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Ajrakh PrintIndian Traditional TextilesAjrakh is one of the oldest living textiles in the world. The history of Ajrakh print

can be traced back to the Indus valley civilization around 2500 BC to 1500 BC. A bustof the King Priest excavated at Mohenjodaro shows a shawl believed to be anAjrakhdraped around his shoulders, which is decorated with a trefoil pattern(like a three-leafed clover). This pattern, survives as the cloud pattern in the modernAjrakh.It seems to be originated from Sindh in Pakistan and still be practised in Sindhand in parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India.Textiles printed in this style are hand-printed using natural dyes on both sides by a laborious and long process of resistprinting (a method of printing in which designated areas in the pattern are pre-treated toresist penetration by the dye).

Ajrakh printed cloth is one of the softest textiles to wear against the skin, as it's fibres soften during the rigourous process of printing. InSindh, it is used as swaddling cloth for new borns.The people of Sindh have a deep reverence for Ajrakh. From birth to marriage,until death,Ajrakh celebrates all significant events of the life cycle. Ajrakh is worn as a turban, a shawl, spread as a bed-sheet or tablecloth and whenworn out, it is recycled as a hammock for babies, cover for a bullock cart and most commonly used as a backing to patchwork quilts. It isused and reused till threadbare. It is worn by the wealthy as well as the poor the colours, patterns and design-format remain the same,only the quality of the fabric is different.

A fragment of a textile exportedto Indonesia from Gujaratlate 13th / early 14th century

There are many stories about how the textile has got its name. One of them is about its process.Ajrakh literally meant aaj ke din rakh, or 'keep it for today' because that is what the process is. At everystage of the tedious dying process, the fabric should dry for three to four days. Nature plays an importantrole in the making of Ajrakh. Craftsmen work in total harmony with their environment, where the sun, river,animals, trees and mud are all part of its making.First, cloth is torn into sheets and taken to the river to be washed. These are steamed in copper vatsfor one night and a day to open the pores of the cloth and soften it. This process is called khumbh inSindh. Next, the fabric is soaked in a mixture of camel dung, seed oil (jambe ka tel) and water. The dungenables the cloth to become softer and acts as a bleaching agent. This stage is very crucial in determiningthe quality of an Ajrakh. The wet cloth is then tied into an airtight bundle and kept for five to 10 days,depending upon the weather. A distinct smell of mango pickle emanating from the bundle confirms that thefibres have been well soaked with oil. This is called the saaj.The cloth is then sun-dried and soaked in oil that has been curdled with carbonate of soda. After a day,the cloth is washed and re-soaked in a home-made mixture of dried lemons, molasses, castor oil andwater, amongst other things.

The process

I, K.Ramachandran, A Textile Designer of Weavers Service Centres, involved in a small research to collect the so far authentic informationsregarding the Ajrakh Print. I collected facts and informations from the few sources available to me and cross- verified them within thesesources and presenting here the facts, which I felt near to authenticity.

Now, finally, the cloth is ready for printing.Using the outline block, the printer dips his block in kiryana (a resist made with rice paste, Acacia gum and lime) to print on both sides ofthe cloth. The printed pattern remains white. The black areas are stamped on the cloth with a filler-block. For the next stage, gum is mixedwith rice paste, alum, molasses, fennel, Fuller's earth and other herbs to form the mud resist-paste, called the kharrh, which is printed onthe areas that are to be protected against indigo dye, that is, the areas meant to be white, black and red.The cloth goes through the first indigo dye. It is soaked in water for at least an hour. To a rhythmic count, craftsmen swish and thrash theAjrakhs in water for an hour or more until the gum and the excess dye have been washed off and the white areas become clear. This stageis called vicharrh.In a large copper vat, the Ajrakhs are dyed with madder (Rubia Cordifolia).On the riverbank or near a tank, the red Ajrakhs are spread out to partially dry in the sun. These are wet again before they havecompletely dried. This alternate drying and drenching bleaches the white areas and deepens other colours. The mud resist mixture is againprinted to cover the red areas and immediately sprinkled with the sifted, dried cow dung to dry the wet areas, called meena. The thick, mud-encrusted cloth is folded and slowly lowered into the indigo vat for the second time. The Ajrakhs are dried, rolled into a bundle and thentaken to the river for the final wash. The craftsmen fold the Ajrakhs while still damp and the weight presses them as they become dry.

Ajrakh Blocks (pors)These are hand carved from the wood of Acacia Arabica trees. Several different blocksare used to give the characteristic repeated patterning. Making the blocks is a considerablechallenge since the pattern has to synchronize perfectly with the whole of the Ajrakh as wellas cover various areas against dye. Block makers (orporegars) use the simplest of tools,and carve each block in pairs that can register an exact inverted image on the other side.

Indus Valley Civilization

The process given here is not in exact detail. A thorough research by living with the artisans only can give usexact details. This is just to give an understanding of how labourious and time consuming the process is.

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The kathri families which practice Ajrakh today in Gujarat migrated from Sindmany centuries ago. One story goes like this about their migration. they migratedby the invitation of the raja of Kutch, Bharmalji I. The maharaja asked them tochoose an area to settle in. The Khatris chose the village of Dhamadka due to theavailability of running water, which is a very integral part of the process of Ajrakh.The Kathris were Hindus at that time. As a Hindu custom they had to give lot ofgifts and money on the occations of births, marriages and deaths. When they meta few sufi saints (who explained to them about Islam), to escape from their Hinducustom they converted to Islam. Now They have been settled in the villageAjrakhpur, which was established back in 2001 when, after a devastatingearthquake, the village Dhamadka, where the Khatris were established , wasdestroyed. Although, a terrible thing to happen, the livelihood of many artisanswho were struggling before the earthquake now have thriving businesses. This was due to the heightened attention the area saw followingthe disaster. Along with the prime relief effort of food and new homes came government and NGO help to re-start businesses and enableartisans to re-build their lives through what they know and have skills in.

The antiquity of Indian textile exports can be established from the records of the Greek geographer Strabo (63 BC - 20 AD) andfrom the first century Greek source Periplus, which mentions the Gujarati port of Baryagaza, (Baruch) as exporting a veriety oftextiles.out of around 3000 textile fragments unearthed during the excavations at Fustat, near Cairo, Egypt. some of them wereidentified as they are from Gujarat and dated around 14th century.

The Fustat Collection

Source URLs

http://www.textilemuseum.org/aheadofhistime/timeline5.htmlhttp://saumyanagar.wordpress.com/http://travelsintextiles.blogspot.in/2010/07/fascinating-history-and-culture-of.htmlhttp://www.copperwiki.org/index.php?title=Ajrakh_Printing

Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledgevol. 7(1). January 2008. pp 93-97books & journals