif, called ghaspatti. Sometimes taipchi is used to make the bel buti all over the fabric. This is the simplest chikan stitch and often serves as a basis for further embellishment. It resembles jamdani and is considered the cheapest and the quickest stitch.

Pechni: Taipchi is sometime used as a base for working other variations and pechni is one of them. Here the taipchi is covered by entwining the thread over it in a regular manner to provide the effect of something like a lever spring and is always done on the right side on the cloth.

Pashni: Taipchi is worked to outline a motif and then covered with minute vertical satin stitches over about two threads and is used for fine finish on the inside of badla.

Bakhia: It is the most common stitch and is often referred to as shadow work. It is of two types:

(a) Ulta Bakhia: The floats lie on the reverse of the fabric underneath the motif. The transparent muslin becomes opaque and provides a beautiful effect of light and shade.

(b) Sidhi Bakhia: Satin stitch with criss-crossing of individual threads. The floats of thread lie on the surface of the fabric. This is used to fill the forms and there is no light or shade effect.

Khatao, khatava or katava is cutwork or appliqué - more a technique than a stitch.

Gitti: A combination of buttonhole and long satin stitch usually used to make a wheel-like motif.

Jangira: Chain stitch usually used as outlines in combination with a line of pechni or thick taipchi.

The bolder or knottier stitches include the following:

Murri: A very minute satin stitch in which a knot is formed over already outlined taipchi stitches.

Phanda: It is a smaller shortened form of murri. The knots are spherical and very small, not pear shaped as in murri. This is a difficult stitch and requires very good craftsmanship.

Jaalis: The jaalis or trellises that are created in chikankari are a unique specialty of this craft. The holes are made by manipulation of the needle without cutting or drawing of thread. The threads of the fabric are teased apart to make neat regular holes or jaalis. In other centres where jaalis are done, the threads have to be drawn out. In chikankari, this is not the case. Names of jaali techniques suggest the place where they originated from --- Madrasi jaali or Bengali jaali ---- or possibly the place of demand for that particular jaali. The basic manner in which jaalis are created is by pushing aside wrap and weft threads in a fashion that minute openings are made in the cloth. Shape of openings and the stitches used distinguish one jaali from another.

Raw materials:-

The fabric is worked upon with a long needle,threads,tikris and beads.Multi sized frames are used, usually about 1.5 feet high,to secure the cloth on which the design is sketched with a stencil. One hand secures the thread under the cloth to the needle while the other hand moves the needle on top of the cloth with ease.

Process:-

The production process of a chikan garment, assuming it is a kurta, goes through several processes. In each process a different person is involved. The final responsibility is, however, that of the person ordering the manufacture, who is also usually the seller. Chikan work involves several stages. The fabric is cut by the tailor into the required garment shape, after which the basic pre-embroidery stitching is done so that the correct shape is available to the block-printer to plan the placement of the design. The design is printed on the semi-stitched garment with fugitive colors, and the embroidery of the garment is then begun. After completion, the article is checked carefully since most defects can be detected at first glance. However, the finer flaws surface only after washing. The washing is done in a bhatti, after which the garment is then starched and ironed. The whole cycle can take from one to six months. Originally, chikan embroidery was done with white thread on soft, white cotton fabric like muslin or cambric. It was sometimes done on net to produce a kind of lace. Today chikan work is not only done with colored threads but on all kinds of fabrics like silk, crepe, organdie chiffon, and tussar.

Techniques:-

There is a discipline and method in the application of the stitches. The darn stitch is worked on rough cotton fabric to fill angular designs and to cover the surface of the fabric, while satin stitching is done exclusively on delicate fabrics like silk, muslin, or linen. In chikan some stitches are worked from the wrong side of the fabric, while others are worked from the right side. It is however unique in its discipline in as much as stitches designated for a particular purpose are used only for that purpose --- they are not replaced by other stiches. For example, the chain stitch (zanjeera) will only be used for the final outline of a leaf, petal, or stem.

Different specialists work with different types of stitches. For example, open work or jaali is not done by embroiderers who do the filling work - each worker completes his/her bit and the fabric is then sent to the next embroiderer. The wages for each job are fixed separately.

How to reach:-

The district is on the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway No-24, which is 89 Km. from state capital Lucknow. The district is well connected to other cities by rail and road. New Delhi : 411 km, Lucknow : 89 km, Kanpur : 163, Meerut : 360 kms