Ajrakh Block Printing
Bhuj, Gujarat
Ajrakh is a complex resist- and mordant-printed cloth made in Kutch, Gujarat, chiefly at the villages of Ajrakhpur and Dhamadka. Its deep blue, madder red, black and white patterns are built from geometric grids, eight-pointed stars, trefoils, cintamani dots and floral lattices drawn from Islamic ornament. Traditionally it was the everyday cloth of the Maldhari herding communities, worn as turbans, lungis and shoulder wraps and given at births, weddings and deaths. What sets it apart from most block prints is that it is printed on both faces of the cloth in exact register, so the design reads identically front and back and there is no wrong side. A full Ajrakh passes through sixteen to twenty separate printing, dyeing, washing and drying stages, all using plant and mineral colour.