Malvika Shetty

Meet Mr Rahim Gutty.The pen in his hand is a batik brush which is similar to the brush one finds in Indonesia.The speciality of this brush is it can give intricate designs ,the cloth will be held in the palm exactly how Rahimji is holding it.He with the help of Majid bhai used all his resources and engineered this brush in India.By doing so he brought this technique of intricate batik into Bhairavhad a tiny village in Madhya Pradesh

A few kilometers from Ujjain lies the sleepy town of Bhairavghad. When you enter Majid bhais workshop you will find hot wax slowly steaming on gas burners alongside long tables covered with sand.The sand does not allow the melted wax to stick on to the surface of the table -ingenious ,isn't it?

This workshop also houses artisans who use a brush made out of coconut husk,they draw free hand with wax which acts like paint here! Images that come to their mind are just drawn on the cloth.It is a meditation in its own because the mind is so single minded.

Once the wax dries ,the fabric is dipped into color.In this way the parts that dont have wax will get the color.During this dye bath the area where the wax has been applied naturally gets cracks and allows the color to seep in there -this gives the batik its unique look!

Finally the fabric is washed in boiling hot water ! Fun fact- The wax that is rinsed off the cloth is not wasted.It is collected with a strainer and reused in the printing process!

A glimpse of the final Batik!

Ahilyabhai Holkar-The able ruler of the Holkar dynasty has a temple housed in the weaver city of Maheshwar,she is credited for getting the looms to this city.This loom here is one of the many light frame looms you will find here.The designs of the Maheshwari sari are often inspired by the motifs of the fort in Maheshwar of the Holkar dynasty.

The Maheshwar looms use super fine cotton in the weft and silk yarns as warp.In the picture above you see the bobbin being filled with dyed cotton yarn with the help of a charkha.

Do stop by Bhopal,and visit the Tribal Musuem there- it has captured the essence of the tribal life,culture and art beautifully.You will find a lot of Ghondh artists in Bhopal.Do take a lesson of Ghondh art from them-Ghondh is inspired by nature and is a tribal art form.

We decided to continue this trail further north-into the town of the famous Chandheri saris!The craftsmen here take it a notch up from Maheshwar.These saris take anywhere from 3 to 4 days to get ready!

This is a very common sight in Chanderi village called "Bheem Bandna". Here the warp is being arranged for it to be set on the loom.

They prepare a graph for the entire body of the chandheri sari which will have intricate little motifs adorning it !

Chandheri saris are known world over for their translucency. The Madhya Pradesh textile trail was a small reminder of how colourful and rich is every nook and corner of India with craft!