Shantiniketan in West Bengal is the art hub for Batik. The ancient craft of Batik is preserved at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, an institution founded by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Few might be aware that Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore went to Java, Indonesia, in 1927, and returned with an exquisite dyeing technique called Batik. He introduced it in Shantiniketan and it spread across India.Batik has influenced West Bengal, especially in the quintessential Alpona motifs and other typically traditional Bengali art motifs.
The creation of Batik saris is a three-stage process of waxing, dyeing and de-waxing (removing the wax). There are also several sub-processes like preparing the cloth, tracing the designs, stretching the cloth on the frame, waxing the area of the cloth that does not need dyeing, preparing the dye, dipping the cloth in dye, boiling the cloth to remove wax and washing the cloth in soap.
The word Batik actually means 'wax writing' and that is basically what Batik is all about. It is a way of decorating cloth by covering a part of it with a coat of wax and then dyeing the cloth. The waxed areas keep its original colour and when the wax is removed the contrast between the dyed and undyed areas makes the pattern.
The art of making a Batik Sari has come a long way from a mere handicraft. Batik was considered in the past as a fitting occupation for aristocratic ladies whose delicately painted designs based on bird and flower motifs were a sign of cultivation and refinement just as fine needlework.
Attributes of Batik:
- The key revealing factor of ‘Batik’ is the attractive splinters that you can see through the design, which make the design more appealing, commonly known as "CRACKS"
- Remember, the ‘Batik’ on either side of the sari will be palpable; if the design on one side is more intense than the other, probably that piece may be a duplicate one!
- Fabrics that are tagged as ‘natural fibres’ such as linen, cotton, and silk are commonly used to design ‘Batik’ motifs; this is due to the entailed boiling process.
- Duplicate or 'Printed' Batik may look elaborate and fine; authentic ones are those that are hand done and so there will be little bit of daubs in the design.
Evidence of early examples of batik have been found in the Far East, Middle East, Central Asia and India from over 2,000 years ago. It is possible that these areas developed independently, without the influence of trade or cultural exchanges. However, it is more likely that the craft spread from Asia to the islands of the Malay Archipelago and west to the Middle East along the caravan trading route. In China, batik was practised as early as the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618). Silk batiks in the form of screens have also been discovered in Nara, Japan ascribed to the Nara period (AD 710-794). These were probably made by Chinese artists, and are decorated with trees, animals, flute players, hunting scenes and stylised mountains. Evidence of very old cotton batiks have been found but frescoes in the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra State, India depict head wraps and garments which could well have been batiks. Likewise, temples such as at Borobodur and Prambanan in Java contain figures dressed in garments patterned in a manner suggestive of batik. In Egypt, linen grave cloths from the 4th century BC have been excavated which show white patterns on an indigo blue background, possibly made by scratching designs into wax. In Africa resist dyeing using cassava and rice paste has existed for centuries in the Yoruba tribes of Southern Nigeria and Senegal. Indonesia, most particularly the island of Java, is where batik has reached its peak. Here, Chinese, Arab, Indian and European traders bought and sold textiles and batik is first specifically mentioned on a cargo bill in the mid-17th century. From around 1835, textile manufacturers in Holland started attempts to mechanise the production of batik using copper rollers and a resin resist. When the Javanese proved unwilling to buy this cloth, it made its way to West Africa, where it began a life and a tradition of its own, one which continues to this day as “waxprint”. In Java, textile merchants responded to the threat by finding a way to speed up the time-consuming method of hand drawing the design. Wooden block printing was adapted to batik with the invention of copper stamps (or tjaps as they are known) to apply hot wax. Imitation batik cloth was produced in numerous European textile printing companies throughout the 20th century, most notably in the UK and Holland, and to this day is still made in just one - Vlisco in Helmond, the Netherlands – a reminder of a colonial past. In Europe, these exotic cloths sparked a wave of creativity. In the 1890s in Amsterdam, a group of young artists introduced the batik technique to interior decoration, furnishings and later to fashion. This proved very successful, and from the beginning of the 20th century, batik was practised by thousands of European and American artists and craftspeople. The peak of its popularity was between 1918 and 1925 when it was popular in Holland, Germany, France, Poland and the UK. The art of batik waned in the West until the 1960s when it was once more taken up, explored, and adapted by artists, including Noel Dyrenforth in London who was the founder of The Batik Guild.
The word batik is Javanese in origin. The word bathikan also means "drawing" or "writing" in Javanese. Another root of the word “batik” is the Javanese word “ambatik” which means “to write” or “to dot”. When the word is absorbed to Indonesian, the "th-" sound is reduced to a "t-" sound more pronounceable to non-Javanese speakers. The existence of the oldest Batik activities came from Ponorogo which was still called Wengker before the 7th century, the Kingdom in Central Java learned batik from Ponorogo. In 2009, UNESCO has officially recognised the Batik as a ‘Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’.
Indians have used resist dyeing technique since the first century. Initially, wax and even rice starch were used for printing on fabrics. The history of Indian batik can be traced as far back as 2000 years. Indians knew resist method of printing designs on cotton fabrics long before any other country had even tried it. Indian cotton and dyes were very popular. The indigo blue was one of the earliest dyes to be used. Batik is created in several ways like splash method, screen-printing method, wood-blocking and hand painting. It is believed that the finest Batik designs in India came from the artisans of Cholamandalam near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Batik printing is also done in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Batik's journey to India can be attributed to the extensive trade routes and cultural exchanges that have characterized the country's history. As Indian traders engaged with various cultures, including those in Southeast Asia, they encountered the captivating art of Batik. The intricate patterns and vibrant colours of Batik left an indelible mark on Indian artisans, inspiring them to experiment and integrate these techniques into their own textile traditions.
