Journey - Guinness World Record for ‘Largest Display of Lambani Items’, 3rd G20 CWG Meeting, Hampi

The Culture Working Group (CWG) of India’s G20 presidency under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture set a Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Display of Lambani Items’, with 1755 items, on 10 July 2023 as part of the 3rd CWG meeting in Hampi. Over 450 Lambani women artisans and cultural practitioners associated with Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra Kendra (SKKK) came together to create these items using GI-tagged Sandur Lambani embroidery. This initiative was congruent with the third priority of the CWG, ‘Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy’ and exemplified the CWG’s hallmark campaign ‘Culture Unites All’.
Lambani embroidery is a vibrant and intricate form of textile embellishment characterized by colourful threads, mirror work, and a rich array of stitch patterns. Practised in several villages of Karnataka such as Sandur, Keri Tanda, Mariyammanahalli, Kadirampur, Sitaram Tanda, Bijapur, and Kamalapur, this craft is predominantly upheld by the skilled women of the Lambani community and serves as a vital source of livelihood and sustenance.
The textile display, ‘Threads of Unity’, created for the Guinness World Record, celebrated our living heritage and shared artistic and cultural linkages with the rest of the world. It stood as a testament to the power of unity, diversity, interconnectedness, and the harmonious coexistence among cultures, encapsulating the essence of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
The promotion of this craft not only preserves a living heritage practice of India but also supports the economic independence of women. Lambani craft tradition is a sustainable practice of patchworking which involves skilful stitching together of small pieces of discarded fabric to create new textiles. Similar techniques and aesthetics are found in many other textile traditions in India and around the world. The creation of the World Record aligned with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s campaign of Mission ‘LiFe’ (Lifestyle for environment) and the CWG’s initiative for ‘Culture for LiFe’, an environmentally conscious lifestyle and a concerted action towards sustainability.
The event was inaugurated in the presence of Shri Pralhad Joshi, the Hon’ble Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal, and Mines, on 10 July 2023 in Hampi. The initiative was supported by the South Zone Cultural Centre.