Bagh prints originate from the town of Bagh in Madhya Pradesh. The intricate printing process can take over 3 weeks and involves stamping fabric with carved wooden blocks using natural dyes. Motifs include floral and geometric patterns inspired by nature. Though the techniques are old, the prints retain contemporary appeal in products like saris, dresses, and home furnishings. The manual process is painstaking but has kept the traditional Bagh print style prominent.

1. HISTORY OF DESIGN &
FASHION
“BAGH PRINTS”

2. ORIGIN OF BAGH PRINTS
• Thename “Bagh prints” is derived from the name of a place called as BAGH which is a
small tribal town in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.
• The khatri community, whocomprise the 'chhipas' orprinters came here about 400
years ago from Larkana which is famous for its Ajrak prints.
• Bagh's proximity to the riverwas an important reason for its choice as flowing river
water is vital tothe processof printing. Plenty of natural resources in Bagh are
advantageous for achieving the goal of making Bagh print eminent.
• ‘Baghprints’are trendy,coolandcomfortableclothmaterialandoff-courseitis
thesymboloftraditionalart ofMadhyaPradesh.

3. BAGH PRINTS

4. PROCESS OF MAKING
• 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 is boiled in a cauldron of water
on a bhatti with regulated heat for the colour to
emerge. This is extremely painstaking.

6. Though the techniques anddesigns are age
old butthe prints retain itscontemporary
appeal.

7. MOTIFS OF BAGH PRINT
• The design of Bagh prints covers geometrical and
floral compositions inspired from the nature.

8. USE OF BLOCKS
• The blocks also called as BILALS are used for
stamping that forms the design are intricately
and deeply carved by block-makers in Pethapur
in Gujarat.
• The blocks are of two types:-
• -blocks made of one piece of solid wood which
are costly but convenient to handle for printing
purpose.

9. • The second type of block is made of two
pieces of wood which are attached by screws
• It allows printing in different positions.
• The blocks are made on sagvan or shisham
wood and may cost Rs600-3000 depending
upon the quality and fineness of work.

10. • BLOCK PRINT
• DESIGN
• DESIGN
• BLOCK

12. • Apart from the blocks, the printers
use a variety of tools in the process
of making prints:-
• Bas ki kartali
• Jota
• Farsi
• Kunte
• Takala

13. • Sugada (shikja)
• Rangchalna
• Galni
• kadi

14. COLOR USED
• Bagh prints have unique hand block printing, printed
using vegetable dyes derived from plants, fruits,
flowers and minerals.
Bagh layouts are dramatic with use of black and red
alternately on a white background.
Production process is painstaking and manual.
The khatris claim that there are only four basic
natural colors:- red, black, khaki and indigo.
The black color is prepared with ferrus- sulphate
mixed with tamarind seed powder and glue which is
cooked in water stored for use.

15. Materials for obtaining colors
• The sources from which different colors are
obtained are as follows:-
• grey- hirakayisha
• Red-alum, alizarine & dhavda ka phool
• Yellow- haldi & alum
Deep yellow- keshavari flower & alum
• Green- ratanjyot & alum
• Violet- grey, hirakayisha & alum
• Khaki- anaar ka chilka & alum

16. • Alizarine and dhavda ka phool are used
as resist dye.
• Alizarine makes red and black fast colors,
while dhavda ka phool gives them a
shine.
• By increasing or reducing the quantity of
hirakayisha, different shades can be
obtained.
• Alum can be varied to obtain different
shades of red.

17. Double dye
• This process is developed by the khatris to
make their product more competitive in the
market.
• Here the fabric is printed with color
combinations or with imposing two similar
colors, to produce a different variety.
• In this process- red on red, red and black &
red and khaki prints are made.

18. • HARARA
• Treating the cloth with harara gives an off-
white or off-yellow background to the cloth
and also aids in strengthening the tones of the
black and red colours that are printed later.
• The fabric is now ready for printing
• Now harara andrequared colorare boiled in 10 ltr. of
water.
• Two or three pieces are died at a time and then dried.

19. • After two days they are taken to the river for
BICHALNA where printed material is pushed
into flowing river water so as to remove
excess color.
• Now the process of BHATTI is repeated where
the fabric is set to regulated heat so that
correct color could emerge.

20. PROCESS OF PRINTING

21. FABRIC USED
The fabric used originally is cotton, but now
tassar, crepe, and silk are also being used.

22. PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED
• An array of products are now available made
from Bagh printed fabric – such as:- ladies
suits, sarees, dress material, dupatta, bed-
covers, pillow covers etc.

24. HOME FURNISHING

25. • Bagh printers have given a new dimension to the hand
block printing. Today, in Indian society, bagh print has
not only become the status symbol but it also reflects
the awareness about this eternal art.
Bagh print leads India in the entire world.
The appreciation of government had helped in the
reformation of this art.
Designing and developing new design patterns for
hand block printing keeping feature in mind which
strikes to the young generation is in continued process.
So to study the choice of young generation about this
art is part of development process.

26. VARIETIES
OF
BAGH
PRINTS

27. • Bagh prints shows the
restless efforts and
achievements of Indian
artisans that
contributed in the
advancement and
growth of hand block
printing.

28. •THANKYOU