Jaipur Block Print- A Story of natural colors splashing hues of life

29-Feb-2020 BY Admin

Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian art theorist and painter once very aptly said,” Color is a power that directly influences the soul.” There is no denying the importance of colors, what they represent, how they simplify emotions and how they are such an integral part of life. And whenever Rajasthan comes to mind, these colors come alive, all of them, all at once, just splashing one over the other. That is, I guess, one of the reasons how the culture stands out, be that be the food, or the forts, or the clothes for that matter. 

Other than the usual amazing food and beautiful timeless forts, Jaipur, specifically is also widely famous for its block printing. Bagru, a village in Rajasthan, just like all others, still has the social structures the way it used to be for centuries. There are inherited roles and customs people still live by, and one of those is the chippas. Despite all the urbanization, all the changes that time has brought upon, you can still find home workshops scattered throughout the village, with the chippas stamping length of cotton fabrics with the colors, with hand-carved wooden blocks. 

Printing designs on fabrics was a technique that most probably generated in China around 4500 years back, but it was the Indian subcontinent that brought in expression, visual or emotional, into the equation. With their unparalleled expertise in natural dye colors, the use of mordants and mud resist painting called “dabu” (the technique reserving the design from the dye), the printing techniques flourished here. All these techniques put together allowed the creation of a series of complex and unique designs.

The prints were initially put on fabrics to make tents, but they soon became a necessity in the royal processions. Today, the printing has spread to fabrics used for bedspreads, costumes, and floor coverings. The first step in block printing is producing the original document. This original print design or document is laid on a smooth wooden block and reserved. Next, the document is carved onto the wooden block by craftsmen or master carvers, thus creating a block using which the pattern can be replicated. Each color on this design is carved on a separate block, in case multiple colors are involved.  This block is then covered in the ink and pressed over the fabric repeatedly to produce the said design over and over again. The outline also called the “rekh”, is usually stamped first, since it is the most intricate. Then the fill block, commonly known as data is used to provide the background color to the said design. Carving the block in itself is an art that requires years of practice and apprenticeship to master, and this whole process is done entirely by hand. Each block is aligned very carefully each time using a guide that is carved on the left edge. The subtle gaps and overlaps every here and there is what gives it the iconic look it is known for.

In Jaipur, the prints of human figures, birds, gods and goddesses, animals are popular. One of the greater benefits of block printing is also the freedom of creation of your own set of designs. Also, since each pattern is stamped individually by hand, the slight irregularities which are unavoidable when it comes to handwork create a unique artistic effect, turning each finished fabric into an intricate timeless beauty, which in itself stands proof of the intensive labor that goes into making it. 

Block printing, for ages, has been the source of income for many villages near Jaipur. It also is an environmentally friendly approach, that is native to rural India, bringing together families and allowing women to work on a day-to-day routine basis.