BAGRU - NIFT

ingredients

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 101

1 3

Harda solution in bucket Scouring paste

Image 14

2

Preservation of black dye
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 102

In the process of Bagru block printing, nat- Used in the process of scouring or Hari Sa-
ural dyes are used and these dyes are only rana.
compatible with natural fibers and so, the
fabrics with natural fiber composition are 2. HARDA : powder obtained by crushing
used for printing. These fabrics include the pods of the Myrobalan plant. It is a
cotton, silk, linen, khadi, and blends of cot- herbal product and is used as a mordant in
ton and silk-like Chanderi and linen silk. the block printing process.

1. SCOURING PASTE : mixed solution of 3. SYAHI: black dye obtained by keeping
cow dung, soda ash, and sesame oil used iron scraps and nails in a solution of jag-
to remove the starch from the fabric and gery and water for over a month. Gives a
increase the dye absorbency in the fabric. bold black color to the print.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 103

4. BEGAR: Red dye made by mixing alum, geru,
gum, and pure ghee. Used for a red color print.

Fabric dyed red

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 104

5. BHURA RANG: Obtained by mixing begar
and Syahi in the ratio of 3:1.

Chocolate/brown colour
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 105

6. Pomegranate Rinds: Used to make a
natural dye that gives a greenish-yellow
color. The rinds come from the gardens of
Madhya Pradesh where pomegranates are
grown and the waste scraps of fruit are
then dried and transported for making this
natural dye.

Pomegranate rinds

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 106

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 107

7. Turmeric: It is a locally available ingre-
dient, being used for natural dyeing for a
long time.

Yellow dye stuff : turmeric
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 108

Image 15 8. Indigo: A deep blue dye mixed in water
and stored in a 14 ft. deep ditch dug inside
the ground to prevent it from oxidizing.

Neel : indigo dye

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 109

9. DHAWADA flowers: Pink flowers from an
Indian species of a flowering tree, helps in
enhancing the red color of begar dye and
are also used for dyeing the fabric in a light
pink color.

Dried dhanwada flowers

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 110

10. Dabu paste: Mud resist paste prepared
by mixing beedhan (spoilt flour made from
wheat destroyed by pests), black soil or
Kali Mitti, Chuna (lime), and natural gum
(Gond). This paste is an essential ingre-
dient in this printing process. The paste
requires a lot of accuracy and perfection
and its preparation requires expertise. All
the ingredients are strained and mixed to
obtain a sticky paste which is mixed by
the workers by feet. It is a painful process
as the lime present in the mixture results
in bleeding in the feet of the workers. The
consistency of the Dabu paste should be
perfect to make the resist technique wor

Dabu paste

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 111

motifs

Fine signature motif

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 112

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 113

traditional m0tifs

Jaal block

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 114

The motifs of Bagru are broadly divided jaali work in architectural monuments.
into the following categories: With that being said, geometrical motifs
Flowers and birds: stylized motifs inspired come in thick and thin stripes, zig-zag
by wildflowers and birds like parrots and and wavy borders, and other geometric
peacocks in both conventional style as shapes. Other types are human and animal
well as contemporary variations add pinch figures which are mostly contemporary.
of creativity in the prints. Tendrils: big and These motifs consist of decorative animal
small vine motifs , mostly being used in motifs and figurines. At last are inanimate
the borders or heavy prints , give the de- objects which are inspired by day-to-day
sign intricacy. Trellis or Jaal: interconnect- objects like jewelry, vessels, etc. [42]
ed motifs for seamless print, inspired from

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 115

Samples of motif : Anokhi museum classification of motifs
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 116

The following are the major categories to Image 16
classify these motifs for better segrega-
tions.

