Chamba, one of the most beautiful valleys of Himachal Pradesh, carries within its sparkling streams an art heritage of Chamba Rumal, delicate Rumal (handkerchiefs) embroidered with fine miniature scenes, often drawn from Indian mythology. Originating in the 17th century, this art uses silk and tinsel threads on khadi or muslin handkerchiefs. The embroidery looks identical on both sides of the fabric; hence the name of the technique: Do-Rukha Tanka, or double satin stitch. These handkerchiefs were used as covers for offerings and gifts, as wedding gifts, and were draped around idols.
In this particular art piece, excerpts from the Ramayana can be seen stitched on a cotton cloth with silk threads in a synoptic form. Starting from the top right, Lord Ram, Lord Lakshman and Goddess Sita are taking blessings from Mata Kaushalya before commencing their 14-year exile in the jungle, as can be seen in the scene next to it. We then see the events that followed Goddess Sita's abdication by Ravana and the events that followed after, like Lord Rama and Lord Lakshman crossing the river along with Hanuman, moving towards Ravana's fort and finally emerging victorious.
The most fascinating thing about this is that an entire epic is somehow summed up in a piece of hankerchief. And almost every important scene is covered, without making the overall rumal look too crowded or messy. The scene which I felt to be the most remarkable is undoubtedly the narrative of Ravana's abduction of Sita, where Rama is aiming at the Golden Deer, while Ravana is dressed like an ascetic. And since this is the turning point of the story, and the fact that we can see both the events simultaneously happening on a single surface, makes it all the more praiseworthy. And the fact that since it's a double-sided stitch, there aren't those messy knots that one finds in regular embroideries or stitches, which makes it all the more significant since it's done very intricately with extreme patience to deliver the final output. This is artistry and stitchwork at its peak.
