Ajrakh
- Nidhi Shegokar
- Aug 27, 2023
- 2 min read
A textile block printing technique known as ajrakh, utilising resist dyeing, gives rise to fabric adorned with floral and geometric motifs. This fabric, predominantly cotton, showcases darker hues like indigo and red. The term "ajrakh" is attributed to various origins, with its Arabic root "azraq" translating to "blue" or "indigo," and the Hindi phrase "aaj rakh" meaning "keep for today" being the most commonly accepted.
The roots of ajrakh production can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization around 2500-1500 BCE. Historical textile fragments found in Egypt dating from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries CE are among the earliest examples of printed textiles. Members of the Khatri community practised this technique, having migrated from Sindh in Pakistan to Kutch in Gujarat and Marwar in Rajasthan in the sixteenth century. Their settlements were chosen for access to flowing water, crucial for the ajrakh process.
Ajrakh's intricate process begins with fabric preparation involving washing, beating, and rinsing to soften the material and remove impurities. A treatment called "saaj" uses a mixture of castor oil, dung, and soda ash to prepare the fabric, which is then dried and smoothed. The subsequent steps encompass various stages of dyeing, resist printing, and the use of natural gum to create intricate patterns and designs.
The dyeing process employs substances like harda for a yellow tinge and iron, jaggery, millets, and tamarind for black. The cloth is then dyed in vats containing indigo, mustard seeds, and other natural dyes. The blocks used for printing are often carved from wood such as sheesham, rohida, or sagwan, displaying cosmic and naturalistic motifs.
Ajrakh fabrics, worn traditionally by men from pastoralist communities, serve diverse purposes ranging from clothing like lungis and turbans to bedspreads and tablecloths. Presently, cheaper versions of ajrakh are created through screen-printing, while artisans like Dr. Ismail Mohammad Khatri continue the traditional practice, employing only natural dyes.