In Rajasthan, a tiny village by the title of Akola has been, for hundreds of years, related to a singular block printing type — dabu. It’s stated that it replicates the colors of the sky — blue of the day, indigo of the night time, and the purple hues of a sundown.
Its origins are debated — some say it made its option to Rajasthan from China in 675 AD, and a few declare it originated within the desert area — however over time, Akola has grow to be nearly synonymous with this artwork, which makes use of natural supplies from the earth to create intricate designs.
There was a time when dabu printing was widespread throughout Rajasthan, however Akola is presently among the many few remaining hubs of the artwork. Right this moment, the seventh technology of those artisans work right here.
Anybody who visits this group is sure to be captivated by the indigo hues and nature impressed motifs. Alka Sharma, a textile designer from Alwar, felt no completely different when she first visited the village in 2007.
“I accomplished my graduate research in textile designing in 2003 and was trying to work with artisans in Rajasthan. I had usually heard of the area of Akola, well-known for artisan households who devoted their lives to preserving prints, and thought this could be an exquisite alternative for me. So in 2007, I made a decision to go to,” she tells The Higher India.
She provides that her intent on the time wasn’t to start out a model, however moderately to perceive textiles and assist widen their scope.
However, on spending a number of days on the Akola village, Alka says she didn’t have the guts to let this expertise finish.
“I learnt a lot whereas in Akola. Whereas as we speak there are lots of households effectively versed with the artwork, on the time, there was just one household engaged in it. They have been well-to-do and extra importantly possessed a desk (a necessity in dabu printing). I wished extra households to be concerned so they may earn by it,” she notes.
A heritage model is born in Udaipur
The subsequent few months have been stuffed with experiments and arduous work, as Alka labored with 200 girls artisans to kind self-help teams. She herself learnt the dabu artwork kind and skilled the ladies in it. She says that whereas they didn’t have an indigo dye tub then, they might handle with small tanks and buckets.
Her work was supported by a scheme by the Ministry of Textiles, and he or she was additionally joined by grasp craftsmen from Jaipur.
The eagerness to have interaction in dabu artwork quickly become an concept for a model, and Aavaran was born in 2012.
The model was an try by Alka to “revive and maintain the normal craft of dabu”. She provides that whereas doing this, she additionally wished to make sure financial empowerment of the indigenous craft individuals within the area.
Reminiscing in regards to the journey till now, Alka says it has been surreal. “I by no means thought I might personal a model sometime. After I began work with the artisans I did so with the objective of taking the craft to a different degree. There was a number of brainstorming,” she notes.
Nonetheless, whereas success was across the nook, so was a battle.
“I wished to contain artisans from low-income teams. However the well-to-do artisans, who have been already engaged in dabu printing, didn’t prefer it, as they thought it was a menace to their enterprise. This triggered a divide,” she provides.
In 2015, Alka together with the artisans she had gathered and mentored by the years, moved to Udaipur the place they began their first retailer.
“Our work spoke for itself. Folks started noticing our prints and approaching us,” she provides, attributing the explanation for all of the love they obtained to the timelessness of the dabu type.
“It’s painstaking to create however lovely all the identical.”
Moist mud, gum and wheat chaff
The dabu printing approach is a love affair between three issues — mud from the desert, water from the river, and blocks carved by expert artisans within the area.
Considering again to the first-ever assortment she did — a backdrop of Lord Krishna — Alka calls it “conventional and easy”, however with a “tedious” course of.
“Mud is collected from the lakeside and saved in a tank in a single day. The moist mud is then blended with glue from the babool tree, beedan (wheat chaff) and chuna (limestone) to organize a paste consistency and the combination is sieved. A woodblock is then dipped into the paste and positioned onto the material, which has been washed and dried to take away the starch,” she notes.
On the elements of the material the place the paste lies, sawdust is typically utilized to forestall color penetration throughout the dyeing course of. The subsequent step is to dip the material right into a cauldron dye. This may be completed as soon as or a number of occasions as desired. As soon as the material is faraway from the dye tank, the result’s achieved — a cloth dyed within the desired color, with clean areas in between, that create the phantasm of motifs.
The dye doesn’t catch on in these areas, because the mud-resistant block print has been used right here.
Whereas the normal dabu printing type includes the usage of indigo dye, Aavaran has expanded this to different vegetable dyes to create vivid hues. “The rationale the method is prolonged is as a result of a contemporary batch of paste must be ready every single day,” explains Alka, noting that the resultant product, nevertheless, is well worth the effort.
“It’s a sustainable material, good for the pores and skin — because it incorporates pure dyes — and the setting — as when washed, the dyes don’t leach into the water,” she provides.
A protected area for artisans to face on their ft
Right this moment, Aavaran works with 100 in-house artisans in its 40,000 sq ft manufacturing area.
“Every artisan specialises in a particular exercise. For some this can be stitching, for others it’s patchwork or printing,” explains Alka. “We additionally assist greater than 200 girls throughout 4 villages. They’re paid a stipend of Rs 15,000 to 40,000 each month.”
One of many artisans, Poonam, has been working with the model since 2007. She says it has helped her maintain her household. “I’ve been capable of present my baby with the best schooling doable due to the job and now have my very own home,” she says.
One other artisan Prabhat, who joined Aavaran in 2015, says he got here to Udaipur from West Bengal with the intention of inspecting and chopping material, however has now discovered a diversified variety of abilities. “At Aavaran I learnt all the pieces like dyeing, printing, and manufacturing administration. Presently, I handle manufacturing and taking care of textiles,” he provides.
Whereas the magic of dabu is created in Udaipur, clients pan India can order the collections on-line.
This contains lehengas, tunics, kurtas, shirts and equipment fabricated from waste material together with luggage, pouches and potlis, jewellry made with material scraps jutis and extra. Aavaran sees round 14,000 orders quarterly and has witnessed a turnover of Rs 3 crore within the final monetary 12 months, says Alka.
As Alka is occupied churning out orders to satisfy the wants of the festive season, she says life couldn’t have turned out higher. “Whereas I began out with the intent of studying a brand new print type and serving to protect it, I managed to create one thing that I by no means thought doable. Dabu artwork is the pleasure of my area.”
You’ll be able to have the magic of dabu artwork delivered to your private home, right here.