GiTAGGED® Kutch Ajrakh Hand Block Print Modal Silk Crepe Stole

” Printing on cloth is a complex and specialized job. The wooden blocks are engraved with the designs needed. There are various techniques of embellishing fabric with dyes and Ajrakh printing is one among them.

Origin

Ajrakh ls one of the most popular varieties of hand-printing textiles, practiced in Kutch, Gujarat. Ajrakh printing originally came to Kutch from Sindh some 400 years ago at the behest of the King of Kutch, who invited craftsmen from Khatri community to come and practice their art on the banks of Dhamadka river.

In India, the use of printing blocks to dye fabric dates back to 3,000 BCE, and some historians are of the opinion that India may have been the original home of textile printing. During 7th century BCE it is said that, the Iranian and Arab armies when reached the Indus region were attracted to these printed cloths.

Process

The process of Ajrakh printing is laborious and includes 14 stages from washing, dyeing, printing and drying. Each stage requires different tools and ingredients.

Uniqueness:

An extraordinary fabric of Ajrakh printing exhibits same design done with other dyeing techniques. Dyeing is repeated to get brilliant colours and sometimes to fill the outlined patterns. The superimposing happens so flawlessly and clarity is perfected. Ajrakh printing is said to be the World’s oldest technique of Dyeing fabric still found in the living Tradition.

Kutch Ajrakh has been applied for Geographical Indication (GI) status &  is pending.