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Magnificent Kutch

The Region / The People / The Culture / Handicraft

The region:

The region Kutch lies in the northern most part of Gujarat State, on the border with Pakistan. The land is very arid. Temperatures can soar well past 40° Celsius for long periods of time and rainfall is meager and intermittent. At worst, droughts occur year after year.

To the north and east, Kutch is surrounded by great salt marsh desert areas: The Great Rann and The Little Rann. Crossing these deserts to Sindh in Pakistan, Rajasthan, or the rest of Gujarat is extremely hazardous. To the south and west lie the ocean, which was for many centuries the main route to the rest of the world.


The people:

Kutch is home to a number of different communities and tribal groups, Hindu, Muslim, and Jain who have a long history of tolerance and peaceful
coexistence.

The traditional life of many Kutchi people was one of being nomadic or semi nomadic. Although most have now settled into villages, the agricultural and pastoral cycles still dominate the structure of their working lives.

At the same time, the 360km of sea coast has ensured a long tradition of seafaring activity. This uncertain lifestyle meant that many women were left for long periods of time to raise their children and maintain the continuity of village life. Consequently Kutchi women are a very strong force within the social structure.


The culture:

The different tribal groups that now live in Kutch have migrated there from countries as diverse as present day Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other areas in the Middle East and Central Asia. There is even some evidence to show that the Jat community may have originated in Greece or Germany.

The textiles of each of these groups evolved through necessity as portable vessels, furnishings, and items of clothing. Each community and tribal group has it's own lexicon of motifs and embroidery stitches. Other craft techniques, such as batik and beading, have been imported into Kutch through sea trade with other countries.


Handicraft:

Kutch has a wealth of traditional crafts, not only in textiles, but also woodcarving, cast silver work, lacquer work, terracotta pottery. Houses are often decorated with designs made from mud, cow or camel dung, clay slip, and mirrors. The major textile techniques for which Kutch is famous are listed below:

Block printing
There are four main block printing techniques done in Kutch.
 

●		Direct block printing is just that. The block is dipped into dye and printed directly onto the fabric.
●		Resist block printing is achieved when the block is dipped into a dye resist paste, usually tamarind seed paste and lime, then printed onto fabric which is then dyed and the resist paste is removed to reveal the undyed fabric underneath.
●		Complex patterns can be made with both direct and resist block printing using different blocks to build up layers of images and colour . Ajrakh block printing is a special style of direct block printing for which Kutch is particularly famous. Traditional Ajrakh designs can be traced back several centuries to Persia (Iran). Real Ajrakh is done with natural indigo and madder dyes.
●		Discharge block printing is a chemical process whereby the fabric is first dyed with one colour, then printed with another. It is rolled and steamed which causes the original dye to disperse under the block print, giving a two color design.
●		Batik block printing is a wax resist technique. The block is dipped into wax and printed onto fabric which is then dyed and the wax removed.

Tie Dye (Bandhini)
Tie dye in Kutch is extremely fine. Designs are carefully built up in a number of colors, starting with the lightest and working through to the darkest.

Designs are usually lightly printed with block made up of small dots. The crafts man or woman will then tie tiny knots where the dots are shown. The parts of the design to be in the lightest colour will remain knotted throughout the process, but as each new color is applied, some of the knots will be strategically untied allowing the color to penetrate.

Weaving
Shawls and rugs are woven in cotton, wool, and even camel hair. Traditional designs are a distinctive style with bands of simple geometric shapes such as stripes, diamonds, triangles, star shapes, and chevrons.

Although Ikat weaving is not traditional to Kutch, one weaver has recently introduced this technique, in which the pattern is achieved by tying and dying either the warp or the weft before weaving. In Kutch, Ikat is a luxury item, always done in silk.

Embroidery
The various villages and the prevelant caste system of Kutch have nurtured within their communities diverse types of embroidery. The secrets of these designs are affectionately gaurded. They are handed down as family heirlooms from mothers to their daughters and daughters-in-law.

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