(Reproduced in the general interest from the BBC Site)

In the narrow back alleys of Lucknow city's Vikas Nagar area, a group of women sit on a rooftop soaking in the winter sun. It's a weekday February afternoon, the men folk have gone to work and small children are asleep in this north Indian city. The older ones have just returned from school, they've been fed lunch and are now running around playing. And the women, finally free of domestic chores, are busy doing chikankari - a form of intricate embroidery work which this city is famous for. "I learnt the craft from my mother-in-law. She was an expert at it," says Nasreen Jehan, while working furiously on a white sari with a purple border. It will take her 15 to 20 days to complete the job, and she will be paid 400 rupees ($10) for her work.

Little pay

Nasreen is a member of the city-based NGO, Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust, which is working with more than 2,500 women embroidery workers like her. Manufacturers employ close to 200,000 women from in and around the city - most of them illiterate Muslims. The pay is not much - those registered with Sewa get a minimum of 35 rupees a day (just a little below a dollar).

In many factories around Lucknow, the embroidery-makers are paid as little as 20

'Biggest challenge'

Hundreds of thousands of metres of cloth, often with very similar embroidery, is now being made in China and this "Chinese-chikan" has made it to the shop shelves in Lucknow in the past two years. "In China, the embroidery is done by machine, it looks smooth, and it has a better finish. And they can make it quickly, in huge volumes and meet the market demand. This is our biggest challenge Chikankari is widely believed to have originated in Persia many centuries ago, and it was brought to Lucknow in the 17th century by Noor Jahan, Mughal emperor Jehangir's queen.

'Pretty'

But with the invasion of the cheap machine-made Chinese variety, Luck now’s reputation as the number one in the craft is facing a stiff challenge. In the last few years, Chinese products have invaded Indian markets big time. Be it electronics or toys or household items or cheap fabric, the made-in-China label is everywhere. Chinese products score because they are cheap, and widely available. Time will tell what impact Chinese chikan will have on the local industry.

Patent

Farida Jalees says it should be documented as soon as possible. She is also campaigning for the patenting of the embroidery form to ensure India doesn't lose out the craft to China.