Bagru Block Paintings
Distance : 35km from Jaipur on Ajmer Road
¤ Bagru Main Attraction
Block Printing
 Bagru
lying at the distance of 35km from Jaipur has no fort or palace or
even their ruins, but boasts of something which is perhaps more
beautiful. Block printing. Anyone interested in textile printing could
easily walk into Chippa Mohalla (printers' quarter) beside the
Sanjaria River, where about three dozen families make themselves busy
with dyes and blocks. These craftsmen have kept the
three-centuries-old tradition of block printing alive and kicking in
Rajasthan. and they are completely eco-friendly; they first treat the
cloth with Fuller's earth got from the riverside and then soak it in
haldi (turmeric) water to get the traditional cream coloured
background. Only then do they stamp the cloth with beautifully
patterned blocks of wood using natural dyes of earthy hues.
In fact Bagru's craftspersons are among those few printers today who
are still predominantly using traditional vegetable dyes. For example,
blue is got from indigo, greens from indigo mixed with pomegranate
rinds, red from madder root and yellow from turmeric. The patterns are
simple floral ones but bold and colourful. Barmer prints, on the other
hand, are known for their bold geometric patterns, called ajrakh.
Bagru produces some of the loveliest bed covers and other materials.
The excellence of the craft has put this sleepy little town of Bagru
near Jaiphur on the international fashion map. See Arts & Crafts
of Rajasthan for more on block printing.
|
