AJRAK

Ajrak cloth carries many meanings. The popular story

amongst local printers is that Ajrak means “keep it
today.” It is also linked to azrakh, the Arabic word for
indigo, a blue plant which thrived in the arid ecology of
Kachchh until the 1956 earthquake.
Ajrak patterns use complex geometry to create starry
constellations in indigo, madder, black, and white
across lengths of cloth. The shapes and motifs of Ajrak
echo the architectural forms of Islamic architecture’s
intricate jali windows and trefoil arches.

WHAT IS AJRAK ?
Ajrak is the name of a block printed cloth with deep
crimson red and indigo blue background, bearing
symmetrical patterns with interspersed unprinted
sparkling white motifs.
 An ancient craft, the history of the Ajrak can be traced
back to the civilizations of the Indus Valley that existed
around 2500 BC-1500 BC.

ORIGIN OF AJRAK

Ajrak is a Sindhi tradition; found in daily usage such as

hammocks and bedsheets to dupattas, scarves, and even
gifts as a token of respect. The highly valued Ajrak has
also been made in Kutch for the Maldharis or cattle
herders’ communities since the time Khatris migrated
from Sindh in the 16th century. The Khatri community,
whose name means “one who fills or changes colours,”
printed cloth with the locally available natural dyes and
water from the Dhamadka, the river that gave their
village its name.
 HOW AJRAK IS MADE?

The Ajrak is usually about 2.5-3meters in length. The

authentic Ajrak is printed on both sides by a method
called resist printing. The printing is done by hand with
hand carved wooden blocks. Several different blocks
are used to give the characteristic repeated patterning.
Making the blocks is a considerable challenge since the
pattern has to synchronize perfectly with the whole of
the Ajrak as well as cover various areas against dye.
Ajrak printing is arduous & long process that requires
different of stages of printing and washing the fabric
repeatedly with different mordant’s & natural dye. It
follows the resist style of printing which prohibits
absorption on the areas meant not to be coloured and
permits absorption of a dye in the required areas and.
The stages are elaborated below:
Saaj: Starch is removed from the fabric by washing &
then dipping in a solution of camel dung, castor oil &
soda ash. Then it is wrung out & kept overnight. In the
morning the fabric is allowed to partially dry under the
sun & then again dipped in the solution. The complete
process is repeated about eight times until foam is
produced by rubbing the fabric. Then finally washed
with plain water.
Kasano: In this process fabric is washed in a solution
obtained from the nuts of harde tree called as
myrobalan. It is first mordant to be used in dyeing
process. After that the fabric is dried in sun from both
sides & extra myrobalan is brushed off from the fabric.
Khariyanu: A resist of gum Arabic (babool tree resin)
& lime is printed on both sides of fabric using carved
wooden blocks to outline the motif in white colour. This
white outline printing is called as rekh.
Kat: For about 20 days the mixture of Jaggery & iron
scrap with water are kept, to make water ferrous.After
that tamarind seed powder is added to ferrous water &
boiled to make a thick paste called as kat and kat is
printed on both sides of fabric.
Gach: Gum Arabic, alum & Clay are mixed to form a
paste which is to be used as a resist in printing. At the
same time gum Arabic & lime is also printed. The
combined phase is called as gach. Finely ground cow
dung or saw dust is spread on the printed portion to
shield the clay.
Clay, alum and gum Arabic are mixed to form a paste
which is to be used for the next resist printing. A resist
of gum Arabic and lime is also printed at the same time.
This combined phase is known as gach.
To shield the clay from smudging, saw dust or finely
ground cow dung is spread on the printed portion. After
this stage, the cloth is dried naturally for about 7-10
days.
Indigo dyeing: The fabric is dyed in indigo. Next, it is
kept in the sun to dry and then is dyed again in indigo
twice to coat it uniformly.
Vichcharnu: The fabric is washed thoroughly to
remove all the resist print and extra dye.
Rang: Next the fabric is put to boil with alizarin, i.e.
synthetic madder in order to impart a bright shining red
colour to alum residue portion. Alum works as a
mordant to fix the red colour. The grey areas from the
black printing steps turn into a deeper hue. For other
colours, the fabric is boiled with a different dye.
Madder root imparts an orange colour, henna adds a
light yellowish green colour, and rhubarb root gives a
faint brownish colour.
In ajrak printing, the fabric is first printed with a resist
paste and then it is dyed. This process is repeated
several times with different kinds of dyes with the aim
of achieving the final design in the deep blue and red
shade. This process consumes a lot of time. The longer
the time span before commencing the next stage,the
more rich and vibrant the final print becomes.
Hence, this process can consume up to two weeks, and
consequently results in the formation of exquisitely
beautiful and captivating designs of the ajrak.
 FASHION ERA
In 18th century Ajrak was used by Kshatriya
Community. Firstly it was used by Indus Valley
Civilizations. Then Rajputs emerged in 7th and 8th
century as a new community of Kshatriya people.

Portrait of Khatri Nobel wearing Ajrak

fabric in the 18th century|
Read More at
https://www.livehistoryindia.com/weav
es-of-india/2017/07/21/the-story-of-
the-age-old-ajrakh

‘Priest King’ discovered at Mohenjodaro He is wearing what

is believed to be an ajrak.
 WHY DID WE CHOOSE
AJRAK?
The main reason for selecting the fabric is the design
scheme and vibrant colour of the fabric. The cloth
Ajrak stays rooted to Indian Culture still making it a
popular fabric in Indian households and also the deep
colors used in it make it more traditional and lively.It is
working towards sustainable development. We like the
shapes and motifs of Ajrak which are developed from
the architectural forms of Islamic architecture’s which
intricate jali windows and trefoil arches.

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