Sujuni embroidery, a craft from the Muzaffarnagar district of Bihar, is used to create furnishing fabrics, bedspreads, wall hangings, cushion and bolster covers, as well as clothing items like sarees, dupattas and kurtas. Initially the designs depicted the daily life of the people as well as their natural surroundings; increasingly, however, comments about social and political issues have been incorporated in the patterns. The themes range from village life and the Hindu epics to concerns about election violence, the education of girls and lessons in healthcare.
Sujuni is distinctive for its transformation of a traditional craft into a vehicle for expressing contemporary social and political themes. These narratives proclaim that social change is the essence and purpose of the craft revival.
