be embroidered. Traditionally women would begin to embroider the bhagh when their grandsons were born to be give to their future brides. Accordingly, in the past, as soon as a girl was born, mothers and grandmothers would start embroidering Baghs and Phulkaris, which were to be given away at the time of marriage. Depending on the status of the family, the parents would give dowry of 11 to 101 Baghs and Phulkaris. It was also passed from one generation to the next as an heirloom. Historically, the exquisite embroidery for Baghs are known to have been made in the districts of Hazara, Peshawar, Sialkot, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Multan, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ambala, Ludhiana, Nabha, Jind, Faridkot, Kapurthala and Chakwal of the Punjab region. Phulkari and Bagh embroidery has influenced the embroidery of Gujarat known as heer bharat in its use of geometrical motifs and stitchery. Phulkaris and Baghs were worn by women all over Punjab during marriage festivals and other joyous occasions. They were embroidered by the women for their own use and use of other family members and were not for sale in the market. Thus, it was purely a domestic art which not only satisfied their inner urge for creation but brought colour into day-to-day life. In a way, it was true folk art. Noting the value of traditional Phulkaris, Aryan (1983) collected the garments noting their spectacular artwork. Such efforts to preserve the art of Phulkari has influenced its revival. Etymology The Punjabi term, Phulkari is made of two words: Phul means flower and Akari means shape. Phulkari meant the shape/direction of flowers which symbolized life. In Punjab, it was popularly believed that the birth of girl child in the family was auspicious. The mother and grandmothers would start embroidering Phulkari dupattas upon her birth because they believed that she would be the creator for future generations. Originally Phulkari was done with real flowers. Silk and Mulmul (soft cotton muslin) fabrics were used because of their purity and longevity. It was believed that the virtue and character of a woman gave shape to the Phulkari. Origin There are different theories about the origin of Phulkari. One such belief is that this embroidery was prevalent in different parts of the country as far back as the 7th century CE but survived only in Punjab. Motifs similar to the ones found in Phulkari are also found in Kashida of Bihar and