BAGRU - NIFT

Wooden Block : similar wood or a coffee cost wood that is in printing. Thin sheets of evenly cut met-
connected to the surface with nails. Rect- al strips are embedded into the wooden
Teak or Seesham wood is commonly used angular, square, oval, semi-circular, circular, blocks to create them. Metal strips are
to make these blocks. After ensuring that and other shapes are available. pounded to make them thin, then cut
the wood is properly seasoned, artisans The grains are melted by soaking the block into even lengths. They are forced into
carve the designs onto it. The plans are ini- in oil for 10-15 days after it has been pro- the planning by mild hammering once the
tially printed on paper and then adhered to duced. These blocks will last roughly 600- planning is drawn on the wooden block.
the woodblock. 800 meters of printing. The designs are filled in from the center
The wood is then carved with steel chis- to the edges. The blocks are then dou-
els of varying widths and cutting surfac- Metal Blocks : ble-checked to ensure that the strips
es by the artist. The bottom has designs are the same height as the wooden base.
etched into it, while the top has a handle. Metal blocks are used to create complex [43]
These handles are either carved out of a designs and achieve great levels of clarity

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 51

Block being carved
Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 52

Sheesham wood is often used to make hand one color at a moment, and taps it onto
block prints. The patterns, outlines, and fill the block’s surface, making the prepara-
blocks are all carved by hand into the wood. In tion of color tray details visible for carv-
the print, there is one block for each color. The ing. Carvers then use a tool to remove the
carving is particularly precise because each empty area from the woodblock, leaving
block fits exactly into the overall design. The the design intact on the printing surface.
iconic aspect of blocks is the little overlap With very small chisels, this is done by
and gap in the actual handwork, which is the hand.It is a time-consuming process that
result of faulty alignment during printing. necessitates knowledge, experience, and
patience. The finished blocks are exam-
For the carver, the first step is to stylize the ined. Ensuring precision, and immersed in
motif. Traditional motifs include an all-over oil to cure wood so that it doesn’t crack,
flowery design known as a ‘Jaal’ print, which and then they’re ready to use in the print-
could be in 1-6 colors, a single motif placed ing industry.
across, and a half-drop motif. Motif is traced Blocks are typically 7cm to 25cm in size
on butter paper and then transferred on the but can be larger, with individual motif siz-
wood which is called Tipai. After the carv- es ranging from a few mm to 10 cm. As the
er has approved the design, he prepares the wood does not absorb the dyestuff even-
block by hand-sanding it and then coating it ly. Modern printing trends include huge
with a white paste (Titanium powder and fe- patterns of 20-25 cm across, which cre-
vicol paste mixed together. Later it is kept ate an aged surface texture in printing. The
for 15 - 20 mins left to dry for shine on the size of the blocks varies depending on the
block), to make it consistent and smooth for design; sometimes they are smaller, while
carving. Then next sketches out the design, other times they are larger. [43]

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past practices

Image 28 Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 54

Bagru is a 400-year-old craft passed on to fabric were black, red, green, indigo blue, and
generations. The fifth generation of the Ch- brown. This fabric was then used by the lo-
hipa community is the youngest generation cal people to make Ghaghra for women and
who is learning and working on the craft. In Angocha for men. Designs of blocks, motifs,
the times of their fathers and forefathers, and production were limited as the market
only running fabric was printed in lots and was also limited to the local community.
sold in the local Haat every Saturday. This Over the years, with the introduction of new
fabric was printed with a few traditional designs and education in the community,
motifs which comprised of 20-22 small Bu- the craft has expanded its horizon in terms
tis, mostly floral, and geometrical borders of market, products, designs, and materials.
called Parcha. The colors available in the

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Long stretched tables

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1. PRINTING TABLE : These are 6 meter tools
long tables with 6 layers of jute and 2-3
layers of rough fabric laid on them to pro-
vide a cushioning that facilitates better
printing by block on the fabric. These are
the most essential asset in a block print-
ing workshop. [18]

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 57

Colour of cart
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2. GAADI: These are small carts with

wheels that are convenient to move
around while printing. The top of the cart
is in a form of a tray in which a cushion of
jute and fabric called Taat is placed. This
cushion absorbs the dye and facilitates a
uniform coat of dye on the block. It is very
important for the accuracy of print on the
fabric. The cart also has a tray below the
color tray which is used for keeping blocks
or other materials. While printing, the print-
er places the cart on their side and moves
the cart with them while printing across
the length of the fabric. [18]

