One of the most specialised and finest kinds of block printing, AJRAKH is a popular traditional art form of Kutch with its main centres in Dhamadka, Khavda and Bhuj in Gujarat.
The Khatri community has been engaged in this craft for centuries and the technique has been passed down and perfected through several generations. Now, only two such family units of the ‘Khandani’ Ajrakh printers still practice the craft in India.
A long, detailed and highly skilled process is involved in the creation of a fine Ajrakh print. After the initial preparation of the fabric by destarching, degumming and treatment with a myrobylam paste, a resist paste is hand block-printed to retain white areas of the final design. An alum solution mordant is printed onto areas that would later turn red and an iron-scrap ferrous sulphate mordant is printed onto areas that would finally be black.
Ajrakh
The entire process of printing Ajrakh thus involves 13 stages that are inevitably more expensive to produce, but the result is a wonderful depth of colour not achievable with surface printing (text and photo from fabindia).
more (from Ajrakh Patterns and Borders by Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing)...
Ajrakh production limited to: Sindh in Pakistan, Kachchh in Gujarat, and Barmer in Rajasthan; produced by Khatri community of dyers and printers.
In Kachchh, ajrakh traditionally worn by men of the Muslim Maldari community of cattle herders.
In Rajasthan, ajrakh worn by itinerant communities of musicians.
In Pakistan, ajrakh as symbol in recent decades of Sindhi pride and solidarity.
Mathematical and geometric design principles by Islamic settlers in harmony with Indian craftmen's mastery of cotton cloth and dye.
Worn almost exclusively by Muslims.
For BLUE: indigo
For RED: alizarin chemical dye or madder root
