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Parsi Gara is an exquisite traditional embroidery style, deeply rooted in India's Parsi community. Also known as Parsi Gara embroidery or Parsi Gara Work, it is celebrated for its intricate detail and elegant motifs inspired by flowers and nature. Traditionally executed on silk fabric using vibrant silk threads, this textile art form heavily embellishes all four borders of the garment.
History of Parsi Gara
The history of Parsi Gara is intertwined with the migration of the Parsi community to India around the eighth century, fleeing religious persecution in Persia (Iran). While it's not definitively known whether local Parsi women initially wore heavily bordered saris akin to modern Gara embroidery, the style gained immense popularity during the 19th and 20th centuries. This flourishing coincided with the Indo-Chinese trade, leading to a unique embroidery style that seamlessly blends Persian, Indian, and Chinese influences.
Parsi Women in Traditional Parsi Gara Saris
Source: https://ciceroni.in/blogs/lounge/the-tale-of-the-parsi-gara-a-timeless-tradition?srsltid=AfmBOorW3N0EXO0ObkQyY_NxcGfsWJjHEs0AA7BGRQJWLuF_4uPRcEZe, Accessed on 25th July 2025.
Legend suggests that the Parsi traders who travelled to China with opium and cotton, returning with tea for the European market, discovered a new embroidery style featuring nature, flora, and fauna, initially intended for European clientele. Eventually, these fully embroidered pieces, commissioned for traders in India, became a signature for the community. As Parsi women began traveling to China, they influenced the designs, indicating areas for embellishment and negative space. With the Parsi community's prominence in Bombay, the Gara became a distinct cultural identifier.
Technique of Parsi Gara Embroidery
i) A complex narrative border—a world of flowers, acanthus, and human figures, all beneath the soft pink of cherry blossoms. ii) Muted satin grays and pinks create a serene border design of a pond with reeds and swans, set against a dark background.
Source: https://www.dsource.in/resource/parsi-embroidered-sari-borders/introduction, Accessed on 25th July, 2025
Crafted on sumptuous silk fabric (known as ‘Sali Ghaj’, ‘Gaaj’ or ‘Paaj’) in a palette of bold colors—bright red, purple, blue, magenta, and black—Parsi Gara embroidery achieves its distinctive look by contrasting these deep tones with light pastel silk threads like cream, off-white, and pink. Artisans skillfully employ the satin stitch and its variations to fill intricate motifs, further enhancing the texture with French knots that mimic tiny, delicate beads. While renowned for saris, this embroidery style also graces children's tunics (jhablas), pants (Ghichas), and decorative narrow borders (Kor).
The design's coverage on the fabric typically falls into three categories: a subtle version with detailed embroidery along a 3-3.5-inch border; a more extensive design featuring broader coverage but with small unembroidered sections; and a truly opulent variant where the fabric is completely enveloped in mesmerizing embroidery.
Originally, the traditional Garas could not be washed as the colours used were raw, and the washing of the embroidered fabric could lead to the loss of original colors. And depending upon the work, the A Gara sari can take about two to three weeks to two months, with as many as eight people working on a sari together.
Motifs of Parsa Gara Embroidery
Parsi Gara embroidery is a testament to the community's rich history and cross-cultural interactions, with motifs and designs drawing inspiration from diverse traditions, particularly Chinese, Indian, and Persian. These intricate embroideries, adorning fabrics often for saris and borders, tell stories through their unique and often whimsical names.
The Cheena Cheeni Design
Source: https://ciceroni.in/blogs/lounge/the-tale-of-the-parsi-gara-a-timeless-tradition?srsltid=AfmBOorW3N0EXO0ObkQyY_NxcGfsWJjHEs0AA7BGRQJWLuF_4uPRcEZe, Accessed on 25th July 2025.
One celebrated design, "Cheena Cheeni," beautifully depicts a Chinese man and woman set within a landscape of pagodas, bridges, lush plantations, and scenes of daily life in China. These designs, being rare and exquisite in India at the time, quickly became treasured possessions.