• Chhoti Buti: small floral motifs repeated
on a block in specific numbers.
• Bada Buta: a single floral, stylized motif.
• Jaal: large block with interconnected de-
signs for a seamless pattern repeat.
• Bel: vine or tendril motifs used for stripes
and motifs.
• Chaupad: square
• Patla Paarcha: thin stripes
• Mota Paarcha: thick stripes
• Leheriya Paarcha: wavy stripes

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 117

Bel
Jaal Leheriya Paarcha

Choti Buti Chaupad

Buta

Mota Paarcha

Patla Paarcha
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 118

A few of the many motifs of Bagru block printing with their traditional names, inspiration, and symbolism/significance in local society are as follows:

• Daad: inspired from the tooth ornament tree with yellow fruit, floral motif.

worn by women to protect from the evil • Pahadi bel: small vine motif, used for bor-

eye, an inanimate object. ders and in stripes, tendril motif.

• Kairi: unripe green mango motif, signifies • Mor: peacock motif, bird

fertility, floral motif. • Aath Kaliyan: radially symmetrical motif

• Bichhu Buti: inspired from a wild plant with eight flowering buds at the center, flo-

with thorny leaves, floral motif. ral.

• Kachnar Buti: inspired from the pink • Ankhada: inspired from nose ring worn by

Kachnar flowering tree with folded leaves, women, inanimate object.

floral motif. • Chakri: spinning wheel or grinding stone

• Dhaniya Buti: inspired from coriander used to grind flour.

leaves, floral • Bewade Ki Buti: two flowers stacked over

• Pankhi Buti: leaf of Mor Pankhi plant, flo- each other, representing women carrying

ral pots on the head, floral.

• Kamal Buti: lotus flower and leaves, floral • Patashi: a floral motif with leaves, stems,

• Mirchi Buti: Chilli plant, floral and buds.

• Nargis: inspired from daffodil flowers, • Turri Patashi: a motif inspired from the

known for their beauty, floral motif. decorative piece tied on the head of an In-

• Khirni: inspired from a white flowering dian groom.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 119

Dhaniya Buti Kairi Buti
Khirni Buti Patashi Buti
Turri Patashi Buti Ankhada Buti
Nargis Buti
Bewade Ki Buti

Chakri

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 120

Motia Buta Mor Buti
Kachnar Buti Aath Kaliyan
Lotus Motif Arka Buti

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 121

Comtempory lifestyle products

Image 17 : 1 Image 17:2
Ketli:Tteapot inspired motif.
OWL: The stylized decorative motif of an
owl with defined lines and curves.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 122

contemporary motifs

Image 17

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 123

Open workshop on sunny day of climate

role

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 124

The role of environment keeps the printing pro-
cess alive. The water, wind and dust smoothen
the activity. The blocks made out of wood
and dyes, naturally extracted from the plants
keeps the authenticity intact.

From scratch, the production includes natural
process and provides no harm to the biodiver-
sity.
The monsoon is the worst weather to work un-
der, as the moisture present in air distorts the
print and it smudges, hence not providing the
crisp print.

As Rajasthan hasn’t received rain since past
several years, the textile production has been
affected as it requires water in several pro-
cess apart from drying. Preservation of water
is crucial in the region, making a compulsion
for the villagers to use same water in their
crop irrigation to get the natural dyes from the
plants and food. Chhipa community has pa-
tiently suffered these challenges. Yet there is
no stopping for them to continue their gener-
ational craft.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 125

Significant motif

Regional Authenticity

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 126

Image 18

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 127

In truth, it has handed through a terrific listic. Taking a word of the motifs on plant
amount of change from its inception to life and birds, they’re richly crafted with
now. Considering the styles used appre- stems to balance out the floral pattern.
ciably in antique instances, it became On the alternative one on the block are
based on floral designs and vegetation. inter-twisted tendrils, which call for print-
The beauty of Bagru print is such that you ing flora shielding spiralled or inter-twist-
could see its vivacity certainly. Because ed stems. It also has flowers, leaves, or
the time stepped forward, the Persian ef- maybe birds printed on the same twisted
fect turned into scene within the designs stems. The ones stunning patterns are
and specialists came out with geometri- honestly majestic and deliver an experi-
cal styles and floral or vegetative imprints ence of being similar to nature.
crafted with lots of authenticities. Further Thinking about the as part of Bagru Print-
to the Persian effect, the format of motifs ing, it is recognized to be a problematic
saved on remodelling and turning into sty- sample made on the block and represents

