One of the most specialised and finest kinds of block printing, AJRAKH is a popular traditional art form of Kutch with its main centres in Dhamadka, Khavda and Bhuj in Gujarat.

The Khatri community has been engaged in this craft for centuries and the technique has been passed down and perfected through several generations. Now, only two such family units of the ‘Khandani’ Ajrakh printers still practice the craft in India.

A long, detailed and highly skilled process is involved in the creation of a fine Ajrakh print. After the initial preparation of the fabric by destarching, degumming and treatment with a myrobylam paste, a resist paste is hand block-printed to retain white areas of the final design. An alum solution mordant is printed onto areas that would later turn red and an iron-scrap ferrous sulphate mordant is printed onto areas that would finally be black.