Banned a few decades ago, Dhebaria Rabari embroidery has seen a resurgence in recent years. Styles are simpler, the essence remains.
The ban had been imposed because the embroidery, part of a woman's trousseau, had become so intricate that weddings were often delayed. Apparently, women also sometimes used the embroidery to delay early marriage; a form of resistance implemented by taking years to complete their embroidery.
The community, traditionally nomadic, has lived in the deserts of Western India for centuries. The Kairi, a raw mango, the central motif here, stands alone signifying auspiciousness and fertility. The tip may invoke a bud through Persian influences symbolizing endurance, bending but not breaking, in the desert’s harshness.
The Kairi is placed in an explosive layout from which rays emanate, placing the woman who wears the garment, a saree in this case, in the role of one who brings abundance and sustains the family. Although they are reminiscent of the sun, the rays may represent migration routes and are designed as thorns from the acacia (bavaliyo, a herringbone stitch variation), protective and resilient.
And within the Kairi are grains (dana or dot stitch) signifying abundance, and the concentric inner shapes which represent the unfolding of life through generations, suggesting depth underlying visible abundance.
The border at the bottom acts as a fence keeping the evil eye away, its floral and diamond motifs representing beauty even in the arid desert, continuity in life's cycles, and, ultimately, eternity.