A somewhat ruined royal chattri can be seen as one enters this small town.
For regular hand block printing, the Chippa dips the wooden printing block in the dye tray before pounding the block onto the fabric with his or her fist. china lycra fabrics factory There are also items made with discharge printing, using citric acid on grey alum dye. We might even say that the large number of Chippas clustered together in Bagru, run what could be called a flourishing and thriving cottage industry. It was a Rajasthani lehnga (s******t), made of blue printed fabric with the typical red border that one used to see in traditional lehengas of the area. What is amazing is that many of these printed fabrics that have already gone through so many difficult and tedious processes are spread out to dry on the ground and allowed to be covered with dust and sand.What I really learnt during my visit was that the natural environment plays a major role in the creation of Bagru’s prints. Once the block’s design has been sketched on paper, the pattern is drawn directly on the blocks of wood.The writer is an author, a professional communicator and an intrepid traveller.On enquiring, I was told that I should consider checking out one of the government emporiums. I was able to understand how much effort had gone into the creation of the fabric of my daughter’s rather historical lehnga! So off we went to Bagru! Located 30 miles away from Jaipur on the highway to Ajmer, Bagru is known to have been the “home of the Chippas (block printers)” for almost 500 years. It took a great many more years till I finally managed to make the trip to Bagru last year and another earlier this month, where I finally discovered what I was looking for. The designs carved on wood are among the best-known designs of Rajasthan — and each Chippa family carefully preserves the blocks created by their ancestors, with new designs and prints being added.Here in Bagru, the craft of printing has been passed down from generation to generation, from as far back as the reigns of the Mughals. While no one could confirm that it had been made on these premises, I was quite sure, my search was over. The making of these blocks can take a couple of days to be carved perfectly and the most popular woods used are غير مجاز مي باشدwaan, sheesham or rohida.Over the years I had been told that the printed fabric of my daughter’s lehnga was from Bagru, Rajasthan’s famous hub for hand block printing. Despite the sparse rainfall, the Chippa clan has learnt to preserve water, often using their production water for irrigating crops. Blues are made from indigo, stored in dye vats that are at least, 10 to 12 feet deep. It even has a ground-level fort that is still in good shape as well as a number of historic mansions, which can be visited. Here the method and creation of some of the oldest designs in Bagru are represented, along with the wooden blocks used to create them. A somewhat ruined royal chattri can be seen as one enters this small town. It was here that I spied the print of the fabric that had been used to make my daughter’s lehnga. On an average, a printer needs at least four or five blocks to create a hand-block-printed textile design. It has managed to survive over a great many years. Then like a miracle, after the final wash, this same fabric becomes the beautiful textile that we see and admire at stores and boutiques. According to him, Bagru prints can usually be recognised by their colour — the cloth is usually cream-coloured or has a dyed base. The Tirtanwala family of Bagru with national awardee Suraj Narain to the right, Narain recently created a museum in his house, based on the hand block prints of Bagru. While wandering with other members at the conference through the city’s unique shopping area, I was hoping that I might find another lehnga – this time as a gift for a friend’s daughter.A Chippa plans the number of blocks he needs to use, by the number of colours and shapes in the print design. From the information given, one realises the vast amount of work it takes to create what looks like a simple printed piece of cloth.The black dye is made in a very special way. There are also items made with discharge printing, using citric acid on grey alum dye.
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