Lorna Tresidder of the UK, has worked in Kutch for nearly 40 years, helping the locals conserve their region's crafts. A former senior lecturer in embroidery at Liverpool College of Art, she stumbled upon Dhordo, Kutch in 1975, the beginning of a lifelong romance with the Indian desert region.
Tresidder said Kutchi women back then looked resplendent in their richly embroidered garments. “Earrings, necklaces, nose rings, bangles and the distinctive cut of their clothes - everything distinguished the community,” she said. However, with changing times, embroidery traditions are slowly dying. “They're still embroidering but it's commercial now.” She said Dhordo is very different from the village she saw evolving. “Tourism has brought affluence to villages and everybody has enough money for food, housing and clothes. It has also brought education which is a good sign,” Tresidder said.
With an old connection in India, as her great grandfather was born in Kanpur, Tresidder penned down her rendezvous with Kutch in 'The Golden Thread'. The book tells the tale of the topographic and social changes to the region, the earthquake of 1819, and the lavish dowries of embroidered clothes and quilts.
Quilt-making, continues to be an important occupation for women in the Banni region because of the harsh winters. Tresidder notes that quilts have become a means for individual expression of Kutch women. These hand-made quilts still form part of the trousseaus given to girls at their weddings.
