Bandhni- The unique art of tying

Tie and dye is one of the most widely appreciated and accepted of all the traditional methods of printing textiles in India. Each pattern and motif in Bandhni has its special significance.

Some of the traditional patterns are ; the barah baag which when opened looks like a garden of flowers - a set of 12 (barah) beds of flowers. There was also a design called bavan (52) baag, but no one makes it now because it takes too much time and labor. Ambadal, a network of branches and leaves interwoven with a variety of birds, represents the branches of a mango tree. Chokidal is a pattern of squares with elephants and other animals. And then there is kambaliya - a design with a dotted pattern in the center and a different design along the border. The basant bahar represents the flowers of spring, the mor zad - a peacock pattern, etc. All these designs are traditional. Any new design that a craftsman of modern times creates is called fancy.

The origin of this art form cannot be clearly traced to any particular area or time. According to some references it first developed in Jaipur in the form of leheriya. But it is widely believed that it was brought to Kutch from Sindh by Muslim Khatris who are still the largest community involved in the craft. Bandhni was introduced in Jamnagar when the city was founded 400 years ago. This city has now become one of the principal centers of bandhni, creating new pattern and experimenting with modern colors.The earliest reference to bandhni is in Bana Bhatt's Harshacharita, where he describes a royal wedding, "the old matrons were skilled in many sorts of textile patterning, some of which were in the process of being tied (bandhya mana)". This material was used to make the skirts for women.A bandhni garment was considered auspicious for the bride. One also finds the maids in the Ajanta wall paintings wearing blouses of tie and dye patterns.

Today women and girls can be seen sitting in their homes with pieces of malmal (fine muslin), handloom or silk cloth. This cloth is first bleached and then folded into two or four layers depending on the thickness of the cloth. A rangara or designer marks the layout of the pattern on the material using wooden blocks dipped in geru, a burnt sienna color mixed with water. The craftsmen then begin to tie the cloth, which is not to be dyed. The folds of the material within the small motif are lifted and tied together. The material with the first set of ties is dyed yellow. There is also a process, mostly followed in Rajasthan of dyeing parts of the material by hand - lipai technique. The material is again tied and dyed into red or green. If the border has to be darker all the lighter parts are tied and covered with plastics foil and the edges are dyed with the required colors. Repeated tying and dyeing produces elaborate designs.

The raw materials required for bandhni are - muslin, handloom or silk cloth, ordinary thread for tying, starch and colors for dyeing. Traditionally vegetable dyes were used but today chemical dyes are becoming very popular. The tools required are also very basic - wooden blocks for marking designs and the simple implements for dyeing.

Some of the major centres of tie and die Jamnagar and Ahmedabad. The finest bandhni work of Rajasthan comes from Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Barmer, Pali, Udaipur and Nathdwara. Rajasthan is well known for its leheriya pattern - literally meaning waves. The process of making bandhni (tie and dye) varies in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Even the patterns, designs and craftsmanship vary in both the regions. The craftsmen from Rajasthan are easily recognized because they grow a nail on their little finger to facilitate the lifting of cloth for tying or wear a small metal ring with a point. The Gujarati craftsmen prefer to work without these aids. The flow is much better when one works with one's bare hands as it assures no damage to the cloth.

The colors commonly used in bandhni are - red, a symbol of marriage, saffron, a color worn by yogi who has renounced the world, yellow, which stands for spring and black and maroon, used for mourning.