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As our paternal grandparents were block-
printers our father grew up seeing all the
activities and processes related to the craft
being carried out at home and in the village.
From the age of eight, he learnt the traditional
craft from his father late Shri Ismail Khatri,
an accomplished block printer open to
experimentation, and mother Mrs Jetun bee
Mohammed Yusuf.
In 1986, our grandfather worked on a striking
textile featuring 1230 geometric blocks in a
simple colour palette to highlight the beauty
of Bagh prints. This textile was created with
disused old blocks from Bagh and neighbouring
villages as well as new blocks based on old
blocks that would no longer create neat motifs.
The textile was sponsored by the Development
Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of
Textiles, Government of India, for the Festival
of India programmes held at different cities
abroad. The beauty of Bagh prints showcased
in the commissioned textile brought the craft
and our grandfather all-round appreciation.
From childhood our father was a quick
learner and had a keen eye which helped him
understand the nuances of the block-printing
technique that looks simple yet is very technical
and requires patience, effort, intelligence and
creativity. As the name suggests, block printing
involves the use of intricately carved blocks to
hand-print motifs on fabric. The block printing
of Bagh traditionally features geometric and
floral compositions rendered in red and black
colours, and on ground fabric that is off-white.
After the printing is complete the textile may be
dyed indigo or ochre/khaki if required.
