Hand Block Printing: Beauty of Blocks

Rajasthan’s culture is a celebration of chivalry, hardship, and beauty, manifested through its literature, poetry, music, dance, painting, architecture, and craft-forms. The cultural heart of the state lies in Jaipur, with arts like hand block printing, blue pottery, embroidery work, soulful music, grand architecture, and above all, the classical chaotic order that resonates with India and Indians.

Block printing is known to have been used in India since at least the 12th century, although this method is thought to be around 2,000 years old. Indian artisans borrowed a technique from China and turned it into a culturally distinct art form. Different types of dye and patterns became synonymous with different regions of the country. Block prints are done by eye, and telltale signs of the human hand, even imperfections, are part of the ineffable humanity and beauty of the craft. The final outcome of this intricate labor is a timeless beauty.

The block printing villages are known for their rhythmic ‘tock-tock’ sound of the block printer hitting the woodblock to ‘stamp’ the pattern. It is an enchanting sound that echoes through the village and is a reminder of the significance of artisan work. The luxury of this craft dwells in the intricacy and precision of handwork. Some of their raw materials include an interesting array of jaggery, pomegranate rind, scrap horseshoe, madder root, indigo, and turmeric. The original Bagru style printing uses natural vegetable dyes and mud resist techniques.

It’s evidently a humdrum of activities but not without a sense of meditative quality. The repetitive nature of the aforementioned activities instills a sense of calm in an urban observer.

This laborious art form requires a skill set whose crucial prerequisites include patience, creativity, and eagle-eye precision. Block prints are, by nature, hand-done. The slight color variation within a print run and across different print runs if printed at different times or in different seasons, is a natural part of the process. It is an attribute appreciated by those who value the uniqueness of artisan textiles.

The design is first carved out of a wooden block. The printer then covers the block with dye and presses it firmly onto the cloth, in our case, the wall and striking it smartly on the back.

The art of block printing is one such art that is a delight for the senses; the soft thud of a wooden block hitting the print table is so rhythmic of a backdrop to the centuries-old craft of block printing. The craft persists even after the endless inventions that happen on an every-day basis and is carried out in the crepuscular light of thousands of workshops across the subcontinent. The rooms at Jaipur Bungalow beautifully resonate with this exotic craft. Wallpapers, tiles on the wall; every element in the room brings you closer to the intricacy of this craft and makes you fall in love with the rawness of this craft-form.