I tried killing myself thrice before Phulkari gave a new birth to me,” says Lakhwinder, a Phulkari artist at the Nabha Foundation’s recent exhibition at the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy, Delhi. This startling statement has a backstory. Lakhwinder had a love marriage against her family’s wishes but married life with an unfaithful husband and abusive in-laws and three children to look after was hell. So for her, Phulkari isn’t just a craft – it’s survival.
Before the foundation started its venture in Nabha, a small province in Punjab, all doors seemed closed to her. “It’s been 17 years since I began to run my house; I have regained all that I had lost,” she says. The foundation has similarly taught the craft to 400 women from below-the-poverty-line and marginalised households across Punjab.
Since pre-colonial times, Phulkari has been an integral part of a woman’s life. Of the many theories about the origin and history of the thread work, the one most well-known is that Punjabi households wove shawls using the embroidery that was gifted to brides as dowry. Religious ceremonies, weddings, and births, also used the craft as a form of storytelling or self-expression. Once a patriarchal symbol of dowry, it now provides for hundreds of women to make a living.
Executive director, Nabha Foundation, Shubhra Singh says: “What began as preservation has evolved into empowerment.” The Phulkari of Punjab is, therefore, never merely an exhibition—it is a living narrative of resilience.
Lost legacy
Jeet Nabha Khemka of the former royal family of Nabha, carries with her not just a name, but a legacy deeply rooted in Punjab’s cultural and political history. As the daughter of former Maharaja Ripudaman Singh, her work today continues a lineage that once stood at the forefront of education, social reform, cultural preservation, and India’s independence movement, from the region.
That inheritance is now a responsibility. The past indeed continues to shape present action. Through the foundation, duty has translated into a focused mission—the revival of cultural traditions, supporting rural communities, and restoring pride in Punjabi identity.
The Khemka family has a long-standing philanthropic legacy in Punjab, especially in rural development, heritage conservation, infrastructure upgrading, and sustainable livelihoods. Their approach has always been rooted in deep, long-term engagement with the communities they serve. What distinguishes this legacy from conventional CSR is intent and continuity. CSR is often driven by corporate mandates and annual objectives. The Khemka family’s philanthropy, and the work of the foundation since 2003, is about cultural responsibility, regional belonging, and a commitment to strengthening Punjab’s social fabric.
Despite Phulkari’s deep-rooted significance, the craft had been steadily fading—its practitioners left without adequate support, training, or access to sustainable markets. “We chose Phulkari because it is a living symbol of Punjab’s resilience and identity,” Singh explains.
Distinct features
Nabha’s Phulkari stands out because it retains the traditional techniques of the craft, particularly the painstaking darn stitch executed by counting threads rather than using printed tracings or stamped patterns. “Its revival created a unique opportunity to empower rural women while safeguarding an irreplaceable part of our heritage.”
Additionally, Nabha artisans preserve motifs, colours, and layouts that echo the older Baghs and traditional shawls. Each piece reflects both cultural authenticity and the personal expression of the women who stitch it. This balance of tradition, skill, and emotional narrative gives Nabha Phulkari its distinct identity.
“What emerges from this vision is not a nostalgic return to the past but a dynamic reimagining of it,” says Singh.
Evening in threads
The exhibition brought into focus rare Phulkari bags, traditional shawls and dupattas, and interpretive textile panels, while also stepping boldly into the present through a collaboration with designer Pratima Pandey. Her collection, Marzi, reimagines the craft through fluid silhouettes—cropped jackets, dhoti-inspired forms, and sheer skirts—challenging conventional gendered clothing while remaining rooted in Punjabi tradition. “We consciously choose discretion and freedom—each motif becomes a gentle act of self-expression, where the woman behind the thread decides what to reveal and what to withhold,” says Pandey.
Punjab is a land that has seen it all—grief and glory. Amidst this turbulence stood a quiet resilience — in its courtyards, in the hearts of its women, and in the folds of a handcrafted textile. Phulkari survived the horrors of partition and more.
The exhibition showcased how the silhouettes may shift. The thread may wander. The motif may break symmetry. But at its heart, it will always remain a woman’s expression stitched by hand. Pandey says, “We don’t wish to commercialise it. We wish to contextualise it. It is a quiet honouring – of everything Phulkari has been, and everything it dares to become.”