Ajrak Print of Gujrat

AJRAK PRINT OF GUJRAT
Ajrak (Ajrakh)
Ajrak is a block-printed textile that is resist-dyed using natural dyes. including indigo and
madder. It is made by Khatris community in Kutch, Gujarat and is distinguished by its color- blue
with red - and its complex geometric & floral patterns. It's name is derived from 'azarak', 'blue'
in Arabic & Persian. Ajrak is a legacy of text. It takes skill & patience to make Ajrak. There are
between 14-16 different stages of dyeing & printing, which take 14-21 days to complete. The
resulting cloth is soft against the skin and jewel-like in appearance, pleasing to touch &
appealing to the eye.
Ajrakh printing is a skilled craftsmanship practised in Gujarat. The traditional hand printing
method dates back to 4500 years ago, and the excavations of the Indus valley and the textile
fragments found in Fustat, stand testimony to this.
The name Ajrakh is derived from the Arabic word ‘Azrak’ which means blue. The art form has
influences from Sufiism, in the choice of colours and motifs used for printing. Ajrakh block
printing has more geometrical shapes and uses dark colours like blue, red and black.
Nature plays an important role in the making of Ajrak. The craftsmen work in total harmony
with their environment, where the sun, river, animals, trees and mud are all part of its making.
It is the synergy between handloom textiles and vegetable dyes that creates magic. The
introduction of chemical dyes led to the decline of natural dyes towards the end of the
nineteenth century. Ajrakh printing, using natural dyes is one of the oldest techniques of resist
printing in India and is one of the most complex and sophisticated methods of printing.
Ajrakh printed cotton is traditionally worn by the pastoral Maldhari community. Apart from
pagdis and lungis the women wear printed skirts, and use the ajrakh fabric as bed covers to line
cradles for babies. Every colour tells a story and the design images the status. The Khatris have
developed a feel for the contemporary market and now ajrakh yardage, kurta sets, furnishings,
scarves can be bought.
A remarkable feature of ajrakh printing is that on a single fabric, using the same design, resist
printing is combined with other printing and dyeing techniques. The whole process is repeated
on both sides of the fabric in perfect cohesion, which calls for unsurpassed skill. Ajrakh uses
mud-resist in the various stages and another unique feature is that the dyeing and printing is
repeated twice on the fabric to ensure brilliance of colour. Superimposing the repeats is done
so perfectly that the clarity is sharpened.
To identify ajrakh one needs to look for fabric with a background of red or blue (though other
vegetable dye colours like yellow and green have been introduced) Traditionally four colours
were used red (alizarin), blue (indigo), black (iron acetate) white (resist). The ajrakh makers
believe that the printed fabric has warm and cool colours which steady the body temperature…
blue is cooling and red is warm.
Intricacies
Block printing is a laborious effort of precision. First, cloth is stretched and pinned onto a table.
The printers smother wooden blocks with resist and hover them over the cloth to ensure a
symmetrical application. Once they are aligned, the block is pounded on the cloth with a heavy-
forced whack. This same motion is performed hundreds of times until the cloth is completely
covered with the block’s outline in three different resist bases. The cloth is then dyed in a base
color and laid under the sun to dry, rinsed and dyed again until the cloth is transformed into a
crowded mural of colors and motifs.
The white cotton cloth is placed in a copper container with water and soda ash, then steamed
to soften it and washed in running water preferably in a river. Soap is applied to it as it is spread
over a large cauldron of water. It is then dipped in a mixture of oils, squeezed out and kept
overnight. The fabric is washed out the next day and soaked in a mixture of powdered sakun
seeds and oil and dried again after which it acquires a dull beige colour. The specially designed
blocks are used to print the fabric in gum using an outline block. The second line of printing
which is kat printing gives a black colour using a solution of ferrous sulphate and ground seeds.
When it is dyed in alizarine it turns black. After the third printing with a resist made of natural
elements the fabric is dyed in indigo. The fabric is washed, and dyed in alizarine which produces
the red colour in the areas which were covered initially by resist. The second dyeing is in indigo
to produce another shade of blue. After this the final wash consists of successive washing in
soda ash then in water where detergent is added and then in running water which results in a
luminous and beautiful product.
The Blocks
The printing blocks have to be very finely chiselled and by experts in the field. A set of three
blocks create a dovetailing effect which finally results in the design. They are carved from the
Acacia Arabica trees, indigenous to the Sindh region. The repeat pattern, which gives the design
its character, is determined by a grid system. The pattern is first transferred to the block and
then carved with great precision by the block-maker, who uses very simple tools. The blocks are
carved in pairs that can register an exact inverted image on the other side. Today, there is only
one surviving member of a family of block-makers whose forefathers were skilled in this craft.
Colors
The traditional craft of ajrakh uses only natural colors (vegetable dyes) for its making. The usual
colors of the craft are red, yellow, blue and black. However green and some other secondary
colors are also used now-a-days. They are generally made by mixing the usual colors.
The colors being made from all natural materials are harmless to the workers in all ways.
Whereas the chemical ajrakh printing which has come up in the recent past uses chemical dyes
which are very harmful to the health of the workers.

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AJRAK PRINT OF GUJRAT

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