Daboo is a type of mud-resistant block printing which is inherent to Rajasthan. Rajasthan Tourism Buzz takes you through the historic process of Dabu printing and print pioneer village known as “Akola” placed 60 km away from Chittorgarh. This is done in order to put in a glimmer of ancient world Rajasthani treat to your shopping essentials. The practice almost died out in the last century but was revived and is today a flourishing business in many villages of Rajasthan.
The distinctiveness of Dabu print lies in its awe-inspiring excellence and look. In addition, the printing involves plenty of natural dyes and pastes that are created from vegetables which makes it environmentally responsive.
Daboo printing is often knot together with other Rajasthani hand block prints like Sanganeri and Bagru, but is in fact quite distinct in terms of its look and method. The designs appear similar to ‘Batik’ though the techniques used to produce the two are quite different.
These fabrics display a subtle and extraordinary beauty and depth which is admirable around the world indeed. It has captured the imagination of modern-day designers. Daboo is today’s preference of choice to decorate many Indian and Indo-western clothes and home décor items.
Origin
The references say that the word ‘daboo’ originates from the Hindi word ‘Dabaana’ which means ‘to press’. There are many stories of the origin of Dabu or Mud- resist printing. Sharing one of them found in references.
The lush earth, in an embrace with fabric, sprouts beautiful patterns. And the earth had its playful ways, in slowly letting out this secret, to the Rangrez. It had clung onto his dhoti a day back at the riverside. He was deep in thought now, as he gathered the fabrics for dyeing. The dhoti went along with the rest of the clothes, in the swift sweep of his hands and straight into the Indigo vat. He was surprised to find an odd-one-out the next day, amongst the dyed fabrics, left out to dry. The parts where the earth rested, the dye did not blot on. That part had retained the original color, like stars in an indigo sky. This way, the earth confided a crumb of its mystery, to the Rangrez. And then on, they conversed in patterns.
Like the craft, the raw materials also are timeless – mud and water. Replenished generously by nature, these are believed to have been employed in India, during the 8th century AD. This is indicated by the oldest specimen found of Dabu printed fabric in Central Asia.
History
In the first place, China is the motherland of the ancient art of block printing. Over the years it traveled to India, with the state of Rajasthan becoming the most prolific producer of hand block printed fabrics. Mud resist printing is a special variation, the origins of which can be traced to about 675 A.D. Today it is commonly acknowledged that the village of Akola, in the Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan, is the originator of the unique Daboo printing style which uses mud resists. As told by local craftsmen, a few hundred years ago, Rani Rathorji of Mewar, established a village by the banks of Beduch river for them. Today around 200 people practice this craft in this quaint village.
Gorgeous embossed designs have been found on the cloth scraps in the carcass of Mohenjo Daro which was a prehistoric city of Indus Valley Civilization. This is proof that block printing in India was used as past as 3000 B.C.
The prints popularly adorned the flowing Ghagras. These were the favored clothing of the women, locally called ‘Fetiya’ in Rajasthan. This was usually coupled with a Bandhej Lugda (a long fabric draped over the head).
Process
It is such a long-lasting and manual process, but the outcome is more than worth it! Furthermore, the end product is a piece of Indian heritage that cannot be manufactured by machine and a very unique and gorgeous garment to wear too! The completed material creates the heart and soul of the clothing collection, noticeable inattentive detailing and highlighted in dark colors against bleak milieu.
Materials
The following are the materials for making the print paste that goes into the magic of the Dabu prints.
1. Black clay from the nearby ponds. This is the main ingredient that goes into creating the resist effect in the Dabu process.
2. Bidhan or Wheat powder obtained from the wheat eaten by wheat insects. This improves the adhesion quality of the print paste to the block and fabric.
3. Gum Arabic is fundamental to the print paste for adhesion to block and fabric.
4. Lime water that prevents the cracking of clay at the printed portion. It also improves the adhesion of paint to the fabric.
Fabric
The base fabric, although traditionally included only cotton and silk, today includes chiffons, georgettes, and crepes as well. Pure cotton, pure silk, chiffon, crepe, georgette, and supernet sarees have shown good results with Dabu prints.
Dye
Both natural and chemical indigos are used for dyeing in combination with some other natural dyes like dried pomegranate skin and alizarin. As time passed, Alizarin pigment used to impart red color was replaced by Naphthol and the craftsmen began to use tar instead of mud in case of designs that require sharper contrasts.
Motifs
The patterns are traditional, handed down intact, over generations. Artisans picked motifs from nature and surrounding elements and then crafted them onto wooden blocks. Popular ones are Kahma, Lal titri, Dholika, Kantedar. The craftsmen dip the blocks into a viscous paste of mud, gum, and lime.
Right at the start, the clients that want to get the daboo printing work done would send bundles of fabrics in their requirements. After a couple of discussions with the company and finalizing the print, color, and other formalities the process begins. Here is a process stepwise.
1. Fabric Wash
The first step is washing to clean the plain fabric free of starch and dust. This process involves the fabric being soaked in water for a day and for another two days in a mixture of castor oil & water. It is then bundled and kept soaking in the solution for another 24 hours.
The fabric is then washed in clear water for two continuous days to remove all traces of the castor oil. The fabric is now ready for dyeing & printing to start.
