Ajrakh has become one of the most loved textile form in last 10 years or so. Since the revival of handloom in our country, there are many print or weave forms that have interested consumers like never before. Ajrakh is definitely one of them.

We can trace origin of Ajrakh back to the ancient Indian civilisations, where it was used predominantly in the areas of present day Sindh province in Pakistan and current state of Gujarat in India. There is a conflict between historians over how the name Ajrakh was coined for this kind of printing. Some say that it comes from Arabic vocabulary where Ajrakh means the colour blue, which is a prominent colour used in printing, but then according to some, it’s a Hindi word which means “aaj-rakh”, which means keep it today.

The advent of name can be a conflict, but the beauty of this printing is unparalleled. Today Khatri community in Gujarat hold the fort where this art is practiced by almost every other family in the village of Ajrakhpur.

During one of my travels I found a very interesting anecdote regarding Ajrakh. Earlier, this form of printing was practiced mostly in the village of Dhamadka, owing to the water quality of river. After the earthquake of 2001, the river’s course changed in Dhamadka and the iron content of the water increased. Since the colours used are purely vegetable dyes, most of the colours reacted with the iron content in the river and it spoiled humongous yardage of fabrics. The entire work and the community of Kahtris shifted to Ajrakhpur and made it their living grounds.

Ajrakh was initially used to make pagdis and odhna for men in the community. It’s only in the recent past with various designers and textile enthusiast’s revival efforts, Ajrakh made its appearance in sarees, fabrics, dupattas and other garments.

But like every other handicraft, Ajrakh also found its nemesis in extensive consumerism, markets flooded with block and screen printed replicas and jarring colours. The artisans are finding it difficult to compete with this everyday mass production. The lack of knowledge at consumer’s part and money making middlemen are forcing the younger generation artists of Ajrakh to give up the age old craft.

So where is the day of shining hope? A lot of work is being done by government and various organisations to preserve this art for generations to come. The younger generation artisans are being enrolled in various schools under government schemes and colleges run by certain NGO’s, where they are being taught about how to keep pace with the ever changing fashion trends and also how to market their products themselves. They are being encouraged to take up the beautiful art of printing Ajrakh as their profession and livelihood.

We at Kaushey, are devoted to give our patrons the best of authentic handloom and handicraft and also encourage our consumers to learn about the art that they wear. This knowledge and appreciation towards the craft is the only way to sustain our legacy of “made in India” and help the further generations to not give up on the age old traditional handloom and handicraft, that form the very backbone of sustainable India and sustainable world.