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Layered Butis

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3. BLOCKS : Blocks are the essence of the the motifs. These are carved with such per-
craft. It is the blocks that are carved with fection that they accurately fit into the im-
perfection and intricacy that make the de- pression of their corresponding Gadh block.
sign beautiful. The blocks used in Bagru The third type of block is the Datta block.
block printing are made of Seesham wood. These blocks are the filling blocks, used to
These blocks are carved by master block fill color into the different outlines of the
makers who have been making blocks motifs. There can be more than one Datta
for this community for a long time. Three block for a single design, it depends on how
types of blocks collectively make a design complex the design motif is and how many
complete. The first type is the Gadh block different colors can be combined in it. Ev-
which is a background block. These blocks ery artisan has a collection of blocks that
are inverse of the outline block. The im- they have collected over the period. Some
pression of the blocks occurs in the back- of the blocks are centuries old and are be-
ground of the main motif. The second type ing preserved to date by the artisan com-
is the Rekh or the outline block. These munities. [18]
blocks have intricately carved outlines of

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Delicate handwork

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4. KATAAV : These are rough pieces of Artisan demonstrating
paper or card sheets used to cover an al-
ready printed area to prevent overlapping
of print. These are also used to miter the
corners of the borders in a design. [18]

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Copper Vessel

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5. TAMDA : These are big copper vessels
used in the process of boiling the fabric on
the Bhatti. The main reason for using cop-
per vessels is that the mineral molecules
of copper when heated combine with the
dye on the fabric and enhance the quality
of the print. [18]

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Bhatti: Furnace

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6. BHATTI : The process of fixation re-
quires boiling the fabric in a solution of wa-
ter and other mordants. For this purpose,
a furnace is set up in the workshops. The
firewood is fed into the fireplace and the
vessel is placed on the top. The workers
keep stirring the fabric using a bamboo
stick for a uniform effect. [18]

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Indigo well : Maat

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7. MAAT : The 14 ft. Deep pit under the ground
which stores the deep blue indigo dye is
called maat. It acts as a direct dye bath for
the fabric. The fabric is dipped into the dye
bath using long bamboo sticks. These pits
are cleaned every 1 to 2 years as the mandi or
the impurities settle at the bottom of the pit.
This process is called Mandi Nikalna. To clean
the maat first the indigo dye is taken out from
the pit into vessels, then a person gets down
into the pit using a ladder and cleans the pit.
The pit is then refilled with the dye and more
dye and water are added if required. 8. Dyes:
Many natural dyes, as well as synthetic dyes,
are used for printing in this craft. These dyes
are stored in vessels in different quantities
as per the requirement of a color. Some nat-
ural dyes take over a month in preparation till
they are ready for use. The artisans also store
these dyes to maintain a ready availability.
[18]

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Dryer

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8. Dryer : During the monsoon when humidity
is at the peak, it is not preferable to lay down
the completely wet fabric to dry in the open.
For this purpose the artisans have a tumble
drying machine in their workshop. This helps
in draining out the excess of water in the fab-
ric leaving it only a little damp. This facilitates
easy drying in monsoon season.

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Process

The floral print

Image 8

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Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 73

Harda treated cloth

The process of Bagru block printing con-
sists of various steps which makes it
time-consuming and complex. There are
multiple steps of washing and printing and
dyeing when it comes to producing a col-
orful and intricate piece. It requires days of
work and labor to reach the finished prod-
uct.
1. The process begins with a length
of raw fabric, for example, cotton.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 74

Syahi printed fabric
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2.The fabric is then soaked in a solution
of cow dung (gobar), soda ash, and ses-
ame oil (Tilli ka tel) for 2 days. This is a
pre-treatment of the fabric to make it free
of starch and impurities, increasing its ab-
sorbency, and retain the proper dimension
of the fabric while printing.

Scouring for starch removal

Image 9

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3.After being soaked in the solution for two Intial washing of fabric and soaking
days, the fabric is thoroughly washed in float-
ing water and dried in the sun. Sunlight plays Image 10
an important role in the process as the fabric
is left in the open sun to bleach and dry out
completely. This helps to obtain clean and
white starch-free fabric for the next step.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 77

4.The sun-bleached dry fabric is then
soaked in a solution of Harda powder and
water. Harda or Myrobalan is a mordant or
dye fixative that is yellow in color, avail-
able in powder form. Without treating in
Harda, the fabric is incapable of absorbing
the natural dyestuff and hence cannot be
printed. The fabric is kept in Harda solution
for 15-20 mins. The fabric is then spread
on sandy soil and dried under the sun. This
process is called Peela-Karna.

