A day well spent – Bagru.

A bright morning, as we wait outside our hostel for our uber to come pick us up for our long planned day at Bagru. This is was our third time at bagru, as we were travelling for the first time after lockdown, we were excited. May be more excited for the chai at tapri, our Jaipur ritual!

As we started with our journey, the excitement in the air seemed to fill in.

Bagru, still considered to be a village. But like many other Indian villages, its has been swallowed by encroaching urbanisation. With our invasion at Nutan bhai’s house, we were greeted with a huge smile, big enough for us to forget our bumpy auto ride!

You can clearly hear the thud of blocks from these in-house workshops in the densely community of about 3000 chippas,  a caste of printers who continue day after day to stamp lengths of cotton fabric with color using hand-carved wood blocks. They were taught this art by their parents, who were, in turn, taught by theirs — each generation working almost exactly as the one before, going back at least 450 years.

Though Bagru’s history is quite uncertain, it is estimated that a group of Chhipas (literally meaning people who stamp or print) came to Bagru from Sawai Madhopur (Alwar), and settled in Bagru. Even today, their community works together in a place called Chhippa Mohalla (Printer’s Quarters) by the Sanjaria riverside. The bank of the river provided them with clay which is an important ingredient in getting the base color of the famed ‘Bagru’ prints. The artisans smear the cloth with Fuller’s earth got from the riverside and then dip it in turmeric water to get the beige colored background.

After that, they stamp the cloth with beautiful designs using natural dyes of earthly shades.

Ever excited Nutan bhai and his wife, showed us around his new workshop, 5 kms through a blemished road and sharing his lockdown experience in a contrite tone. Our agenda for the visit was to explain the new dashboard part which we have been trying to implement and understand the acceptability from their end but ended up spending most of our time in awe of the new designs he was so proud of!

With multiple rounds of piping hot chai, delicious lunch and numerous photo shoots, it was time for us to bid good byes. 

As we sat in our Uber with the setting sun, It got me to wonder again… 

With fast paced urbanisation, machine made defects, screen printed block prints.

How, then, can craft survive in a world with so much stacked against it?

Perhaps with knowledge that it builds a cultural built around a community, with families and neighbours working and living together in a tandem, often across religion, for generations sharing a history. It is not an easy one. But is necessary. Perhaps for the one who feels it.

-Megha Das