Inara means illuminating or shining in Arabic. At Inara, our modest goal is to shine some light on Chikankari, one of the most exquisite embroidery traditions from the Indian subcontinent. We wish to do that by expanding applications of Chikankari beyond clothing.
Chikankari probably started sometime in the early eighteenth century in Murshidabad, Bengal. The apocryphal story of Chikankari’s origin starts from an anonymous princess of Murshidabad who created the most luxurious needlework on the finest ever woven muslin to make a cap for her king. This seemed to have set a trend among palace women of Murshidabad and Lucknow. Chikankari originated in Murshidabad, but the art flourished in the Nawabs’ court in Lucknow. Chikan became associated with wealth, taste, delicacy and even respect and power. Chikankari is synonymous with Lucknow today. It is notable that Inara’s founders- Polin and Enayet Kabir are from Lucknow and Murshidabad respectively which they consider as a Karmic connection!!
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State: Uttar Pradesh District: Lucknow
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Specialty: ODOP | Handloom
