Natural Dye Hand Block Printed

Large pure cotton shawl/ sarong, hand block printed with natural dyes, with the Paland motif, in the Ajrakh style of Gujurat.

1.1m x 2.2m

Hand wash in lukewarm water with mild detergent.  Do not soak, bleach or scrub.  Dry indoors or in the shade.

The ajrakh craft was practised by the Khatri community, living on the banks of the Indus river (in what today is Pakistan). These families migrated to Kutch in the 16th century, when the King of Kutch recognized their craft and invited them to settle in the barren uninhabited land, along with dyers, printers, potters and embroiderers.

The dyers were Khatri Brahmins. Two generations later they converted to Islam and settled in Dhamadka for its close proximity to a river in which they washed their fabric. But after 400 years of use, in 1989, the river dried, and water levels from wells and tanks continued to fall. After a massive earthquake in Kutch in 2001, the block printers were forced to relocate.

They settled in Ajrakhpur, a village built in coordination with relief NGOs. There are over one hundred families living in Ajrakhpur, and 30 official block printing workshops; almost all of the families in Ajrakhpur generate their primary income from Ajrakh.

With the advent of chemical dyes in the mid-1940s a lot of artisans switched over from natural dyes. But when they saw that customers still wanted the same designs and motifs in the same colors, they realised the deep connections of Ajrakh with their culture and renewed their dedication to this wonderful art so that it may live on.