Pre-treatment with Harda

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5.The dried fabric after the Harda treat-
ment gains a pale yellow color and the
excess Harda powder is dusted off the
surface. The workers hold the fabric on all
four corners and dust off the excess yel-
low grains that settle on the surface of
the fabric.

Sukhai after harda treatment

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Preperation of colour tray

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6.Fabric is laid on the printing table and the Begar : Red colour
wrinkles are removed by hand. The printer then
prepares the color cart called Gaadi. It has lay-
ers of jute and cloth called Taat, which absorbs
the dye and creates padding so that the block
can be stamped on it to pick up dye uniformly.
The blocks that are being used in the design
of that particular fabric piece are kept in the
lower tray of the cart along with a piece of pa-
per called Kataav which is used for mitring the
design at the corner of borders and to prevent
overlapping of print.

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 81

7.The printer then spreads the dye on the Taat us-
ing a squeegee to ensure that the block picks up
only an adequate amount. The printing begins with
making the borders. The block is lightly stamped
on the Taat only once and then placed on the fab-
ric. Then printer hits the handle of the block once
or twice to make sure the impression is uniform
and by holding the fabric in place with one hand he
picks up the block to reveal the design. Initially, the
dye appears lighter, it becomes darker within few
minutes when it comes in contact with oxygen.

First layer of printing

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 82

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8.For one design or motif, there can be three or
more constituent blocks namely Gadh, Rekh, and
Datta. Gadh block is the background color block,
Rekh is the outline block and Datta is the filling
block. There can be two or more Datta blocks for
one single design. While printing, Gadh or the back-
ground block is used first, then a Rekh block is
applied to fill up the white spaces. Datta blocks
fill the space in the outlines with color. The fabric
is allowed to absorb the dye and dry completely
before stamping with a new color. This process is
called Chhapai.

Types of blocks

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 85

Washing area

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9. The printed fabrics are then piled up and
taken to wash in the tanks where they are beaten
upon the stone and dipped in water two to three
times to ensure that the gum which is present in
the dye washes off completely. All the washed fab-
rics are piled up again for the next step. This pro-
cess is called Dhulai.

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Dhawada Flowers Madder

Image 11 Image 12

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10. To enhance and obtain the desired red
color from the begar color used in the print, the
fabrics are boiled in a copper vessel called Tamda
over the Bhatti along with Manjeeth or madder and
Dhawada flowers in the boiling solution. The fabric
is first soaked for several hours in the solution and
then the temperature is gently raised. The workers
stir the cloth with bamboo to ensure uniformity in
the process. The minerals from the copper vessel
and the molecules in the red dye mordants at-
tach themselves to the red begar print resulting
in sharp color. It also strengthens and fastens the
Syahi or black color. The fabric acquires a pinkish
background after this step. This process is called
Ghan ki Rangai.

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11.The fabric is again dried in the sun and
brought back to the printing table where
the next step begins. This step involves
the application of resist on areas where
the dye is not required as per the design.
The local areas are stamped again by mud
resist pasting called Dabu using a Datta
block. The resist is allowed to dry and then
sawdust is sprinkled on the fabric to pre-
vent the Dabu paste from sticking with
each other.

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Sprinkling of saw dust

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12.The process of dyeing is repetitive;
the fabric is soaked in several dye baths
according to the requirement of the color.
To obtain a greenish-yellow color on the
background, The fabric is dipped in a dye
bath of pomegranate extracts.

Image 13 Repititive dye process

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13.In the case of deep blue color, the fab-
ric is dipped in an indigo dye bath which
is stored in a pit 14 ft. deep inside the
ground, this pit is called maat. The length
of the fabric is folded one over the other
and is slipped into the dye bath. A bamboo
stick which is the length of the pit is used
to dip the fabric inside the dye. This step
is repeated to obtain a deeper blue color.

Indigo dye bath
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14.The fabric is then dipped in alum
solution to fix the dye on the fabric
and again laid out on the land to dry in
the sun.

Alum crystals

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15. The next step is to remove the re-
sist from the fabric and reveal the back-
ground white color of the motifs. For this,
the fabric is beaten on stone and washed
thoroughly in the water tanks, three to four
times to ensure that the resist is removed
from the surface. The fabric is again left
under the shade to dry.

Drying of final fabric

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 96

Bagru Haath Thappa Chhapai 97

FInal wash
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16. To obtain a lighter color on the
white background of the motifs, the fabric
is dyed again in a solution of turmeric. This
gives a yellow color to the white motifs
and the deeper blue background is not af-
fected because yellow being a lighter color
than indigo. The fabric is again thoroughly
washed before drying in the sun. After dry-
ing completely, the fabric is ready.

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Shells of pomegranate

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