Ajrakh: Sustaining a traditional craft in Kachchh

By Design: Sustaining Culture in Local Environments

Issue #004, Winter, 2020                                                                            ISSN: 2581- 9410

  1 Introduction This essay has been developed by Abduljabbar M. Khatri (“Jabbar”) and his son, Adam,who are hereditary block printers, in conversation with Eiluned Edwards. It focuses on ajrakh, the signature cloth of the Khatri block printers of Dhamadka village in Kachchh, and Jabbar and Adam reveal the social, economic and developmental changes that have affected both the family business and the craft across time. They identify the ways in which a craft with an ancient lineage has survived and is relevant in the digital age. In this respect, they offer a perspective that is rarely heard, or published, that of the artisan as an agent in determining his or her own destiny. It presents a vivid account of the challenges confronted by contemporary block printers and their own quest for viable solutions. Jabbar has taken an active part in the British Academy By Design project, contributing to the research programme, running a 3-day printing and dyeing workshop for staff and students at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), participating in two symposia: the first held at NTU in March 2016; the second at the India International Centre in January 2017 where he was joined by his eldest son, ...