Ajrakh Blockprinting

Ajrakh makers believe that the printed fabric has warm and cool colours which steady the body temperature… blue is cooling and red is warm

Image Calico Museum Ahmedabad

Ajrakh is a combination of hand block printing and resist dyeing. A skilful manipulation of two kinds of resist, and then double sided block printing where each pattern is meticulously duplicated on both sides of treated cotton using blue or red vegetable dyes. 

A popular legend has it that a certain ruler insisted that his bedspreads be changed almost daily. On a certain day the ruler, impressed by the colour and print of the sheet, told his servant: Aaj Rakh (Keep it today). And the name stuck.

In Arabic Ajrakh also means beautifying. Ajrakh denotes the colour blue - a primary and essential colour of these hand printed fabrics.

Men from nomadic pastoral communities wore Ajrakh as lungis ( wraps ), gamchas ( shoulder cloths) or faintas ( turbans ). The origins  can be traced back to the Indus Civilisation 3000 years ago and double sided bi-puri Ajrakh is still regarded as a status symbol. Single sided ek puri is also made. Ajrak is centred in Kutch, Gujarat and is distinguished by its colour- blue with red, and its complex geometric & floral patterns.Traditionally four colours were used red (alizarin), blue (indigo), black (iron acetate) white (resist). 

A Khatri Nobleman in his Ajrakh

Equipment used

Blocks, danda (stirrer), ghod (wooden stand), printing table, budho (wooden beater), etc. were traditionally made of wood, whereas  equipment like Indigo maat (clay dye tank), kundi (tank for harda treatment), tari (tray), containers were made from clay. The equipment like rangchul (tank for dyeing) were made using bricks and cow dung. Charu (pot in the rangchul) was made traditionally out of aluminium. Chappri, placed as a lower layer of tari was prepared from bamboo sticks. Today, these tools find different raw materials for their manufacture.  Wood still remains the basic raw material for the printing table, painting table, blocks, danda, ghodi, and budho.

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.

14–16 different stages of dyeing & printing over many days

Saaj: The fabric is washed to remove starch and then dipped in a solution of camel dung, soda ash and castor oil. Next, it is wrung out and kept overnight. The next day, the fabric is partially dried under the sun and then dipped in the solution again. This process of saaj and drying is repeated about eight times until the fabric produces foam when rubbed. Finally, it is washed in plain water.

Kasano: The fabric is washed in a solution of myrobalan which is the nut from the harde tree. Myrobalan is used as the first mordant in the dyeing process. Next, the fabric is dried under the sun on both sides. The extra myrobalan on the fabric after drying is brushed off.

Khariyanu: A resist of lime and gum Arabic (babool tree resin) is printed on to the fabric to outline the motifs that are required to be white. This outline printing is called rekh. The resist is printed on both sides of fabric using carved wooden blocks.

The pattern on one side of the fabric is precisely replicated by hand, line by line, dot for a dot on the other “reverse” side

Kat: Scrap iron and jaggery are mixed with water and left for about 20 days. The water becomes ferrous. Next, tamarind seed powder is added and the ferrous water is boiled to a paste known as kat and is printed on to both sides of the fabric.

Gach: Clay, alum and gum Arabic are mixed to form a paste which is to be used for the next resist printing. A resist of gum Arabic and lime is also printed at the same time. This combined phase is known as gach. To shield the clay from smudging, saw dust or finely ground cow dung is spread on the printed portion. After this stage, the cloth is dried naturally for about 7-10 days.

See how the Fabric Evolves

Indigo dyeing: The fabric is dyed in indigo. Next, it is kept in the sun to dry and then is dyed again in indigo twice to coat it uniformly.

Vichcharnu: The fabric is washed thoroughly to remove all the resist print and extra dye.

 

Rang: Next the fabric is put to boil with alizarin, i.e. synthetic madder in order to impart a bright shining red colour to alum residue portion. Alum works as a mordant to fix the red colour. The grey areas from the black printing steps turn into a deeper hue. For other colours, the fabric is boiled with a different dye. Madder root imparts an orange colour, henna adds a light yellowish green colour, and rhubarb root gives a faint brownish colour

 Colours and Dyes

Ajrakh is said to signify the Universe. Colour red for earth, Black for darkness, White for clouds and Blue for the Universe itself. Think serene moonless, think crisp midnight, think cool darkness… the star filled sky, against a stark blue-black background. This is what Ajrakh  meaning blue in Arabic, is likened to.

A number of ingredients are used during the whole process of Ajrakh printing. These  include water, mati (clay), lokhand (scrap iron), chuna (lime), dhaori na  phool (galls  of  tamarisk),  kuwadia  na  beej (casatoria  seeds),  sajikhar (salt),  majith (madder), baval no gund (gum arabic), alizarine, fatakdi (alum), haldar( turmeric powder),  dadam (dried pomegranate),  gud (jaggery),   Tamarind,  Gum arabic and lime, natural indigo/synthetic indigo, rhubarb (occasionally to give brown colour). 

The Style

The Ajrakh print is employed within a grid, the repetitive pattern creating a web-like design or the central jaal. Apart from this jaal, border designs are also employed in the fabric. These borders are aligned both vertically and horizontally and frame the central field, distinguishing one Ajrak from another. The lateral ends are printed using a wider, double margin in order to differentiate the layouts of borders.

Motifs 

Motifs  printed  on  ajrakh  are a combination  of geometrical and floral ones. These motifs cover the whole area of fabric. Each motif signifies a particular aspect of nature.

The age-old Ajrakh motifs are, morpeech( peacock feather) , badam buto, mohar(coin) , mifudi(mandala) , champakali(frangipani) , kharekh(dates) , keri mohar( paisley) , koyyaro (spider), tavith chokadi(spiral) , pencho( star)  and riyal.

Motifs are classified into overall patterns and borders. The foundation of Islamic art is Mizan, which means balance and order. This principle also governs the design and pattern of Ajrakh. The design square is perfectly divided into quarters and then further divided into sixteen parts. Even today, people prefer Ajrakh with its distinctive colours and design, with no specific change in traditional motifs. Newer motifs, like zigzag lines, motifs inspired from aquatic life are also used.

Ajrakh in Balmain

probably posted from this post office in Khavda, Kutch

The smiles of the makers

A Market Stall in the Village

"Breathe in," Dr Ismael shoved a densely decorated yellow scarf into my face. It smelled like my lunch. "Turmeric and Pomegranate skins for yellow," Dr Ismael explained that smell is the way that buyers ensure that the dye used in the Ajrakh is natural

Credits. MS University, Calico Museum, Medium.com, Crafts Museum, The Hindu, Khamir, Express Tribune, Shutterstock, United Artisans of Kutch, Matador

Blog by award-winning Poet Bhupen Thakker https://www.amazon.com/Bhupen-Thakker/e/B088LPQDQ2/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1