Ajrak ( sd, اجرڪ), also known as Ajrakh, is a unique form of blockprinting found mostly in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and Ajrakhpur, Kutch district,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps. Over the years, ajraks have become a symbol of the Sindhi culture and traditions. Ajrak print is also famous in neighbouring areas of India in the state of Gujarat due to their influence from

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

in Sindh, Pakistan. A later-on Saraiki version of Ajrak shawl was created called, Sajarak is found in South Punjab of Pakistan. Sajarak is mostly of cyan color while the simple Ajrak is of red and black. Sindhi Cap Ajrak

Etymology

The

Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...

word ajrak (اجرڪ) comes from

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...

ajar or ajor (اجر) meaning brick and -ak (ک) meaning little. In Persian -ak is a suffix which forms the diminutive.

History

Early human settlements in the lower Indus Valley found a way of cultivating and using ''

Gossypium arboreum ''Gossypium arboreum'', commonly called tree cotton, is a species of cotton native to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and other tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. There is evidence of its cultivation as long ago as the Harappan c ...

'' commonly known as ''tree cotton'' to make clothes. These civilizations are thought to have mastered the art of making cotton fabrics. A bust of the ''Priest-King'' excavated at

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';National Museum of Pakistan, shows one shoulder draped in a piece of cloth that resembles an ajrak. Of special note is the

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

pattern etched on the person's garment interspersed with small circles, the interiors of which were filled with a red pigment.

Excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

s elsewhere in the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

around

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

have yielded similar patterns on various objects, most notably on the royal couch of

Tutankhamen Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

. Similar patterns appear in recent ajrak prints. Ajrak can be called the identity of Sindh and Sindhi people. Ajrak is a symbol of pride and respect for men and glory for women. Sindhi people also present Ajrak as gesture of hospitality to their guests. The level of geometry on the garment comes from the usage of a method of printing called

woodblock printing Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is crea ...

in which prints were transferred from geometric shapes etched on the wooden blocks by pressing them hard on the fabric. The tradition still prevails centuries later, and people still use the same methods of production that were used in the earlier days to create an ajrak. The garment has become an essential part of the Sindhi culture and apparel of Sindhis. Men use it as a turban, a

cummerbund A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets (or ''tuxedos''). The cummerbund was adopted by British military officers in colonial India, where they saw it worn by sepoys (Indi ...

or wind it around their shoulders or simply drape it over one shoulder. Women use it as a dupatta or a shalwar and sometimes as a makeshift swing for children. Ajraks are usually about 2.5 to 3-meters long, patterned in intense colours predominantly rich

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red co ...

or a deep

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

with some white and black used sparingly to give definition to the geometric symmetry in design. Ajraks are made all over Sindh, especially in

Matiari Matyari or Matiari ( sd, مٽیاري, ur, ) is a city located in Sindh, Pakistan. It is north of Hyderabad on N-5 National Highway. Matiari is also the district headquarter of Matiari District. Matiari word is derived from two Sindhi words ...

, Hala, Bhit Shah, Moro,

Sukkur Sukkur (; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 14th largest city ...

, Kandyaro,

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

, and many cities of

Upper Sindh Upper Sind Frontier District was a district of the Bombay Presidency during British Rule in colonial India. The district was the northernmost portion of Sind and lay between 27°56' and 28° 27' N. and 68° and 69° 44' E., with an area of . It w ...

and Lower Sindh. The ajrak is an integral part of Sindhi culture. Its usage is evident at all levels of society, and is held in high esteem, with the utmost respect given to it. According to Sindhi traditions, ajraks are often presented as gifts of hospitality to guests and presented to the person who is utterly respectable. They are also worn on festive occasions such as weddings and cultural events. Many prominent politicians from Sindh publicly wear ajraks, including the deceased former Pakistani Prime Minister,

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

Dyes

Ajrak craft products are made with natural dyes. The entire production of the products include both vegetable dyes and mineral dyes. Indigo is a key dye. Ajrak Craft Natural dye products.jpeg, Natural dye products used in Ajrak craft. Ajrakh Chemical and Natural Dyes.png, Visual comparison of the chemical and natural dyes used in Ajrak block print.

Ajrak blocks

The most commonly observed pattern in Ajrak blocks and hence the fabric is dots between two lines, these dots are of same radius in almost all the design. These dots were initially carved out by hands, however later on brass nails were used to fill spaces between the two walls. This aspect is crucial in determining the expertise of the artisan. Mughal era has a deep influence on these designs. The Muslims followed a sense of strong geometry in their patterns and most patterns were formed by the interaction of two or more circles. The Ajrakh blocks were designed taking inspiration from the Muslim architectural elements that form the 'Mizan' - balance and order. The repeat patterns were determined by the grid system. Abstract symmetric representation of surrounding elements and environment were used.

Honour

Sindhi Ajrak, along with

Sindhi topi The Sindhi cap, also known as the Sindhī ṭopī () rarely known as the Sindhi Kufi ( sd, سنڌي ڪفي), is a skullcap worn predominantly by Sindhis in Sindh, Pakistan. Together with Ajrak or Saraiki Ajrak, the Sindhi cap is regarded as an ...

, is bestowed upon the guests as an honour. This serves two purposes. First it makes the guest feel comfortable with the host. Secondly, it allows the guest to appreciate the Sindhi Culture.

Modern day use

Ajrak has now become increasingly popular amongst block print lovers. Post the earthquake, there has been an increase in the demand for Ajrak, moving its status from a local tribal caste dress to a catwalk worthy craft This has led to a huge amount of funds and dedication from a range of brands being focused onto innovation in the block print. Newer colours have been developed, along with new blocks, techniques etc. Ajrak has predominantly been a craft using natural dyes, making it inherently expensive. However, with the increase in demand for

fast fashion Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry's business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail stores quickly, while demand is at it ...

products and cheaper items, chemical dyes have been utilised in Ajrak products.

References

External links

Ajrak Cloth from the Soil of Sindh by Noorjehan Bilgrami
{{Pakistani clothing Pakistani culture Pakistani shawls and wraps Sindhi culture