G20’s Culture Unites All campaign: Shared heritage, mutual respect

Subject : History

Section: Art and culture

Context:

As a part of its hallmark campaign “Culture Unites All”, the Culture Working Group (CWG) under India’s G20 Presidency set a Guinness World Record for “the largest display of Lambani items”.

Details:

Nearly 450 women crafts persons created over 1,755 Lambani embroidered patches that formed a beautiful art installation in the Yeduru Basavanna complex close to the famous Virupaksha temple in Hampi, the capital of the 14th century Vijayanagara kingdom on the banks of the Tungabhadra.
This record aligns with the third priority articulated by the CWG of India’s G20 Presidency, “Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy”.
The CWG, under India’s G20 presidency, strives to position culture at the heart of policymaking.

Culture Unites All Campaign:

The “Culture Unites All” campaign launched during the first G20 CWG meeting in Khajuraho.
It is a call for action to celebrate the commonalities across the myriad cultures of the world that are distinct yet so connected.
It advocates for cultural diversity as a strength to be valued and a magnetic force holding societies together.

Lambani embroidery:

Regional embroidery traditions — kantha, kashida, phulkari, chikankari etc. — are vibrant facets of India’s creative economy. As repositories of centuries-old cultural expressions, these traditions not only fulfil social and economic needs but also narrate stories of our collective wisdom.
The exquisite lambani embroidery tradition that thrives in numerous villages across the Karnataka region is also a recipient of the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
It is practised and led by women of the Lambani community, serves as a significant source of livelihood and sustenance for the community.
The uniqueness of this craft lies in the process of piecing together patches of discarded fabric through intricate stitching patterns, which are embellished manually.
Lambani embroidery uses a total of fourteen types of stitches, namely – Kilan, Vele, Bakkya, Maki, Suryakanti Maki, Kans, Tera Dora, Kaudi, Relo, Gadri, Bhuriya, Pote, Jollya and Nakra.
The Lambani patchwork embroidery exemplifies the many traditional sustainable living heritage practices of India and strongly resonates with the “Culture for LiFE” initiative of the G20 CWG of India, promoting an environmentally conscious lifestyle and concerted action towards sustainability.
The techniques and aesthetic sensibilities of the embroidery traditions of the Lambanis recur across Eastern Europe, West Asia and Central Asia.