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 128

Persian effect on to a large amount. The the growing call for traditionally found out
appreance in pattern is tremendous and garments, Rajasthan has been one of the
make certain that the effects pop out to most favored of all. Every format is par ex-
be powerful. Every other to capture inter- cellence and has controlled to benefit en-
est is figurative designs that make cer- chantment for exquisiteness. In phases
tain printing of animals and birds. Those of the problem of printing Bagru designs,
printing styles are pretty beautiful in en- blue shaded and indigo base is used for
chantment and lustrous too. Other than lending prints a glittery touch. To identify,
this, the geometrical patterns published Bagru prints are bold traced in nature and
on a bit of fabric upload to the intricacy are big patterned.
diploma. The use of waves, assessments,
triangular and woven styles make it cer-
tain that experts do hundreds of hard art-
works for making excellent designs. With

Persian Blocks

Image 19

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 129

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 130

contemporary variation

Contemporary print with bird motif

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 131

Conventional printing becomes espe- dats, Lugdis, Angochhas, Bichhaunis,
cially completed with black and red hues Razais, Tehmat, Dhoti, sarees, and so on.
extracted from natural resources. Herbal
dyes, madder, Indigo, pomegranate rind, With change in need with time , comes
Dhawan and Kesula vegetation, turmeric, change in products. Manufacturing from
geru, and clay had been used as coloring, traditional merchandise to definite prod-
mordanting, and resisting fabric. The pas- ucts like head gears, scarfs, Rumal , etc
sage of time delivered adjustments with- have come into picture. Domestic furnish-
in the traditional material and methods of ing products like table covers, napkins,
printing. Printers nowadays use artificial bed sheets,quilts, and so forth. In recent
Alizarin and indigo in areas of madder and times printing on several special fabrics
natural indigo. Additionally, for producing is also practiced i.e., Malmal silk sarees
exclusive colorations, artificial pigments and silk blends (which were not in use ear-
are utilized in printing paste. In advance lier). Similarly, with time, few changes had
Chippas best-produced neighborhood been made in the prints, the motifs had
varieties of revealed fabric, generally Fa- been rearranged to offer variety.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 132

Scarf variation

Image 20

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 133

significant
products

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 134

Floral printed fabric

Image 21

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 135

Daabu and Bagru saree
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 136

SAREES :
Bagru block printing along with the dabu resist
technique combined together with the pletho-
ra of handloom textiles produced in India give
rise to a collection of sarees worth treasuring.
Printed with beautiful pallas packed with mo-
tifs and intricate borders of the bagru style
and creative use of resist technique to create
abstract designs on the body, these sarees
speak to the artistic fashion sense of the cus-
tomers and have established themselves as
bestsellers in the market.
The handloom textiles used from printing the
sarees are Chanderi, Maheshwari, Mul cotton,
Kota doria, tussar silk, linen silk, khadi, manga-
lagiri and vidharwa silk. The variations in the sa-
rees are special bagru print which only uses the
block printing technique, bagru and dabu print
which uses the combination of bagru print and
dabu resit techniques.The sarees are available
with and without a blouse piece and the price
range varies from INR1200-6500 and above
for customised pieces.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 137

SUIT PIECES :
Unstitched dress materials are available in
variations of mix and matched textiles and
prints. The product range varies from chanderi
top and dupatta dress material, kota doria top
and dupatta dress material, kota doria four
piece suit set which has a two pieces for top
- a printed cotton base and a sheer kota doria
printed material which combines as the top lay-
er and the print on both the materials comple-
ment each other when overlapped. Tussar silk
suit sets with dupatta, Mul cotton suits and
Mangalagiri handloom pieces are some of the
higher ranging products in the category.
The length of the pieces in the suit sets are 2.5
meters each for top and bottom and a standard
size dupatta. The prices ranges from INR1200
to INR4500.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 138

