27
To our utter amazement the entire
stock was sold out within a few hours
on the first day of the exhibition!
know his thoughts on the work. He examined
them and said, no one had got such results and
I should henceforth work only with natural
dyes!
Thrilled with Nisarbhai’s appreciation and
encouragement I brought more ingredients as
well as books on natural dyes. Our unit soon
started block printing a range of products –
yardage, dupattas, stoles, scarves and sarees.
Wherever I travelled, I looked for natural dyes.
I was so pleased and fulfilled that we were
creating and using colours from leaves, barks,
flowers, fruits, vegetables and roots rather
than chemical dyes that are harmful to the
environment.
The Guiding Light
In 1996, I contacted Mr Toofan Rafai, the
acclaimed artist and master of vegetable dyes
who had been invited by National Institute of
Design, Ahmedabad to conduct a workshop
on natural dyes. I requested him for guidance
regarding natural dyes. After understanding
the theory of natural dyes, Sarfaraz and I
experimented extensively using various natural
ingredients on varieties of silk fabrics. In 1997,
we were invited for an exhibition in National
Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad being
held alongside a symposium titled Shibori that
was presenting the practice of using natural
dyes on fabrics. We requested Rafaisahib for
guidance for creating a collection for the
exhibition. With his valuable guidance we
created a collection of wall hangings, sarees,
scarves and stoles featuring hand-block prints
with natural dyes on hand-woven cotton and
silk fabrics.
The symposium was attended by delegates
from around the world and they all had good
knowledge of natural dyes and its use in
printing textiles. We had displayed our sarees,
stoles and dupattas, wondering what the
response of the delegates would be towards our
work. To our utter amazement the entire stock
was sold out within a few hours on the first day
of the exhibition! It was truly an experience of
a lifetime. At that moment, I decided to put my
heart and soul into natural dyes.
