Silk lungi was an ancient craft of Bhera. The lungi is a kind of sarong, a garment consisting of a long piece of cloth, which is tucked around the waist by both men and women. George Birdwood mentioned in his book (The Industrial Art in India, London: 1980), “The weavers of Khushab and Bhera in Shahpur District made Lungi and Khes Alam Latifi noted, “Lungi is an ancient craft practised all over the Shahpur District “(Latifi, Alam, The Industrial Punjab, Bombay: 1911).
Unfortunately, like so many other crafts of Bhera, making silk lungi has completely faded away. Probably, the last master lungi weaver of Bhera was Nadir Khan. The main reasons for the downfall of this craft were lack of demand, patronage by the government, and the passing away of master lungi weavers. This craft can still be revived in Bhera with the assistance of government and private organizations … setting up weaving centres, providing reasonable monetary benefits to the craftsmen, and finding markets for handmade silk lungies abroad.
Note Picture from the book – “Arts and Crafts of the Punjab, Vol III, Bhera – A publication of Punjab Small Industries Corporation ( 1993)”.
Zahid Mumtaz
