Page 28 - In The Loop Feb-Apr 2018

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Ajrak: The Exclusive Cloth of Sindh

The process of making Ajrak is highly complex, comprising
21 stages and requires teamwork and special skills. It
takes craftsmen almost a month to complete a traditional
teli (oily) ajrak. The three main tools for making a block
printed fabric include wooden blocks, the fabric and the
dye. It can take five artisans up to three days to carve an
intricate design in a block of teak wood to be used as a
printing block. The printers may use up to 30 blocks to
complete a design. Separate blocks are required for each
color and it is not unusual to have four or five colors in a
design. It can take twenty people, each doing a separate
task, up to eight hours to prepare a single block printed
piece of cloth. With all this, the results are unique and the
block printing technique, used for centuries, is still in
vogue.
Pakistani clothes define the culture of Pakistan, its
demographics and the diversity that hails from its different
regions and provinces, giving it a unique identity. Among
these is the famous Sindhi Ajrak. The name Ajrak is
derived from azrak, which means blue in the Arabic
language. It is an exclusive form of block printed cloth
produced in Sindh, Pakistan and displays special designs
and patterns made by using block printing stamps. The
origin of Ajrak can be traced to the ancient times between
2500 BC - 1500 BC when a statue of King Priest was
extracted from the archaeological site of Mohenjo-Daro
(Sindh), with shawl draped over its shoulder, adorned with
a trefoil pattern (like a three leafed clover) sprinkled with
small circles filled with red color. Rich crimson and deep
indigo are the dominant colours with a little black and white
to define the patterns.

The trefoil signifies three sun-disks glued together to Ajraks are made all over Sindh and over the years, these
characterize the unity of the gods of the Sun, Water and have become a symbol of Sindhi culture. According to
Earth. Although, Ajrak has been used in Sindh for centuries Sindhi tradition, Ajraks are presented as gifts to important
and block printing techniques and dyes are all age-old guests held in high esteem. These are also worn as shawls
methods of dying cloth, yet, this symbol is still used on on festive occasions such as weddings and cultural events
Ajrak these days. and also used for making traditional outfits.

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