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अंजन ◉ Ajrakh Cotton Saree ( Natural Colour ) ◉ 14

ABOUT
These Sarees are product of nature made with absolute love and patience. Draped in the elegance of a saree there is a part of you that demands to be at ease... the softness of the mull cotton fabric soothes you and the cool Indigo background balances the intricate Mogul motives to look earthy rich on you.

  • Rs.3,150

Availability: 1

Product Code: 3788-AS19-14

Made/ Mkt. By: Gaatha

Box- L.W.H | Wgt:624 x 110 x 0cm | 250g



Dhamadka one of the prominent craft villages located almost 30 kms away from Bhuj is a place mentioned in several travelogues and books because of its history of hand block printing and a unique technique of Ajrakh Block Printing.

A local folklore about Ajrakh is full of stories. Some of these myths talk about how Block Printing, a Textile craft at Dhamadka in the little Rann of Kutch came to be known as ‘Ajrakh’. 




There was a king who loved to see new bedspreads every day. One fine day, one of his servants came in with a gift of bedspread with colourful and repetitive block prints on it. Struck by the beauty of the uniquely created blocks of colours placed symmetrically on the cloth, he welcomed it exclaiming, ‘Aaj rakh!’ Etymologically, ‘Ajrakh’ also means ‘Azrakh’ which is an Arabic name for the Indigo plant formerly used in Ajrakh, a type of resist printing initially.




History of Dhamadka villagedates to almost 400 years ago. The families of Khatris who put colours on clothmigrated to Kutch from Sindh in the 16th century. When the king ofKutch recognized the crafts and invited them to settle in the barrenuninhabited land, along with weavers, potters and embroiderers. This Khatricommunity settled in Dhamadka for its close proximity to Saran river in whichthey washed their fabric.




If you join on a cultural paradewith Craft to Anjar Taluka in the little Rann of Kutch and if you come acrossfabric rolls and drying fabrics of different colours and hues of rich crimson,deep indigo, mustard and greens covering the arid landscape, dried and wavingyou a ‘hello!’ it is an indication – You are in Dhamadka!




Dhamadka vibrates with skills ofpeer craftsmen and artisans whose skills create designs with combination offloral and geometrical patterns on the fabrics to bring coolness. Some familieshave a lineage that has been practicing Ajrakh block printing on fabrics datingback to few 100 years. The lives of most in the village, especially the KhatriMuslim community whose name also means one who can fill or change coloursstarts with either of 16 multifarious stages in creating the intricate blockprints on one fairly large cloth fabric like a bedspread, etc. There are singleand double sided block prints, respectively known as ‘ekpuri’ and ‘bipuri’originated in the 16th century and pioneered by the community.The artisans from Dhamadka use organic natural colours as well as chemical dyesto print the beautiful patterns on the fabrics.




Unfortunately in 2001, a big earthquake shattered Gujarat andhad a severe effect on the artisan community of Dhamadka. Almost the entirevillage of Dhamdaka was shattered and there were huge losses in the villagealong with few loss of life. Along with the time the river had also dried upand the water levels in Dhamadka have gone down along with several impurities. TheKhatri families however were agglutinated after this episode and subsequently agroup of them moved to a new place closer to the city and named it as Ajrakhpuron the name of Ajrakh. But still there are more then 70 families practicingblock printing in Dhamadka and developing innovative products like Bedsheets,Sarees, Stoles, Scarfs, Table linens, etc. and sharing their craft across thecountry. 

Text & Images by Manthan

Craftsmen
Made by Artisans working with Gaatha ( Khatri Vakhar )
Village Dhamadka, Kutch
Material
Made of Cotton with Border
Instruction
Note As the fabric is naturally dyed, though artisans pre-process and wash fabrics before the production, still care should be taken during the first 3 washes, as some of the natural dye material may wash off during initial washes. The naturally dyed fabrics should be hand-washed or mild machine washed separately in cold water with mild detergents. These fabrics should not be bleached or scrubbed and should be reversely dried in shade. The fabrics should be ironed on the reverse to preserve its charm. Saree with Zari border & With blouse piece.
Care * Dry clean or Separate hand wash

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REVIEW

I received my saree today. The folks at Gaatha were very responsive when I had some questions before placing the order. The saree is absolutely beautiful! In fact it is so much more pretty in person. The cotton is soft to touch and drapes likes a dream. Very pleased with my purchase!

Meenu Devrani

I first ordered one brass kitchen set and other home decor products from Gaatha and the quality was extremely good. Thank you Gaatha

Aparichita Sen

So delighted to find the Gaatha shop filled with a treasure trove of handcrafted products! The shopping experience was smooth and I received the Ajrakh saree that I had ordered in less than a week. Loved the saree and look forward to more shopping with you. God bless

Kalpana Padhi Das

I have always had profound love for Indian handicraft and I have decorated my house with such items which is when I first found Gaatha and have been coming back to them since. Very responsive and the quality is always amazing

Bhavik Mehta

I just received my two scarfs. I love them, so beautiful. Now I know where to order my Christmas gifts. Thank you very much.

J. Vogt

Everytime I buy a saree from you guys, everyone keeps asking me where I get them from. It makes for a great gift as well... so creative and artistic, fabrics feel great

Archita Nair

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