The first image that comes to our minds when someone mentions Ajrakh now is actress Alia Bhatt's ensemble at the Joy Awards in Riyadh that grabbed eyeballs back in January. In an ode to the several millennia-old hand block printing technique, designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla had created a custom blue and red Ajrakh block-print sari with gold embroidery. The look was complemented by a blue drape worn over the shoulder.
Such is the appeal of Ajrakh that it finds expression in modern silhouettes seamlessly. Thus, it seemed only long overdue when, very recently, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) officially handed over a GI certificate to the traditional artisans of Kutch Ajrakh, the torchbearers of the craft from Gujarat’s Kutch region.
For the unversed, GI stands for Geographical Identification, a tag that helps identify a craft as originating from a particular geographical region. Here's a round up of all you need to know about the technique if it has raised your intrigue too!
Ajrakh is a unique textile block printing and resist dyeing technique. The fabric is treated with vegetable/mineral colours, washed eight times, and then the blocks are coated in dye and printed on clothes. In India, the print is primarily found in the village of Ajrakhpur in the bordering Kutch district of Gujarat.
The word Ajrakh is believed to have stemmed from the Sanskrit word ‘A-jharat’ meaning 'that which does not fade'. Another school of thought traces its etymology to 'Azrak', the Arabic word for 'blue' since indigo is extensively used in the process.
Some fabrics unearthed at sites such as Fustat in Egypt are believed to be Ajrakh sourced from the Indus Valley Civilisation in India. The famous bust of the 'Priest-King' excavated at a site in Mohenjo-Daro features a drape that is believed to be Ajrakh and this is the earliest recorded use of the craft.
The textiles containing Ajrakh are made in a 16-step process that involves washing, dyeing, printing and then drying. Each step takes one day, after which the fabric is put to rest for sometime.
"The natural dyes used in Ajrakh include turmeric, pomegranate peels, tamarind seed flour and even rusted iron," Ajrakhpur-based artisan Riyaz Abdul Majid Khatri gives us a lowdown on the craft.
In a conversation with Indulge, the 30-year-old divulges how he left his job of eight years as a Deputy Section Officer at the Gujarat Secretariat to join his family business as an artisan.
"Several prints similar to Ajrakh are present in the market these days, which involve chemical dyes and screen-printing in the process. Hopefully the GI tag will help consumers and patrons of the craft distinguish the authentic ones from these, ensuring they get their hands on real Ajrakh pieces," Riyaz concludes the conversation.
