Description of Goods:

Bagru Prints are mostly on cotton and sometimes on cotton x silk. A wide range of made-ups, home furnishings, and garments are produced from Bagru Printed cloth. All Bagru Prints display an extensive variety of Butis and Butas with various colors, traditional shades of colors, and designs created by skilled Chhipas who possess expertise in preparing color mixtures using desired ingredients in specific ratios. Colors used for Bagru Hand Block Print are mostly vegetable dyes (natural colors). The creation of rich and wide range of print designs is a result of careful stamping by wooden blocks. Turners locally known as Kharadiyes possess the skill of producing desired blocks using dried wood of plants like shisham, gurjan, mango, teak, and ardu. Thus, it is the skill of Chhipas and Kharadiyes that results in the production of well-known Bagru Prints. The size of these items can vary as per demand.

Geographical Area of Production:

The geographical areas of production of Bagru Hand Block Print include Bagru, Kaladera, Jahota, and Jairampura. Of these, Bagru town is the main production center.

Proof of Origin (Historical records):

Bagru, an early 16th century town near Jaipur, developed into a flourishing textile production center and was at its peak in the 19th century. Even today, large numbers of industrial units (micro and medium level) produce Bagru Hand Block Prints for local as well as export markets. The art of hand-block printing and design was developed to a high level of sophistication, and this small 16th century village blossomed into one of India s busiest artisan centers, as evidenced by several specimens kept in national and foreign museums and/or descriptions of this craft and skill given in several books and journals written by Indian and foreign authors.

According to historian Prof. Dr. G.N. Sharma, Bagru was famous and known for its dyed or printed chintzes. Similarly, according to historian Prof. Mohan Lal Gupta, Bagru Hand Block Print Industry has been a flourishing industry for the last five centuries. Numerous other references from historical records describe Bagru as an important center for dyeing and printing fabric, indicating the town's long-standing reputation in textile art.

Method of Production:

The manufacture of Bagru Hand Block Print continues to adopt traditional methods for the preparation of dye mixtures, pre- and post-treatment of the cloth for printing and finishing. Various steps involved and details of these are as follows:

• Scouring (pre-processing of fabric before printing), locally called Hari Sarana
• Tannin or preparing fabric for printing, locally called Peela Karna or Harda Rangai
• Printing with mordant in salts, locally called Chapai
• Drying of printed fabric or aging before dyeing the fabric in natural dye, locally called Sukhai
• Washing or removal of excess mordant before dyeing, locally called Khulai
• Dyeing or fixing of colors after washing, locally called Rangai
• Resist printing or mud clay printing, locally called Dhabu Datai
• Dyeing with blue color, locally called Neel Rangai
• Dyeing with yellow dye, locally called Haldi Naspal Putai
• Post-mordanting or fixing of yellow dye, locally called Fitkari Rangai
• Final washing, locally called Dhulai, to get rid of all the excess dye and resist paste

Uniqueness:

Bagru Hand Block Prints are known for their off-white (cream) ground color, small motifs (flowers, leaves, and buds; intertwisted tendrils; trellis designs; figurative and geometric designs), and distinctive black and red color combinations harmonized on the same fabric. The standard benchmark of Bagru Hand Block Prints lies in the long-inherited skills of the local artisan community, known as Chhipas, who have professionalized hand block printing as their rightful profession and means of earning for more than six generations.

Dye preparation for desired colors and shades is a guarded secret of the Chhipas of Bagru, involving the use of bark, flowers, roots of locally available trees, river water, and fine clay sand. This unique process and the interdependency between manufacturers and craftsmen result in the well-known Bagru Hand Block Prints, which have gained recognition for their quality and wide range of prints.