Lackā-Gōṭā, Banat, Bēl

Silver and gold trimmings on traditional garments

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Dulai (heavy shawl) border. Hand-embossed gota of different widths flank a zardozi banat. (1900/1935) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Lackā-gōā are shiny ribbons of varying widths woven with metallic silver and gold threads.  The main use for ā is to provide a decorative edging to give a finished look to a garment that could be plain or may already have some form of embroidery on it.

Embossed gota (1950/1970) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Gōṭā is a plain ribbon woven on an aḍḍā (wooden frame) of varying width, sometimes a couple of inches wide. This can be flat or embossed for a richer look. The finest of these ribbons is called sikiā which is often used to enhance the outline of a pattern or to create a pattern in itself, for example a honeycomb jāl on a dupatta.

ā is also used to make patterned ribbons such as cu which is a fine length of running ā puckered after short gaps, murmurā which has a zig-zag pattern, and campā which is a tightly woven ā ending in flower bud shapes. 
An innovative use of the ā is that it can be cut and folded and appliqued onto a garment. 
Some embellishments are used as a part of an elaborate combination to add greater depth to a garment.

Champa: gota length folded into bud shapes, Unknown, 1972, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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Dupatta border of embossed silver gota flanked by chutki, Unknown, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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A traditional dupatta edging with (bottom to top) gota, gokhru, murmura, chameli and champa, Unknown, 1875/1935, From the collection of: Lucknow Bioscope
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ā is also used to make patterned ribbons such as cu which is a fine length of running ā puckered after short gaps, murmurā which has a zig-zag pattern, and campā which is a tightly woven ā ending in flower bud shapes.  An innovative use of the ā is that it can be cut and folded and appliqued onto a garment.  Some embellishments are used as a part of an elaborate combination to add greater depth to a garment.

Banat of multi-coloured silk with zardozi work, bel and kiran (1989) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

One such addition is the banat, a narrow silken ribbon of running length, cut on the cross, in a single colour or conjoined with multiple colours, and embellished with zardōzī. The banat becomes the central embellishment, with lackā tacked on either side, and a line of campā. These are not random combinations; they form a part of traditional edgings often found in old garments.

Lace of gold naqshi in a wavy pattern (1920/1929) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Bands of salmā, tightly coiled metallic wires, are bent and shaped to create running lengths of lacy designs, sometimes zig zag, sometimes light and airy to give a finishing touch to a kurtā lehengā set, or demarcate the upper section in a ġarārā from the lower gathered flares. The common name of these embellishments is bēl

Dupatta border of cutwork zardozi bel and kiran (1989) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Lengths of cutwork bēls are made on an aḍḍā. Floral in design, and backed by a stiff buckram to give it body, the clean spaces in the design are skillfully removed by hand to give a cutwork effect. 

Dupatta border of cutwork zardozi bel (1980/1989) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

The cutwork bēl is so rich that it can be used as an embellishment by itself to finish a dupaṭṭā-kurta set or as a running border in a sarī. 

Farshi pyjama with a chatapati (patchwork) gote in lauzat/namakpare (diamond) pattern (1920s) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Tasseled edgings go by the name of kiran, the more beautiful ones are very finely cut. They can be silver or golden or in a combination of both called gangā-jamunī. A kiran is usually attached at the very edge of a dupaṭṭā, running on all four sides, and its much longer version called the āncal is tacked only along the width of the dupaṭṭā.

Jhalar/jhuljhul: woven golden thread tassels ending in a sitara (2000/2020) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

bēl of much thicker tassels with a sitārā as a drop to each tassel is called a jhālar/jhuljhul.

Old dupatta border with gokhru, murmura, chameli, champa transferred onto a new silk base (1875/1935) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Most of these bēls are mounted on 6” by 4” pieces of cardboard and finally encased in white tissue paper to prevent them from tarnishing. The kiran and āncal are packed in tight pyramidal cones so that the tassels do not deform.

Dupatta border with gota chamelis flanked by champa (1954) by UnknownLucknow Bioscope

Lackā-gōā is usually sold in the old markets of the city like Chowk and Aminabad.Now many such shops can be seen moving out of old areas to newer markets that are more accessible.

The real gold and silver threads used earlier have now been replaced by copper and polyester, making the trimmings more affordable and tarnish-free.

Ankit Agrawal shows us intricate  trimmings and laces and the journey of their making through the years. 

Credits: Story

Curation: Noor Khan & Saman Habib
Photography: Ayan Bose, Tasveer Hasan
Team: Mariyam Imran, Saman Habib, Noor Khan
Text, Editing and Translation: Saman Habib, Noor Khan, Sabiha Anwar, Isha Priya Singh, Waseem Ahmed, Stuti Mishra, Divya Joshi
Video: Aisha Khatoon
Gracious Contribution by:
Ankit Agrawal 
Bina Agarwal
Fatima Rizvi
Fauzia Yameen
Nabila Zaman
Vasundhara Singh

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.