Question

Write a brief note on hand block printing from Bagru – Rajasthan.

Hint:

Bagru is a Rajasthan village known for natural dye block printing and dabu resist.

Answer 1

Step 1: Where Bagru printing comes from:
Bagru is a village near Jaipur in Rajasthan. It is famous for hand block printing.
The printers belong mostly to the Chhipa community.
Cotton cloth is the usual base fabric.

Step 2: Blocks and tools:
Printing blocks are carved by hand from seasoned wood such as sheesham (rosewood) or teak.
Blocks are soaked in oil before use so they do not crack or absorb too much dye.
Motifs are mainly floral, geometric and stylised leaves, buds and creepers.

Step 3: Dyes used:
Traditional Bagru printing uses natural dyes.
Black comes from iron scrap fermented with jaggery.
Red comes from alizarin or madder with alum as the mordant.
Indigo gives blue, and harda (myrobalan) gives a soft yellow-cream ground.

Step 4: Process:
The grey cloth is first washed to remove starch and impurities, then treated with harda.
The printer stamps the outline block (rekh), then the filler block (gadh), then the colour blocks.
Dabu, a mud resist made of clay, lime and gum, is applied in some designs and then the cloth is dyed in indigo.
After printing, the cloth is dried in the sun and washed in running water.

Step 5: Features of Bagru prints:
The colours are earthy, mainly black, red, indigo and ochre.
The designs are bold and repeating, and each piece shows the mark of hand work.

Final Answer:
Bagru is a hand block printing craft of Rajasthan that uses carved wooden blocks, natural dyes and the dabu mud resist to make earthy floral prints on cotton.