Bagh Print is traditional Hand Block Print with natural colours and vegetable dyes. Bagh, which lends its name to the Bagh prints is a small tribal town in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. The Khatri community, who comprise the 'chhippas' or printers came here about 400 years ago from Larkana in Sindh which is famous for its Ajrakh prints. Bagh's proximity to the river was an important reason for its choice as flowing river water is vital to the process of printing. The design repertoire of Bagh prints covers geometrical and floral compositions and the blocks used for stamping are intricately and deeply carved by block-makers in Pethapur in Gujarat.
Bagh Print in its current form started in 1962 when a group of Muslim Khatri artisans migrated from the nearby Manawar to Bagh. They were originally from Sindh (now in Pakistan), and had since migrated to Marwad in Rajasthan and then to Manawar. With them, they brought the block printing technique, which is now the unique Bagh printing style. Cotton and Silk cloth is treated in a traditional mixture of a combination of Iron, Alum and Alizarin. Traditional designs are filled by hand by highly skilled craftsmen. The finished cloth is washed in flowing river water and sun dried for a perfect finish. The design repertoires of Bagh Print cover geometrical and floral compositions in predominant red and black colour. Bagh Prints is registered under Geographical Indication Act. 98
The famous craftsman, Ismail Khatri, moved to Bagh village in the 1960s and began practising and giving new dimensions to the block printing technique. The art was already being practised by 80% of the Tribal Adivasi population. In the 1960s, due to the lure of synthetics, many artisans left the craft but he stuck to his vocation and began to redefine its concept, process and look. He got 200 and 300-year-old blocks based on traditional motifs inspired by the 1,500-years-old paintings found in caves in the region. These motifs included Nariyal Zaal, Ghevar Zaal (Taj Mahal Paintings Designs), Saj, Dakmandwa, Chameli or Jasmine, Maithir or Mushroom, Leheriya and Jurvaria or small dots on the field. He also got blocks made which were based on the jaali work found in the Taj Mahal and local forts. He streamlined the processing of the two important colours - Red from Alum and Black from Corrosion of Iron. He also discovered new vegetable dyes such as yellow and green. But his single biggest contribution was imprinting the Bagh Print on fabrics. In 1984 he won the National Award for a bed cover in which he used 1,230 different blocks, many of them depicting his own reinvented designs. Also, his saris were much appreciated all over India. Bagh layouts are dramatic in the use of black and red alternately on a white background. The black colour is prepared with ferrous sulphate mixed with tamarind seed powder and glue which is cooked in water and stored for use. Each sari takes a minimum of three weeks to complete after the design is printed. During this period, it is washed at last three times and sent to the bhatti or oven at least twice. Two persons stand knee deep in water to wash the fabric so that superfluous colour is removed. The fabric / sari is boiled in a cauldron of water on a bhatti with regulated heat for the colour to emerge. This is extremely painstaking.
