Tied to tradition

                                                   

Thorughout centuries, indian art and literature have had evocative references to beautiful tie-dyed  fabrics, locally referred to as bandhani or lehariya. From a 5^th-century painting at ajanta of a figure in a tunic bearing dotted motifes typical of the tie-dye technique to figure in jain manuscripts and Rajput and Mughal miniatures, from the auspicious red Gharchola sari worn by Hindu and Jain brides to the abha-khumbi-izar ensemble worn by women of the memon community, there is evidence of the practice of tie-dyeing since ancient times. And in the 21^st century, with artisans and designers working on a range of tie-dye apparel  of fine mulmul, silk georgette and wool the craft is being explored and its boundaries expanded.

TYING FABRIC WITH YARN 

The tradition of the tie-dyeing fabric for surface embellishment finds two expressions in india one is bandhani and the other, leheriya. In bandhani , the cloth is tied in small knots to resist dye penetration to them, whereas in leheriya, the cloth is rolled diagonally or folded like a fan and them tied at intervals and dyed to yield stripes. Bandhani and leheriya are often sold with the ties intact to assure customers that they are indeed tie-dyed fabrics and not printed; a small section may be united to show buyers the pattern or colour combination.

Bandhani stems from the hindi word bandh, meaning to tie. The fabric may be laid out or folded and then the pattern is created on it with the use of wooden blockes dipped in colour or stencils. Following the lines of the motif, the craftsperson knots the dots that have to retain the base colour of the fabric . the fabric is pushed up from the bottom with a pointed figure, nails or a metal spike affixed to a nail. Knots are deftly tied with a thread, till all the dots that have to retain the ground colour are tied.

The fabric is then dyed in the lightest colour of the paletee of the composition, after which is rinsed and dried. The entire process is repeated for each colour, moving from light to dark, sometimes the craftperson dip-dyes  a section or applies colour to few knots selectively. After the final dyeing and drying, the knots are opened to reveal the striking dark colour. After the final dyeing, the resist threads are removed to reveal coloured stripes stretching across the fabric, creating a charming ripple effect. If a leheriya –dyed fabric is rolled once again from the opposite corner and tied and dyed, a chequered pattern of intersecting diagonals emerges . and if the fabric is pleated, tied and dyed, a series of zigzag patterns is obtained.  Leheriya is most effective on thin, light and permeable fabric as the dye penetrates the tightly rolled layers.

A VIBRANT CRAFT

The finest bandhani  is practiced in some cities of Gujarat and Rajasthan, whereas leheriya is exclusive to Rajasthan. Bhuj, Abdasa, Mandvi and Mundra in kutch , as well as Jamnagar in saurasthra. Gujrat. Are well-known for their bandhani tradition. In Rajasthan. The towns of jhunjhunu, churu and sikar are famed for their painted havelis, while Jaipur, Udaipur, Barmer and Jodhpur are legendary for their royal heritage and monuments as well as the bandhani and leheriya traditions.

Bandhani  textiles bear a spectrum of charming motifs with equally charming local names. Bindi/boondh is a dot with a dark centre; kodi is shell; rasmandal is a compostion of women dancing in a circle, ambandal is mango vine with paisley;chandrokhani  is a decorative central moon-shaped medallion and dana is when grains are used as fillers.Broadly,the bandhani in kutch is finer than the work done in saurashtra and rajasthan.The tie-dye of rajasthan features a greater number of colours that are also brighter,the latter being attributed to th properties of water in region that brighten the colours after rinsing the fabrics.The presence of rivers is a great aid to the practice of tie-dyeing.In fact,the intense red of the dye from Jamnagar is a result  of the properties of the rivers water flow in india.For this reason,in some cases,the tying of fabrics is done in other centres while the dyeing is done in Jamnagar.           

Kurtas,long skirts, drapes,blouses ,saris and turban cloths are typically tie-dyed.Different coloured and patterned turbans are worn by men of various communities,depending on the occasions as well as the season.Ahmed badshah miyah , a traditional tie-dye master craftsman  from jaipur,says there are 110 colours in natural dye and 24000 hues in the shades card of synthetic colours.Without folding a fabric he can wrk on up to 5000 dots in a one-metre by one-metre size ;folding a fabric and making knots is quicker, though the resultant dots are not as fine. He has received a national award for a leheriya sari featuring 32 colours, and is currently working on a 150-meter long turban cloth using a paltte of 150 colours and shades that he hopes will set a world record.

FROM TRADITIONAL TO CONTEMPORARY

inspired by the beauty of tie-dyed fabric, textile designers are talking the crafts to a higher plane by adding embellishments. Asif shaikh, ahmedabad-based master embroidere and textile designer, created a collection working with tie-dyed fabrics whose beauty was enhanced by embroidered motif. As he believes it is the duty of designers to promote indian textiles in an authentic way, he comissioned  fine tie-dyed fabrics and then worked on embroidering them between the roundels rather than on the tie-dye work as is sometimes done. Interestingly, the embroidered motifs echoed the tie-dye roundels on the textiles in from and size. The result was appreciated by textile lovers and tie-dye craftsmen who were delidhted to see their work being recognised.

             “ SOME PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE IN EFFORT BETWEEN A   TIE-DYED  FABRIC AND ONE THAT IS PRINTED IN A SIMILAR PATTERN.”

Tie-dye fabrics have travelled far from western India. “craft organisations like paramparik karigar that work with tarditional master craftsmen have played a major role in promoting tie-dye,” says master  tie-dyer khatri Naushadali Jakariya, based in Bhuji, kutch. He adds, “customers who are aware of the intricacies of the technique are happy to buy our work. Some people do not know the difference in effort between a tie-dyed fabric and one that is printed in a similar pattern. Therefore, creating awareness will certainly help us.” Aparts from creating a range of textiles in a traditional and contemporay idiom , jakariya also takes order. “custemers come to me with specifies motifs and colour schemes. I recreate the same in bandhani over time, the colour palette has expanded from the traditional reds, greens and maroons to a whole spectrum of colours inculding pastels.” In this way, the skill of the craftsmen, the versatility of the craft, and the role of perceptive designers has vitalised this centuries-old craft.

(Ties- dye fabrics and apparel are available in stores across Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as some boutiques, craft stores and state government emporia all over the country. Prices vary according to the fineness of the work, details of motifs/compositions, number of colours and thefabric used.)