VIJAYAPURA: Lambani Kasuti (embroidery), which is being revitalised by the Banjara Kasuti Institute, is now attracting students from the country’s renowned fashion design institute, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bengaluru. For the past 7-8 years, the institute contacted senior women in Banjara settlements in the district and devised several plans to promote the art and craft that was on the verge of extinction. Now, 38 students from the knitwear designing dept of NIFT, have come to Vijayapura for field study. They are visiting settlements to meet the Banjara women and study Kasuti art.Asha M Patil, the institute’s founder, told TOI that the institute is pledged to preserve and promote the embroidery art that has been used by Lambani women for ages. “By selling garments featuring the embroidery art, the institute has become a backbone for Lambani women to achieve self-reliance. Consequently, the institute’s name has become well-known through exhibitions and sales across the country,” she claimed.NIFT student Sanjali said that they are in the 5th semester of the knitwear design dept. “Under the leadership of their coordinator Sanjeev Bora, we are here to learn new things which will benefit our course and projects in the future. The ongoing discussion and learning about providing better market opportunities for the local women and the curriculum and experiments for the 7th semester. We are also documenting it with videos and pictures,” she asserted.Seema Kishor, the institute’s co-founder, said only people from Rajasthan and Gujarat were aware of Lambani Kasuti art. “It was hidden in Vijayapura district too. The institute was set in 2017 with goals like improving, preserving, and developing Banjara art. We have showcased and sold at around 18 different fairs so far and participated in the India International Trade Fair 2024. We aim to expand it domestically and internationally, with steps already taken to export to Europe and America. Around 108 women from about 15 tandas in Vijayapura district have joined the institute, sold embroidered garments, and are reviving their fading art with new enthusiasm. We are selling embroidery garments from producers to consumers without profit, and it has led to word-of-mouth promotion and increased demand,” she explained.Reshma Rathod, a local artisan, expressed joy that students from Bengaluru are learning their traditional needle embroidery art.
