Rajasthan
Rajasthan is known for its colorful culture, vibrant festivals, and historical landmarks. It is home to the Thar Desert, the Jal Mahal palace, and the City Palace of Jaipur, among many other attractions. This area features many distinguishing factors and motifs like the ruins of Indus Valley Civilization, Temples, Forts and Fortresses in most of its cities.
Rajasthani Famous Crafts -
1. Blue Pottery
2. Carpets & Textiles
3. Leather Work
4. Wood Carving
5. Stone Carving
These craft traditions are an important part of Rajasthan's cultural heritage and are still practiced by skilled artisans in the region today. They are a popular tourist attraction and are also an important source of livelihood for many people in the state.
Hand Block Printing
This is not the only traditional form of imparting motifs and colors on fabric, mostly cotton, but is also an eco-friendly form of printing on textiles. It is a technique which involves carving a design on a wooden block, covering this block with ink or dye and then stamping it on the fabric. This method was introduced by the old Chippa community located in Bagru district of Rajasthan.
Hand block printing is a traditional craft that has been passed down for generations in Rajasthan. It is known for its vibrant colors and intricate designs, and the resulting textiles are often used to make clothing, home decor items, and other products. Despite the rise of modern printing methods, hand block printing remains an important part of Rajasthan's cultural heritage and continues to be practiced by artisans in the region.
Types of Block Printing -
1. Sanganer Printing
2. Bagru Printing
3. Akola Dabu Print
AKOLA DABU PRINT
Akola is a village in the Indian state of Rajasthan that has a long history of hand block printing. This traditional craft involves the creation of wooden blocks, which are carved with a design and then coated with ink or dye. The blocks are then pressed onto fabric to transfer the design, creating intricate and colorful printed textiles.
Process of Akola Dabu Print
The process of Akola Dabu Print is one that takes 14 days to complete. The long duration of this entire process along with the fact that the craftsmen are not paid adequately and on time are few of the major reasons for this art dying.
The process consists of 6 parts:
1. Preparing raw fabric/Scouring
2. Harad/myrobalan treatment
3. Alum treatment
4. Preparing Alizarin (natural dye)
5. Dabu Preparation
6. Indigo Dyeing
1. Preparing Raw Fabric/Scouring
The choice of fabric; white cotton, has to be soaked overnight in a solution of clean water and TRO (Turkey Red Oil, it is also known as sulphated castor oil. It is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans that mixes well, consequently producing a milk bath.)
The next day the fabric is washed by beating it with a wooden stick. After washing the fabric, TRO is put in clean water and then the fabric is soaked in water for 2 hours. It is then squeezed well and left to dry. This process is called Scouring and it is processed to remove impurities from fabric like starch, oil and dust.
2. Harad/Myrobalan Treatment
This is the second stage of the Akola Dabu printing process. Harad is an herb that has dry and astringent properties. For 1 meter of cloth, 50 grams of Harad powder is mixed with water to make a thick paste. The paste is then mixed with water so that the fabric can be dipped in this concoction. The fabric is taken out of the water when it has been given a yellow colour. It is then left to dry.
3. Alum Treatment
Alum is an inorganic chemical compound that is generally made up of water molecules, aluminum or other metals and sulphates. Alum is the substance that will eventually through the process bring out a red color in the fabric.
4. Preparing Alizarin (Natural Dye)
Alizarin is a red or orange crystalline compound. It is a natural dye and is the substance in this process that actually makes the areas where alum is applied red.
5. Dabu Preparation
Dabu or Mud paste is used to resist the fabric from the dye. To make this paste, you need:
1.120 kgs of Mud
2. 250gms Calcium Hydroxide
3. 1 kg Gond or Fevicol
The dry mud is kept in water through the night in a dish and all the excess water and dirt is removed the next day. The mud is taken out of the dish and is laid on the floor to step on and calcium hydroxide is gradually mixed into this mud. With the use of feet and sticks, a thick dry paste is made with the mud and put back in the dish. To this dish, Gond or Fevicol is added, along with water accordingly and kept aside for 1 day. The next day, this mud is strained and smoothened by hand.
6. Indigo Dyeing
Craftsmen of this region use indigo marts to dye. These marts are cemented 12 ft depressions in the ground. These marts are first filled till the brim with water. To this, 5kg Indigo is added along with 250gms of Calcium Hydroxide per Kg of Indigo. This solution is left to sit for 3 days, after which the fabric is continuously dipped into the indigo marts. What’s interesting is that when the fabric is dipped into the indigo, it initially is a green colour rather than an indigo blue. However, when wind is blown against the fabric, it turns into that special recognised indigo blue. It is, for this reason, dipped 3 times and then dried 3 times. After this final stage, the Akola Dabu Process is complete.
# Output
