• Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation (KSHDC) – the GI holder; runs the Cauvery handicrafts emporia.
• Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles – the central government office for handicrafts and artisan schemes.
• Crafts Council of India (Chennai) and the Crafts Council of Karnataka (Bengaluru) – non-profit bodies supporting craftspeople.
• Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay – home of D’Source.
• University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad – its home science (now community science) faculty is reported to have carried out research on Kasuti. Check its publications.
• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bengaluru – a national design school whose students and staff sometimes document regional crafts.

1. Go to Intellectual Property India (ipindia.gov.in) and find the Geographical Indications section.
2. Look for the list or search of registered GIs, and search for “Kasuti”.
3. Note the holder, the dates and the application details.
4. The detailed description of a GI is published in the GI Journal; the record will point you to it.

This is a good class exercise: learners read an official record and compare it with what shops and websites claim. For what the record means for your own work, ask the GI holder or an intellectual-property lawyer.

• Who wrote it? A museum, a university or a named craft writer is more reliable than an unsigned shop blog.
• Does it give sources? Good articles say where their facts come from.
• Is it selling something? Shop pages can be useful, but they may simplify or exaggerate.
• Do the dates agree? If two sources give different dates (2005 or 2006 for the GI, for example), find out why before choosing one.
• Is the history stated too firmly? Kasuti’s early history is inferred, not documented. Sources that give exact early dates without saying how they know should be treated with care.
• Is the stitch information practical? Test any stitch instruction on a scrap before trusting it.

• Use a library. Many of these books are out of print; university, school and city libraries often have them.
• Read the Kasuti pages first, then the surrounding chapters: seeing Kasuti beside other embroideries shows what makes it unique (Module 9).
• Keep a reading log beside your stitch log: book, page, what you learned.
• Look at real pieces whenever you can. A museum visit teaches the back of the work in a way photos can’t.
• Teachers: give learners one source each and ask them to report one new fact and one doubtful one.

“If it’s online, it’s been checked.”

Many Kasuti pages copy each other, including their mistakes. One fact repeated on ten sites is still one source.

“Old books are out of date.”

For history and technique, older books by careful scholars are often the most reliable.

“Museums only show the front.”

Many museums will show researchers the back of a piece by appointment, and some online records include photos of both sides.

• Book titles, authors and first publishers are given as we know them; years and publishers of later editions may differ.
• We have not checked which museums currently hold or show Kasuti pieces. Search each collection first.
• Research on Kasuti at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, is reported; check its publications directly.
• Our source ebook also lists many shop and magazine articles. We leave them out here because they change often and some repeat each other.

• Can you name two online resources from respected institutions?
• Do you know where to find the official GI record for Kasuti?
• Can you name one book that covers Kasuti in some detail?
• Would you check who wrote an online article before trusting it?