Last weekend we visited our village in Punjab, we went to pay obeisance at the Gurudwara Sahib there. I was waiting with my mother-in-law when an old lady walked up to me and started asking about the phulkari dupatta that I had draped. She inquired that from where had I got that, as that kind was no longer available. My grandmother-in-law had given it to me, and it was a part of her trousseau. Incidentally, it was the first phulkari that she had embroidered. It was a red colored tool with mustard motifs.
The lady started telling me that she had also embroidered such things and how it was becoming very rare. She was glad that she saw someone wearing such a phulkari, and how her daughters and grand daughters found it too old fashioned to wear these. In fact, she called one of her grand daughters and showed her what I was wearing. Since I am in love with all things phulkari, we kept discussing the different styles of phulkari for quite some time. My grandmother-in-law found out that the lady was in fact from her maternal village.
The lady started telling me that she had also embroidered such things and how it was becoming very rare. She was glad that she saw someone wearing such a phulkari, and how her daughters and grand daughters found it too old fashioned to wear these. In fact, she called one of her grand daughters and showed her what I was wearing. Since I am in love with all things phulkari, we kept discussing the different styles of phulkari for quite some time. My grandmother-in-law found out that the lady was in fact from her maternal village.
I wondered how virsa and virasat can bring together two strangers and rekindle fond memories.
