Sujani is said to have originated around the 1920s and was practiced by the women folk of Bihar. The word “Sujani” is derived from the words ‘su’ which means good or facilitating and ‘jani’ meaning birth. This Sujani technique of sewing together layered pieces of old cloth is rooted in two ancient beliefs. First, it invoked the presence of a deity, Chitiriya Ma, the Lady of the Tatters and stitching together the disparate pieces symbolically embodied the holistic concept that all parts belong to the whole and must return to it. The second purpose of stitching pieces of old cloth together was to wrap the newborn; to allow it to be enveloped in a soft embrace, resembling that of its mother. In fact, the word Sujani itself reflects this principle – ‘Su’ means easy and facilitating, while ‘Jani’ means birth. 

Sujani embroidery is similar to the Kantha of West Bengal and is sometimes called the twin of Kantha. The techniques used are almost the same. The difference is that Sujani is completely covered with running stitch, while Kantha has blank spaces in between. Sujani always has a tale to tell through its stitches. It is a form of story telling through fabric. Another prime difference is that in Kantha embroidery, artisans can stitch in any direction of the fabric, while in Sujani embroidery should always be done in straight lines. Sujani is mostly done on cream colored fabric with stitched motifs outlined by black colored thread while multiple colored threads are used to fill in colors. Outlines for the motifs are done using Chain stitch and running stitch is used for filling in the motifs with vibrant colours. The traditional Sujani motifs were that of sun and cloud (life giving forces), sacred animals, winged creatures, deities, flowers and mythologies. Another common style was 

to depict a particular activity or village scene.

The contemporary versions of Sujani Embroidery depict social scenarios such as a drunken man physically abusing his wife, women compelled to observe the purdah, and dowry being given, and on the other hand, a scene depicting a woman selling goods and earning a living for herself.

The concept behind this piece of embroidery is that of the rising rape culture in India. On one side, people offer prayers to Goddesses and devote their lives to them. While on the other, a girl is brutally raped by the same men who worship the Goddess. The Sujani stitches question the blurred line that differentiates the two women.