Women learn to make Bagh print bags under ‘Safe Tourist Places project’

Source: The post is based on the article “Women learn to make Bagh print bags under ‘Safe Tourist Places project’” published in the Free Press Journal on 8th June 2023

What is the News?

MP Tourism Board in association with district administration Dhar recently launched a training camp on manufacturing sustainable bags based on Bagh Print. The training was aimed at providing livelihood skills to participating women and promoting eco-friendly substitutes for plastic bags.

What is Bagh Print?

Bagh printing in Madhya Pradesh is a specialised form of wooden hand-block printing, originally practised across the regions in the Indus Valley.

Origin: The Khatri community of dyers of cloth lived along the Sindhu, or the Indus, because of their need for plenty of clear water to wash and prepare their textiles.

A branch of the Khatris became settlers in the village of Bagh in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh and started practising Bagh prints.

The craft, as well as the village, derive their names from the river ‘Baghini’ that flows through the village.

Salient features:

Weaving and hand block printing process associated with the geometric designs, imaginative use of red and black natural colours. They also take advantage of the chemical properties of the river and the effective use of colours results in Bagh Prints in a unique art form.

In this printing technique, the cloth used is cotton and silk cloth. The designs are patterned by skilled artisans. They are created using natural dyes, which are eco-friendly and non-hazardous.

On completion of the Bagh printing process, the printed fabric is subject to repeated washing in the flowing waters of the river and then dried in the sun for a specific period to obtain a fine luster.