Bagru print on Kota-Doria

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 139

RUNNING FABRIC :
Running fabrics are all over printed fabrics
and can be used for making other prod-
ucts. These fabrics are printed with bagru
and dabu techniques and are available in
a length of minimum 5 metres. The range
starts from INR 200 per metre. The prints
available are floral, contemporary and ab-
stract.

Bagru print on Kota-Doria

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 140

STOLES AND DUPATTAS :
Stoles and dupattas are also produced
individually to create the scope of mix
and match with other textiles. The fabrics
vary from chanderi, cotton and silk to oth-
er handloom fabrics. The colors used are
both natural and synthetic. Prints avail-
able are floral, traditional or abstract. The
dupattas are also embellished with tas-
sels and borders.

Dabu Indigo print

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 141

Image 22:1 FACE MASKS :
Looking at the increasing demand of
masks in the market, the artisans also
produced masks of natural dyed bagru
printed fabrics which are breathable, bud-
get friendly and add an aesthetic to this
essential everyday product. The natural
dyes are not harmful on the skin and also
possess herbal properties which make
the material suitable for making face
masks.

Image 22:2

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 142

currrent scenario Currently, most of India’s artisan corpo- depleting water table. Even as a few new
rations have taken a success. Due to the generation artisans have relinquished
fact the Indian authorities introduced their their conventional livelihood as one that
first phase of lockdown to decrease the has to turn out to be too erratic and an
unfold of the COVID pandemic many orders increasing number of unprofitable, others
had been cancelled even as others had are turning closer to display and virtual
been stalled indefinitely. The supply chain prints. The access of large factories is
lies broken and the essential markets are likewise slowly commercializing the tradi-
close. Without an assist from any region, tional printing way.
the state of affairs for artisan families in
Bagru has reached a diploma of desper- The long and hard artwork of printing with
ation as many are not able to absorb the herbal shades is the very antithesis of
financial surprise which the pandemic has productiveness for them as it makes the
positioned them in. Even before the pan- printed cloth high priced and plenty much
demic hit the area, Bagru’s printing strate- less profitable. To hold the charge down
gies were dealing with annoying conditions and cater to the same old market call for
from particular commands. of brilliant hues, Bagru is witnessing an in-
A craft that had now no longer best sur- surgence of pigment dyeing, which makes
vived but prospered in the 1990s is now use of a good deal less water further to
in crisis. As water in-depth sports – Bagru being much less high-priced and speedy.
and Dabu have ended up victims of chang- [40]
ing weather, inconsistent monsoons, and

Skilled woman

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 143

covid effects

Safety measures in workshop
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 144

In 2020, world was affected by the dead- sential” products, production and market The revenue from sales dropped heavi-
ly virus, which spread severely across the of the craft was immensely hit. Heavy ly. The big market companies producing
globe knows as Covid-19. With that being amount of unsold inventory were stacked traditional garments where not providing
said, handicraft and handloom sectors of and no buyer would purchase until it’s a any work to their particular craft.
our country were non-operational. One of need of the hour. Government appealed Block printing being a very intricate and
the worst times in the history of human big brands to directly contact the weav- time taking process, was left behind as
civilisation hit the economy, lifestyle and ers and artisans to increase their mar- it required more physical assistance,
education. Unemployment was hardest to ket and become sustainable to survive both as craft and workers. Later due to
cover up in those times. Daily wagers were during hard times. Artisans had to look for Covid-19, resourcing the material was
suffering and small-scale industries had agricultural work, appealing the organisa- an issue as the costing was high, which
to shut down. Artisans and weavers work tions and other platforms to keep body is the base of any production. Certain raw
on the demand of the market. They come and soul together for living. Being their materials come from other states like
under third largest segments amongst the monthly wages between INR4000 to natural dyes. As social distancing was im-
poor around the country. “Vocal for Local” INR7000, the craftsmen were tensed for posed, number of workers were reduced,
and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” were imposed a long time. They were looking for an ur- leading to slow and small productions.
by Government of India to uplift these gent need for handholding for loans with Finding a solution to these problems was
small sectored crafts and arts. As their less interest rate, health insurance and a huge task with favourable ecosystem
products are categorised under “non-es- social security. for these handmade and local products.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 145

