Lucknow Chikankari | Hindi | Weaving Dreams Crafting Lives | Muzaffar Ali

Sitting along the banks of river Gomti is the city of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh; a land that can easily be said to be synonymous with chikankari. The delicate shadow embroidery usually done with a white thread on white muslin or chiffon is believed to have been mentioned by Megasthenes in 3rd century BC but brought to India by Noorjehan, the Moghul emperor Jehangir’s wife in the 17th century. It is difficult to value a piece of chikan embroidery work that uses 36 types of stitches in various ways. From the bylanes of Lucknow to the world of fashion, from the Indian film industry to Hollywood, chikan has made its presence felt all over the world. More than a million artisans are today engaged in chikankari for consumers in the local, national and international markets. Lucknow is the largest exporter of chikan embroidere garments with the status of Geographical Indication (GI).