Other recurring motifs often derive their names from nature or everyday observations. "Poka dots," for instance, refer to the commonly seen polka dots, humorously likened to onions and potatoes. "Karoliya," meaning 'spider,' refers to a spin-wheel motif. Avian imagery is prominent, with "Marga Margi" symbolizing a rooster and hen, and "Chakla Chakli" depicting a male and female sparrow, often representing love and companionship.
i) A wide European-made border, woven in gold with a burgundy pattern, likely intended for the Indian market. ii) Gold sequins fill this border, with circles stitched in gold thread and finished with a chain-stitch edging.
Source: https://www.dsource.in/resource/parsi-embroidered-sari-borders/introduction, Accessed on 25th July, 2025
An exceptionally distinctive motif is "The Divine Fungus," a unique rock formation often depicted on a sari, with a majestic peacock perched upon it. This motif, rooted in Chinese symbolism, is believed to offer protection from the evil eye and is often associated with auspiciousness.
The Parsi community, originally farmers in Iran, transitioned into traders and businesspeople upon their migration, yet they remained deeply connected to their agrarian heritage. This enduring bond is evident in the prevalence of nature-inspired motifs in Parsi Gara saris and borders. Popular and recurring designs include serene lily ponds, endearing hens with chicks, graceful creepers and vines intertwined with roosters, bustling horse carts, and delicate floral sprays.
Beyond nature, certain animals carry profound symbolic meaning for Parsis. Goldfish and carp, for example, are powerful symbols of plenty and fertility. This deep reverence for such symbols is even reflected in daily life; the silver tray found in every Parsi home, holding a lamp, rose water, and a cone-shaped vessel, often meticulously features a silver fish.
This same intricate detailing and symbolic richness are hallmarks of Parsi Gara borders. Pheasants and the mythical phoenix (often referred to as 'shahmrug' or royal rooster, symbolizing good fortune) also form a significant part of the motif repertoire. Peacocks are particularly popular and recurring, likely influenced by their prominent depiction in Indian embroidery and their iconography related to the worship of Lord Krishna in the Indian pantheon. Furthermore, delicate roses, daisies, and floral wreaths frequently appear, possibly reflecting the influence of English embroidery seen on lace tablecloths, doilies, table runners, and curtains that were imported and used during the British era in India.
Later Developments in the Parsa Gara Embroidery
Nita Ambani in Parsi Gara Saree
Source: Grazia India
As India stopped trading Opium with China and the Independence movement gained momentum, the promotion of Indian Goods was preferred over foreign products. This also led to Indians switching to Indian textiles, and hence, chiffon and georgette became the new trend fabrics during that time. Later, the use of nylon and glass followed, with sequin work in the 1960s and 1970s.
Passed down as a Parsi bride trousseau, an old age Parsi tradition, from mother to daughter, having been preserved for generations, today’s 21st generation and Gen Z also love wearing a Gara.
Central Board of Secondary Education and National Institute of Fashion Technology. Traditional Indian Textiles: Students Handbook + Practical Manual Class XII. 1st ed. Delhi, India: The Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education, 2014. https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Curriculum/Vocational/2015/Traditional_India_Textile_and_Basic_Pattern_Dev_XII/CBSE_Traditional_Indian_Textiles%20_XII.pdf.
Limited, Polkacrowd Private. “The Tale of the Parsi Gara- a Timeless Tradition - Ciceroni.” Ciceroni, May 12, 2023. https://ciceroni.in/blogs/lounge/the-tale-of-the-parsi-gara-a-timeless-tradition?srsltid=AfmBOorW3N0EXO0ObkQyY_NxcGfsWJjHEs0AA7BGRQJWLuF_4uPRcEZe.
https://www.dsource.in/. “Parsi Embroidered Sari Borders: History of Embroidery on Silk.” Uploaded by IDC, IIT Bombay, 2013. Accessed July 20, 2025. https://www.dsource.in/resource/parsi-embroidered-sari-borders/introduction.
Vaidya, Rujuta, and Vogue Staff. “We Saw It on Natasha Poonawalla’s Recent Met Gala Look, but What Exactly Is the Parsi Gara Sari?” Vogue India, May 10, 2025. https://www.vogue.in/content/parsi-gara-embroidery-saree-history.
