Bandhini: Creating fine masterpieces

Traditional Craft

The rich colours have a huge sense of appeal for buyers and they instantly symbolise a certain element of Indianness for the person wearing it. The origin of this fabric has an interesting history weaved into it.

The word bandhini means “to tie” and is derived from Sanskrit. While some believe that Muslim Khatri women brought this art form to Kutch, a few others in Rajasthan believe that artists from Neelgar and Chippa communities were the original practitioners of this art form.

Interestingly, this tie-and-dye art has evolved over the years and today bandhini fabric is available in various forms — sarees, lehengas, cholis, dupattas, scarves, stoles, shawls, skirts, and even bed spreads and cushion covers. No wonder, this traditional art form has found its way into the glamorous world of fashion and films too.

It is said that the process of producing bandhini cloth is one among the oldest crafts of the world. It is a skilled task where the artisan has to initiate the process of creating a bandhej fabric either with malmal cotton or georgette which is folded to a quarter of its size. The cloth is then placed on a table and desired designs are marked using a wooden block dipped in red colour known as geru in Kutch.

This process is alternatively done by placing a clear thin sheet of plastic pierced with pin holes on this fabric and then transferring the imprint of the desired pattern on to the fabric using the thin sheet. A rag dipped in geru is then washed over the sheet, leaving an imprint of the desired pattern on the cloth. The craftsperson then pulls a small area of the fabric where each hole is placed and winds the thread tightly to form a tiny knot.

Hundreds of such knots are formed to retain the original colour in that portion. The cloth is then washed to remove the imprint and dipped in yellow or other lighter colours.

Following this, the fabric is rinsed, squeezed and tied and then dipped in a darker colour. After the last step in the dyeing process, the cloth is washed and, if necessary, starched. The folds are then pulled apart in a particular way, releasing the knots and revealing their pattern.

Traditionally, only natural colours were used, but today, the colour scheme involves the usage of synthetic colours for faster results and bulk production. According to Abdul Kayam, owner of a small manufacturing unit of bandhej in Jaipur, “Synthetic colours are used to save on time. Women do the tying using their nails that are specifically grown long for this purpose or a spiked metal ring is used to lift and tie the tiny knots. Men do the dyeing as it involves a lot of labour. The entire process of tie-and-dye may take anything from two days to 45 days, depending on the design and embroidery involved.”

According to Raju Bhai Navrathan Makwana from Kutch, “The bandhini created in Gujarat varies from that of Rajasthan in terms of quality and design even though the process is the same.” In their book on world textiles, John Gillow and Bryan Sentance mention that bandhini was so popular in the 18th century that spotted scarves in English came to be called bandana.

Though bandhini is worn across India on every possible occasion, in Gujarat and Rajasthan, the fabric is associated with certain special occasions. For instance, Gujarati women wear bandhini saris known as garcholas only for weddings. However, for the artisans, bandhini is not only a source of livelihood, but a reflection of their rich culture.