Indian Epic - Travels in Kutch, Gujarat - Textile Heaven

Kutch is famed for its rich textile heritage so what better way to spend our final day than overdosing on them. Our first call was to the Living & Learning Design Centre (known as LLDC) in the village of Ajrakhpur, just outside Bhuj, a world class crafts & textile museum with an education and resource centre enabling the craftsmen and women of Kutch to interact with designers, learn about new designs and products to ensure that their work remains both relevant and marketable. You can learn more about the work of the LLDC HERE.

Photographs aren't allowed inside, which was probably a good thing, as Jon and I were able to fully immerse ourselves in the textiles on display and the incredible exhibition of costumes worn by the many tribes of Kutch. There were also some fascinating videoed interviews (subtitled in English) with representatives from the various Kutchi tribes, discussing their outfits and their way of life. We were sad to learn that the custom within many communities is that the clothing and jewellery of the deceased is thrown in the sea, buried or burnt, neither recycled or passed on.

I was interested to read a quote from a woman belonging to a Kutchi tribe where females stay indoors. Nobody has ever told us we can't go out, she said, our husbands say that we should, it's just that we don't want to be the first of our generation to do so. We want someone else to go before us. The weight of tradition can be such a heavy burden.

The women of the Rabari, one of many Kutchi tribes famed for their embroidery skills, used to start embroidering their trousseaux in their early teens. Their work was so intricate that the women were often in their mid-thirties before they were ready to marry. In recent years the tribal elders banned the women from embroidering their own clothes dictating that their work be sold. In an interview with one of the Rabari women she said I feel sad that I can't own the beautiful clothes my ancestors wore. I'm proud that my work is valued and that the money we make from selling our work supports our community but I feel that I've lost part of who I am by having to wear plain clothes.

The centre was only inaugurated in 2016 and is a wonderfully modern and imposing space. On the day we visited they were preparing for an arts festival, due to start later that day.

 Ramji wasn't available on our last full day so K provided us with another driver. Although he didn't speak a lot of English he was from Bhuj and so, when asked if we could see some traditional block printing he knew exactly where to take us......those of you with a fetish for fabric, look away now!!

Dr. Ismael Mohammed Khatri can trace his Ajrakh block-printing heritage back at least nine generations. This is just a small part of his warehouse.

We asked if it was possible to see where his fabric was printed so he hopped into our car and directed us a mile down the road. I expected a factory but we were taken to a village, with every adult resident involved in the process of block printing cotton -  while men stood over huge vats of simmering dyes, stirring away, women laid lengths of partially printed cloth out in the sun to dry, children played amongst the fabric, cows were tethered to gateposts and cats slept in the shade.

The actual block printing process took place in a large brick-built building with a corrugated metal roof. Unlike factories here in the UK there was no radio blasting away in the background, just the satisfying thud of wooden printing blocks against seemingly endless sheets of pristine white cotton - with the occasional chirp from a family of sparrows, who'd made their nest in gap in a factory window.

Dr. Khatri told us that it takes each employee three days to print a 100 metre length of cotton. That's why block printed cotton isn't cheap.

The factory supplies block printed cotton to some of the best known shops in the country, including the wonderful FabIndia where this fabric was destined, to be made up into women's knee length kurtas and bed covers. 

Dr. Khatri

Gives a whole new meaning to sun-dried!

The process was mesmerising. Again, sorry about my terrible accent - I can't stay quiet for a minute.

Needless to say, we popped back to the warehouse after our visit and treated ourselves to two scarves as souvenirs. I loved block printed fabric before, now I bloody adore it.

By now it was lunchtime so we picked up the driver's wife from Bhuj hospital where she worked as a nurse and went to their favourite basement canteen for a massive veg thali. The food was incredible and the company, despite the language barrier, was warm and lovely.

When we visited Manvi you may have noticed the Gujarati tie-dye shawl I wore. I was excited to find it in a 50p bucket in a charity shop and was intrigued by the process involved. Gujarati tie-dye is a lot more intricate than my teenage attempts with waxed string and marbles.

We asked our driver if we could see some tie-dye and ended up in the front room of a house in a nearby village. The householder explained how he sketches a series of dots and dashes on lengths of white fabric (either cotton or silk) and pays local housewives to sew around the dots, pulling the thread tight. The completed lengths of fabric are then returned where they're immersed in a tubs of vegetable dye. When dry, more markings and stitching are added and the fabric is dyed again.

Here's some of the completed work.

The chap wasn't interested in selling us anything, he was more than happy with a selfie!

We finished the day with a stroll around Bhuj. It's probably a good thing that Saturday was half day closing or I'd probably have bankrupted myself.

Everything you could possibly want including pom pom necklaces for your water buffalo and replacement legs for your charpoy.

I'd forgotten that I'd seen the fake ivory arm bangles on Bhuj market. Jon put me off by saying that they looked like onion rings.

It was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to K and the Devpur Homestay on Sunday morning.

But that wasn't the end of our adventures in Kutch. We had one place to visit before our flight to Mumbai. Run by the not-for-profit organisation Kala Raksha, Sumeraser Sheikh maintains an archive of antique textiles, a handicraft workshop, a museum and a fixed-price shop. Most of the participants are women from marginalised communities (like the ladies below) .

This elderly woman is suffering, like many professional embroiderers, from failing eyesight. She arrived as refugee from the Indo-Pak war of 1971 and has lived here ever since.

Kala Raksha employ her to make these beautiful patchwork chess pieces from salvaged fabric and also provide her with accommodation.

Such incredible skill. I was pleased to learn that the not-for-profit organisations that promote the skills of Kutchi embroiderers provide regular eye tests.

The antique textiles & tribal jewellery on display made me giddy with excitement. I bought a DVD from the shop called When Stitches Speak, an award-winning animated documentary (link HERE) which I'm looking forward to watching soon. 

I wanted it all!

Appetite for textiles sated we continued on our journey to the airport where, once again we were treated like rock stars, with the cabin crew meeting us outside the terminal, unloading Ramji's car and carrying our luggage for us. 

And that was Kutch! As you can probably tell from the profusion of posts we loved every minute of our week-long adventure. If you're interested in visiting you'll find the wonderful Devpur Homestay's website HERE and if you want any further information & advice about visiting the Kutch region of Gujarat please feel free to email me.

You'll find the whole set of photos HERE.

See you soon!