REPORT : Marwar Block Print Revival Project

(Nine months report for the period Oct-2024 to June-2025)

The project started with the first grant from Centre for Embodied Knowledge-Hyderabad, through which extensive visits to twenty-eight block printing centres across western Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat were made (see map below). These centres are interconnected due to the migration of the block printers and their textile consumer communities. Most of the printers trace their common origin to Sindh and a few to western Rajasthan, from where they have spread to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. From these places more than 400 unique designs have been discovered and documented. Old blocks have been collected along with vintage block print textile samples from dealers in Barmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Kutch. Some of the textile pieces which were in a very fragile condition have been restored by INTACH conservation lab in Delhi. A catalogue of the collected textile pieces and old blocks is in preparation. It was discovered that many of the blocks belong to Sindh which are still preserved by migrant Khatri printer families in western Rajasthan.

Aradhya Pandey, an undergraduate intern from NIFT-Jodhpur was appointed for four months to document the blocks in the collection of Ranamal Khatri from Barmer, Jaisalmer, Phalodi and Shivganj. She has prepared a detailed catalogue of these with the help of Ranamal Khatri and senior printers in his workshop. All this data is being archived for future use. During the research many old shops in the villages and towns of Marwar were searched to look for traditional textile pieces. Aged people in the villages were interviewed to assess the craft’s social importance.

The old textile samples were closely studied, regarding their yarn count and weave, natural dyes used, printing methods and recipes. These samples have also been shared with various experts, like Jagada Rajappa (natural dye expert from Hyderabad), Hiroko Iwatate, Kokyo Hatanaka and Fumie Kobayashi (Japanese textile researchers and writers), Subash Sharma and Brij Vallabh Udaiwal (Jaipur), Ayub Chhipa and Yaseen Chhipa (Pipar), Ranamal Khatri and Khemraj (Barmer), Abhimanyu Rathi (Jaisalmer) and the faculties of NIFT-Jodhpur and IICD-Jaipur. After closely studying the construction of the fabric and textile analysis data provided by INTACH-Delhi, an order for 750 meters of fresh hand-spun and hand-woven khadi fabric was given to Gandhigram Khadi Trust, Tamil Nadu. This fabric has been given to four printers in Barmer, Pipar, Jaipur and Kutch for printing with the newly made blocks.

Since the beginning of the project two block carvers have been commissioned to make new blocks. One of the block carvers, Rajkumar, is based in Barmer and works under the supervision of Ranamal Khatri and another, Mashkur Ahmed in Jaipur, who works under the guidance of Dr. Madan Meena directly. This work started two months ago, and since then twenty new sets of blocks have been made. Ten sets of blocks are in the printing process at present at Ajrakhpur, Barmer, Pipar and Jahota. Each print is being done on 30 meters of khadi fabric, sufficient to make 400 swatches for the books. By the end of this year the target is to complete hundred prints on three thousand metres of cloth. A catalogue of 400 prints will also be ready.

For Botanical illustrations, two miniature artists Waseem and his son Dildar from Kota have been commissioned. Interpretations of traditional block print motifs will be made to find the connections with the local flora and fauna stylized in the traditional Marwar block prints. It is surprising that the Marwar prints feature desert plants like cactus and acacia on one side but also feature garden plants like gainda and nargis. Some of the prints have slight variations in their sizes, patterns and colours found in different regions. The printing recipes vary across the region like the composition of Dabu resist, sequence of application of the mordants and dyeing methods. During the research the traditional water bodies were also studied connected with the printer communities. These water bodies are still privately owned by them and maintenance is the responsibility of the community leaders. The social importance of the printer and dyer in the Marwar region where water is a challenging component make this study important. Unlike in other places, the printers enjoyed direct patronage from the state in Marwar. There are also recorded cases of printer community migrations due to drought and attacks from invaders. These migrations have taken place to south of Marwar and in Malwa.

Map of 28 places visited over the last nine months