BATIK BY SHAKIL

Shakil Ahmed is from the Khatri community in Mundra, Kutch. He is a 6th generation artisan practicing the elegant craft of batik block printing. Shakil communicates his “moments instead of prints’’ approach through his inspirational pieces. His vision is to revive natural dyeing through batik and create a wider natural colour range.

Batik is practiced by the Khatri community settled in and around the major ports of the region, Mandvi and Mundra. Resist is applied onto the fabric with the help of a wooden block followed by dyeing. Through the fine cracks that develop in the resist, the pigment seeps in and leaves behind a web of colour, forming the main visual character of Batik. At present, practicing artisans are working with natural dyes to explore possibilities for sustainable alternatives.

BANDHANI BY AZIZ

Abdulaziz Alimamad is an 11th generation craftsman from the Khatri community. He learnt the bandhani craft at the age of 12 from his grandmother and grandfather. He has practiced tie-dye techniques of Shibori and Clamp Dyeing for over 25 years.

Bandhani dates back to the 12th century and was introduced to Kutch by the Khatri community migrating from Sindh. In Gujarat, bandhani is an expression used for textiles produced by tying individual parts of the fabric before dyeing. The main element of bandhani is a dot – a circular resisted motif. Traditionally, bandhani was created in various forms including wool, cotton, and silk for women from both Hindu and Muslim communities.

AJRAKH BY RAUF

Abdul Rauf hails from Dhamadka in Kutch and moved to Ajrakhpur with his family 8 years ago. He is a 10th generation Ajrakh practitioner belonging to the Khatri community.

Ajrakh is a combination of block printing and resist dyeing techniques involving sixteen lengthy steps. It was introduced by the Khatri community who moved from Sindh to Dhamadka, Kutch, around 400 years ago.

Ajrakh could be linked to the Arabic word “azarakh”, meaning indigo, which was locally available as a wild plant dye across the region. The principal visual language of the Ajrakh textiles is of geometric patterns inspired by Islamic architecture. Geometries are also often used to represent starry skies. Traditionally, ajrakh textiles were worn in the form of a lungi (lower garment) or safa (head cover) by men, and a malir (skirt) by women.

TANGALIYA WEAVING BY SURESH

Suresh Kumar Maganlal is from Adhoi village, Bhachau in Kutch and belongs to the Dangasia community. He has been practicing Tangaliya weaving in the region since the age of 15 when he learned the craft from his father.

Tangaliya weaving dates back almost 700 years, practiced by the Dangasia community principally in the eastern region of Kutch and parts of the Surendarnagar district of Gujarat.

The unique characteristics of these weaves are red and black stripes, adorned with danas - tiny dots created by loose fibers twisted around warp threads. The tangaliya fabric was traditionally woven on a narrow width pit loom. These narrow strips would then be stitched together to form a wider width fabric to be worn as wrap skirts by married women of the Bharwad community.

KUTCH HANDLOOM WEAVING BY KHIMJI

Khimji Bhai Kara is a 6th generation weaver from Kotaya in Kutch and belongs to the Vankar community. Born in 1980, he has been practicing extra weft weaving in the region since his grandfather taught him the craft at 20 years old.

Kutch Handloom Weaving is practiced by the Vankar community. It is characterised by the extra weft technique with motifs in the shape of triangles and circles, inspired by the local landscape. Today, the weaving community of Kutch has made adjustments to raw materials and colour palette – keeping the strong identity of the motifs intact while remaining open to contemporary solutions.