A beautiful form of block printing that originated in Rajasthan,
Bagru reflects the beauty of handcrafted Indian textiles coupled with
contemporary style. One of the oldest block printing techniques in
India, Bagru originated in a small village near Jaipur called Bagru, a
centuries-old center for hand block printed textiles.





The
historical progress of the motifs of Bagru is difficult to understand.
These are mostly derived from the flora and fauna and are natural in
origin. There are majorly 5 different types of motifs that are used in
Bagru Printing – Flowers & Birds, Tendrils, Trellis or Jaal Designs,
Geometrical motifs and human or animal figurative motifs.





Generally, Bagru printing is done on an Indigo or some other dyed background where the prints have a slight reddish hue to them. Traditionally, motifs printed in Bagru are large with bold lines and most of the printing is done with relatively small blocks as opposed to large blocks, on very small & low tables called the ‘Paatiya’





Bagru Prints – An Introduction





When it comes to ancient
cultures and crafts, India has always been a pioneer. Thanks to many
communities and regions in India, we still have some of our prized
possessions intact. One of them is Bagru prints – a hand block printing
technique to print and dye clothes using traditional vegetable dyes.
Like, the color blue is made from indigo, greens out of indigo mixed
with pomegranate, red from madder root and yellow from turmeric.





There
is no literature about the beginning of this printing technique, but it
is said that it was started around 450 years back in Bagru, a small
village near Jaipur, Rajasthan is known for its breath taking
craftsmanship. This village has a community, CHHIPAS- a traditional
crafts people who print and design fabrics by hand. They are known for
their unique designs of luxuriant trellis in sophisticated natural
colors.





Bagru printing is a manual process through which they fabricate some of the most amazing bed covers, kurtis, ghagras and other materials. They block impression prints repeatedly. A little different placement of the next block is the main beauty of this art.





Bagru Prints in Today’s Fashion





Around 5 decades back, Bagur prints were limited to ghagras and cholis for women of their own community. They also used to sell them in their local market. Earlier, these prints were used to identity Hindu castes, like leather





workers used to wear the same print as blacksmiths. However, the base color differentiated them.





Thanks to these fabulous prints, Bagru has
made its own space in the international fashion. Today, they are highly
used in contemporary fashion. Their indigo color with beautiful block
patterns and motifs in kurtis, pants, skirts, jackets and more, appeals
to many Indians. It will not wrong if we say that summer conventional
fashion is incomplete with Bagru prints. Other than fashion, Bagru
prints are immensely used in home furnishing items and accessories.





Thanks to these fabulous prints, Bagru has made its own space in the international fashion. Today, they are highly used in contemporary fashion. Their indigo color with beautiful block patterns and motifs in kurtis, pants, skirts, jackets and more, appeals to many Indians. It will not wrong if we say that summer conventional fashion is incomplete with Bagru prints. Other than fashion, Bagru prints are immensely used in home furnishing items and accessories.