Ajrakh is a unique combination of hand block printing and resist dyeing. They characteristically have complex geometric patterns and floral motifs inspired by the islamic architecture. They use vegetable dyes in deep blue, red and black colors.
Characteristics
- Symmetry forms the core of the design; often with elements radiating from a central star motif.
- Complex geometric patterns like the starry constellations with jewel-like appearance and floral motifs that echo the intricate jali windows and trefoil arches of islamic architecture.
- Usually conform to the anionic nature of islamic design principles, thus don’t depict human or animal figures.
- Some typical motifs are Amri Mohar - mango blossoms; Minkudi - traditional pattern; Kuriyao - floral - spider web; Kharek - date; Sitara - Star; Tavith - 7 block border; Wat Wal - Creeper border; Kakkar - Clouds; Limat - Neem; Ghaleecho - Carpet; Chaabdi Bhat - 8 pronged flower; Ajrakh butta - flower motif; Riyal - coin; Surajmukhi - sunflower; Challo - Ring
- Vegetable dye in deep, brilliant colors; typically Indigo (blue), madder (Red), Black and White.
- Do-rukha (double sided) - Ajrakh patterning can be applied to just one side of the cloth, known as ekpuri. However, a unique and technically advanced feature of ajrakh is the use of bipuri or double-sided printing; where the pattern on one side of the fabric is precisely replicated, line for line, dot for dot, on the other, ‘reverse’, side.
History
Ajrakh is a craft which dates back to early medieval times. Historically, the craft was practiced along the banks of the River Indus (or Sindhu) now divided between India (Kutch in Gujarat, Marwar in Rajasthan) and Sindh, Pakistan. In Kutch, it is found mainly in Anjar and Dhamadka, practiced by the Khatris Community. After a devastating earthquake, a vast majority of the population resettled in Ajrakhpur. Their village Ajrakhpur derives its name from the craft known as Ajrakh.
It is said to have been derived from “Azrak”, meaning blue in Arabic, as blue happens to be one of the principal colors in this printing technique. It's also said that the word has been coined from the two Hindi words, “aaj rakh”, meaning, keep it today.
Ajrakh textiles were used locally as well as exported to various parts of the world including the Middle East. When people from Iran and Arabia reached the Sindh region in the 7th Century, they were attracted to these bright and colorful textiles.
Ajrakh was traditionally made only for men's garments. More than a fabric, Ajrakh is considered to be an essential feature of the Sindhi tradition; found in everyday items such as hammocks, bedsheets to dupattas and scarves.
Process
This technique uses mud-resist in the 14-16 different stages of dyeing and printing, which take 14-21 days to complete – a skill that calls for patience and time. This dyeing and printing is repeated twice on the fabric.
Resist Technique ( that allows only a desired portion of the fabric to be dyed while the rest remains uncoloured) is used.
Blocks
The blocks used for printing patterns are intricately hand-carved and have complex geometric designs and floral motifs. The creation of ajrakh blocks is undertaken only by the masters of the crafts. Ajrakh blocks are square, must match up on all four sides, and also reflect to allow the reverse of the cloth to be printed - an error of just a few millimeters from one corner of the block to the other renders printing of the cloth impossible. The block carver first creates the rekh, or outline block, and then from this block he makes a series of other blocks to complete the design. The carver also needs to understand intrinsically the complex procedures of the ajrakh printer to ensure that the correct block is carved for each process. Separation of colors within each pattern is crucial to the success of the final textile colouration.
1) Grey cloth - cotton is loaded with impurities like oils & wax during spinning and weaving to help lubricate the threads. This makes the cloth dull, yellowish, earning it the name “Grey cloth”. Then they are thoroughly removed prior to any printing / dyeing to increase absorbency.
2) Saaj - pre-treatment of cotton. Usually done by soaking in neerani ( emulsified mixture of castor oil, soda ash and camel dung) overnight and dried in the sun. This is repeated 3-10 times, until the cloth is bright white and soft to touch.
3) Washing - Thorough washing to clean out all impurities.
4) Kasano - Clean cloth is then soaked in Harde, a yellow astringent paste made from dried powdered fruits of myroballan tree (used widely in Ayurvedic medicines). These dried plums contain high levels of tannic acid, which permeates the cotton fibers and is an essential pre-mordant to aid adhesion.
5) Khariyanu - outlines of the design, where white is required, are printed with a carved wooden block and a resist paste containing lime and tree gun.
6) Kut - areas where black are required are not printed with kut paste ( a smooth paste made from jaggery, or molasses, in which scrap iron has been fermented for ten to fifteen days ). When printed onto the Harde treated cloth, kut develops a deep fast chocolate-black color as the iron particles in the kut paste oxidize with the tannic acid.
7) Pa mordant - the mordant for producing red called Pa (made with alum and tamarind seeds) is now applied to the cloth. This step needs a lot of attention so that the colors don’t mix.
8) Gach resist - Gach ( a smooth paste made with tree gum, clay, millet flour and Alum) is used to overprint on Pa to achieve deeper reds. The clay and millet flour acts as resist preventing indigo from staining the cloth.
9) Dhori gach resist - this is the gach paste without alum. This is printed over all previously printed white, black and pa printed areas which didn’t receive the gach previously. Then sawdust or finely powdered cow dung is sprinkled over immediately after printing to prevent smudging.
10) Indigo dip 1 - to obtain blue in the design, the cloth is immersed in indigo.
11) Indigo dip 2 - dipping into the indigo vat for a second time will deepen the colour in the blue portions of an ajrakh design. Also used to get different shades of blue.
12) Washing - thorough washing and beating at the washing tanks removes the resist paste, the loose indigo dye, and the tamarind seed paste from the cloth.
13) Red dyeing - Indian madder is gently heated in a copper pot and lengths of cloth are continuously stirred using two sticks for up to 4 hours.
14) Tapano - cloth is soaked in a solution of camel dung ( acts as a bleaching agent) and dried in the sun to prevent bleeding of red color into the white areas.
15) Final washing - the final washing and beating to remove any loose colorl. This step clears the excess dyes and makes the whiteness of the ajrakh stars shine bright.
Bhavana Handlooms is proud to partner with Khamir. Khamir was born in 2005 as a joint initiative which works to strengthen and promote the rich artisanal traditions of Kachchh district. It serves as a platform for the promotion of traditional handicrafts and allied cultural practices, the processes involved in their creation, and the preservation of culture, community and local environments.