Block Printing on textiles (Sanganer)
Very close to Jaipur is Sanganer now famed for the city’s airport it is also
the center for block and screen-printed cotton cloth. They are available in
very colourful folk designs and some very soft and soothing cloth mainly used
for bed linen, table covers, curtains or home furnishing. Neighbouring Bagru
is also famed for textile designs but printers in Bagru use vegetable colour
and use more floral designs while Barmer from western Rajasthan produces
prints that are known for their bold geometric patterns, called 'AJRAKH'.
Barmer an area in the middle of the Thar Desert is known for darker shades
because people in the desert believed that dark shades are cooler as they
absorb sunrays. From the other desert city, Jaisalmer, come some of the oldest
designs; the specialty is the wax resistant art printing, a technique that
creates some most unusual shades. The print on a Jaisalmer wedding dress is a
spectacular one, with a design of squares in red, pink and black. Pichhwai
from the temple town of Nathdwara near Udaipur and muslin prints from Kota are
some very fine examples of textile prints from Rajasthan also.
Laharia
This is a special print process of tie and dye it creates the stylized wavy
pattern locally called laharia meaning of waves. The patterns symbolize water
waves and are favored in monsoon rain. Turbans, odhnis (wraps) and saris with
laharia patterns are generally used on festive occasions and outdoor picnics
especially around the time of Teej festival. Rajasthani bandhej pieces are
generally of fine malmal (delicate cotton cloth) for saris and odhnis, and
medium or coarse cloth for the tradition ghagra (skirt), lugri (shirt), choli
(bodice), and odhnis. The designs are not as elaborate or delicately drawn as
those in Gujarat.
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