Bagh prints – herbal touch, tribal creativity

‘Bagh prints’ are trendy, cool and comfortable cloth material and off course if you visit MP you should buy Bagh prints. An array of products are now available made from Bagh printed fabric - be it ladies suits, sarees, dress material, dupatta, bed-covers, pillow covers etc. one can find all. Bagh prints have unique hand block printing, printed using vegetable dyes. The fabric used originally was cotton, but now saw tassar, crepe, and silk are being used with excellent results. Bagh layouts are dramatic with use of black and red alternately on a white background. Production process is painstaking and manual. Though the techniques and designs are age old but the prints retain its contemporary appeal. Bagh prints derive its name from a small tribal town in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. Bagh's proximity to the river was an important reason for its choice as flowing river water is vital to the process of printing. The black colour is prepared with ferrous sulphate mixed with tamarind seed powder and glue which is cooked in water and stored for use. Each sari takes a minimum of three weeks to complete after the design is printed. During his period it is washed at last three times and sent to the bhatti or oven at least twice. Two persons stand knee deep in water to wash the fabric so that superfluous colour is removed. The fabric / sari are boiled in a cauldron of water on a bhatti with regulated heat for the colour to emerge.

Bhopal haat, the handicraft- handloom place in Bhopal which now is trendy, normally has a bagh print counter whenever there is any festival or event. Plans are their to set up a permanent counter not only of Bagh but also of Maheshwari prints in the same place, keeping in view of the demand.