The exhibition of Rabari Embroidery which was organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts is an outcome of research and documentation to record the creativity of women belonging to the Rabari community in their daily life and lifestyle. A unique exhibition of its kind, the exquisite embroidery is a feast for one's eyes. The Rabaris are a wandering community known for their extraordinary capacity for survival and adaptation in the arid regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. They are recognised for their distinctive arts, especially embroidery, beadwork and mirrored mud sculpture.
Rabari women make mud sculpture themselves.
They also traditionally spin the wool from their sheep and give it to local weavers to make the woollen skirts, veils, blankets and turbans Rabaris use. But, the Rabari women are most renowned for their handwork which was displayed in this exhibition. Rabaris embroider a wide range of garments, bags, household decorations and animal trappings. The objects that they embroider highlight important events, rites and values in their lives. Girls traditionally embroider blouses, skirts, veils, wall hangings, pillows, purses and Kothalo which are dowry sacks, as their contribution for their dowries.