2. Block print
The artist spreads the white fabric across the long table and pins it accurately. The fabric will neither loose nor over-stretched. When the artist applies the mud block to the fabric, the fabric will get moist and stick to the table. Thus to avoid this, a layer of sawdust prevents the cloth from sticking to the table before pinning the fabric.
If dyeing is required as in the case of saris, where borders or the body is tied and dyed, it is done before printing. The fabric is stretched over the printing table and fastened with small pins (in the case of saris the pallu is printed first then the border).
The printing starts from left to right. The color smoothed out in the tray with a wedge of wood and the block dipped into the outline color (usually black or a dark color). When the block is applied to the fabric, it is slammed hard with the fist on the back of the handle so that a good impression may register.
A point to the block serves as a guide for the repeat impression so that the whole effect is continuous and not disjointed.
3. Daboo printing (mud resist)
The next step is to use the mud resist printing that is unique to daboo art. So, the artist uses the block to apply the daboo paste to a certain part of the design. This part of the design will retain the original color of the fabric. Their craft speaks of skill and years of experience, as the craftsmen swiftly pattern the clothes.
The outline printer is usually an expert because he is the one who leads the process. If it is a multiple color design the second printer dips his block in color again using the point or guide for a perfect registration to fill in the color. Skill is necessary for good printing since the colors need to dovetail into the design to make it a composite whole. A single color design executed faster, a double color takes more time and a multiple color design would mean additional labor and more color consumption. After the initial printing of designs on the fabric, it laid out in the sun to dry.
The artist uses a wooden box known as ‘Tari‘. It has a steel mesh underneath that ensures the right amount of mud is retained on the surface when the artist dabs the print block on the mud paste. It also provides support when the artist presses the print block on the mud paste.
The daboo printing process uses a special mud paste. We learned it above in detail.
Mud paste preparation
A person dedicatedly works on making this paste manually because it has to achieve the specified consistency as machines couldn’t replicate the consistency they need. Later he filters the paste using a fine-quality muslin cloth. He pours the daboo paste on the muslin cloth and stirs it with his hand until all the fine mud filters into the vessel below to remove the residue containing mud impurities.
4. Dyeing
After drying, the fabric goes to the indigo dyeing area. Daboo printing involves the use of natural dyes. For instance, indigo for blue shades, Kashish (a mineral produced from iron deposits) for grey and brown shades, and pomegranate dye for red and yellow shades. Indigo is created by soaking the leaves of the plant in pits which often age back generations. This unique color development enhances itself over these long periods.
A dedicated person for dyeing dip the fabric in the dye. If printing is required, then it is again dipped in indigo after printing. A total of three separate dips are normal in this cold water dye process.
5. Washing
This is the last process.
Once artisans accomplish the daboo printing as per the customer requirements, (which means single, double, or even triple daboo printing), the fabric finally goes to the washing area.
The application of resist and dye is done several times, painstakingly with great artistry, to get various shades of ground and motif color.
Some interesting facts
Taking one long Dabu printed fabric with the preferred motifs of the concerned community, interestingly Fetiya was made with just one line of stitching. It was crafted by joining the extreme ends of an 8-12 meter fabric (the length varied with the buyer’s interest). Jat, Gadariya & Gujjar women envelop these garments beautifully.
The village is a self-sufficient system for Dabu printing. Block carvers sculpt the blocks, the earth lends mud and the river bestows water. The fabrics are sourced from Kishangarh and pigments come from Udaipur.
The colors of the sky – blue of the day, indigo of the night, red of the sunsets – are mostly seen in the regional attire.
Handprints like Daboo also fit in well with the bohemian dressing style, especially to achieve a dramatic effect with western clothes.
Revival and
Not to mention, with numerous institutes like the National Institute of Handprinted Textiles, NID, NIFT, and other boutique exporters and owners, this long-established form of block printing is being encouraged. With alternations in the traditional market, the chippa community has productively adapted to its customer’s requirements. A massive and thrilling range of Dabu & Bagru print Stoles and dupattas attract the buyers. This season brings Dabu & Bagru Hand block printed Soft mulmul Dupattas & Chanderi Cotton silk to attract the shoppers.
Organizations like Aavaran and COS-V are giving a new direction to this unique craft. Yet the soul of the craft is carried forward, untampered, by the motifs and hues. They emphasize not only evolving and sustaining traditional crafts but also making rural artisans self-reliant. Stories of the earth and dye, rest safely in hands of the craftsmen. Do you hear them?
GLOBAL INFLUENCE
Today Daboo prints have become famous the world over, much loved for their vibrant and unique designs and colors. In particular, silk, crepe, and georgette have become very popular amongst Daboo artisans, mainly because they hold the designs and colors very well. However, absorbent and resilient cotton fabrics remain the most commonly used for Daboo printing.
This technique has slowly and steadily gained a loyal and admiring customer base across the world, and this has encouraged the craftsmen to produce new types of designs and patterns to appeal to their more modern, westernized consumers. Thus, designers use modern designs of geometric waves, pop-culture graphics, and artistic shapes in addition to the ethnic motifs, The color base has also expanded to unconventional combinations of red, black, and green.
References
Dabu and Bagru block Print from the far-flung areas of Rajasthan – Pinkcity – Voice of Jaipur
Daboo Print: An Ancient Printing Technique from Rajasthan | Utsavpedia
Dabu Printing- Introduction (unnatisilks.com)
Printing Process – Dabu Block Print
Dabu printing Akola | Story of Indian crafts and craftsmen (gaatha.com)
