A group of women from Meghalaya’s border region have collectively decided to revive the 200-years-old embroidery art form called Kheng. Women from the village of Mustoh are hoping that including this embroidery art to silk shawls, wraps and mufflers will provide them with additional value, both where sales and heritage are concerned.
In Khasi language, Kheng means border. The embroidery pattern resembles multi-legged centipedes, and is unique to the Mustoh village, which lies in the East Khasi Hills near the India-Bangladesh border. Different patterns of Kheng are made on different kinds of fabrics, usually ryndia (eri silk) unique to the Ri-Bhoi district located 200 kilometers from Mustoh. The silk fabric costs between ₹2,500 to ₹3,000, but its value doubles once Kheng embroidery is done on it. A thick black band is stitched vertically on one side of the silk jainpien (wraparound), while on a silk jainkup (shawl), a thicker band of Kheng embroidery work is stitched horizontally.
“I picked up the skill from my great grand-aunt,” Victory Synrem, a master craftsperson of Kheng told PTI. “It was not easy, but through perseverance and love of art, I am now good at it.” Synrem also revealed that the revival efforts began in 2014, when only three people in the village—including herself—were left with the knowledge of the rare heritage embroidery form. On learning that only three artisans with knowledge of this art form were left, Phrang Roy, an agrobiodiversity activist, initiated the revival movement. “The major challenge was a handful of people were there who could teach the art form to others,” Roy told PTI.
Roy’s North East Slow Food Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) then joined hands with the Special Purpose Vehicle Society (SPVS) to train more women artisans in the art form. By 2019, seven women had mastered Kheng embroidery. Currently, there are 18 women artisans involved in the revival movement.