Even though the conventional block printing craft INR600 and INR1,000 in the market, extra reg-
has flourished over the last three decades, with ularly than now no longer, quick-changed on the
the developing call-for each, the export and home identical time as middlemen escape with a very
markets, block-printing faces a growing threat from good-sized part of the income. Moreover, install-
the mushrooming of display printing devices that ing location a block-printing workshop does now
are promoting their products. Frequently the de- not come reasonably-priced. The wooden tables
signs copied from the block print, as real block print used for printing costs INR20,000 each while the
merchandise. Neighborhood fabric groups typically carved woodblocks range between INR800 and
lease agencies to print their material and pay them INR100-200 according to block. When the call for
on a constant with peace foundation. Depending within the market is right, they are capable of mak-
on the size and fashion of the format and duration ing tons as INR1 lakh in a season, in any other case
of the cloth, they could earn between INR10 and they emerge as earning INR30,000 to INR35,000.
INR50 for a piece. But, given the reality that Bagru’s The call for Bagru textiles and maximum Indian
block-published textiles sell for anywhere amongst handicrafts has declined over the 1year.[22]

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 146

FInal fabric packaging market
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 147

Avaran campaign shoot

avaran

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 148

Aavaran- Echoes of Rural India based out of Udaipur,was intro- nary?
duced by Ms Alka Sharma, who is a textile grad from Indian Insti- Dabu dust resists hand block printing because the number
tute of Crafts and Layout, Jaipur. She, from her childhood,con- one technique wherein natural dyes are utilized like Haldi Dye,
stantly had a notion for bringing out the craftsmanship of Indian Manjistha Dye, Kashish & Indigo Dye (KMnO4)pink potassium
rural groups. One such community lives in Akola, a village close to permanganate used for dyeing).Aside from this, Aavaran has
Udaipur, which utilizes a material dyeing method known as Dabu. evolved Ayurvastra that is a 5000-yr-old philosophy revolving
Aavaran’s attempt is to come front and maintain the traditional around Ayurveda. Here organic cotton is treated with a defined
‘Dabu’ mud face upto technique of hand printing, especially the aggregate of herbs and oil which treats illnesses and heals the
indigo dyed ‘phentiya’ print (a staple of Mewar vicinity). inside out. Garments dyed below the idea of Ayurvastra assist
in growing the immunity and achieving a higher intellectual
Aavaran family: equilibrium.
Aavaran has almost 280 people operating with them, out of
which 80 are skilled artisans. There are two hundred women who AAVARAN'S DIFFERENT
with the guide of Hindustan Zinc Limited and Aavaran with the aid ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
of COS-V, have learned extraordinary abilities like stitching, hand This has eventually improved Aavaran’s presence in India as
embroidery, rug making, accessories making etc. and work for well as inside the complete international market.One of the
Aavaran, which enables them to generate a livelihood forthem- senior running with Aavaran is Mr. Ramkishore Ji Chippa, who
selves. Relaxation of the 80 artisans paintings on the Aavaran has acquired an award from CRAFT COUNCIL OF INDIA, for the
manufacturing unit, whereinthey’re involved in the sports of Dye- natural dyeing procedure in the year 2016, that is certainly a
ing, Printing, stitching and so on. What makes Aavaran extraordi- large accomplishment for Aavaran. [41]

Image 23

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 149

Gi certification

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 150