Toda Embroidery

Through an earthy appeal and sturdy design, Toda embroidery holds many stories within its folds. Locally known as “Pukhoor”, it is a zealously protected and practiced craft by Nilgiri women in Tamil Nadu. The thread count alone is open to a thousand interpretations, purely fuelled by guesswork. Openly reluctant to using modern tools, these artisans skillfully embroider Toda embroidery patterns in red and black, with enviable geometric precision. Yet, with no scales or patterns in sight!

Adding to the mystique is that both sides of the ware are mirror images of the other-no room for loose threads here! And the colours-pure symbolism innocently at work-the white cotton fabric base signifying purity, the black, maturity and the red, adolescence and youth.

At heart, it is a tribute to the community’s close proximity and deep ties with nature. A never-ending saga of Toda motifs of dancing suns, cavorting moons, nodding flowers and majestic mountains.