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The demand for block-printed attire and yardage steadily picked up and thus the
craft was revived and the livelihood of artisans improved. Father also researched
vegetable dyes and created a range of colours from organic elements such as
leaves, flowers and seeds. He worked with different traditional Indian fabrics such
as Muga Silk, Andhra Khadi and Mangalgiri, MP Mulberry Silk and Chhattisgarh
Tussar Silk. Post 1990, he also worked on the technique for garments for the
urban market such as sarees; home linen such as table covers and bedspreads; and
articles such as bamboo blinds – it was the first time that bamboo blinds were
block printed.
For his contribution to the craft of block printing our father has received many
awards and recognition. In 2011, the prestigious Madhya Pradesh tableau in the
Republic Day parade from Rajpath to Red Fort featured a live demonstration
by him. During the Republic Day celebrations the craft was introduced to the
former Honourable President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Honourable
Vice President Dr Hamid Ansari and the then Honourable Prime Minister Dr
Manmohan Singh.
In 2003, he received two National Awards from the Development Commissioner
of Handicraft & Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India; seven
international awards from UNESCO; and many prizes and honours from the
Madhya Pradesh government. The players of the XIX Commonwealth Games at
Khelgaon, New Delhi 2010 were given knowledge about Bagh prints through an
exhibition and interaction with our father too.
As our father’s work reached people in different parts of the country and the
world – in the US, Argentina, Colombia, France, Spain, Belgium, Germany,
Bahrain and Italy, it received widespread appreciation, and this in turn brought in
more commissions and orders. Our unit now supplies yardage, attire and textiles
to well-known stores across the country with some orders of two or three lakh
metres! Today, it is a matter of great pride to our village, our community of block
printers and our family that our father is synonymous with hand-block printing,
and is respected as a revivalist and a fatherly figure for the community of block
printers.
Just like our father, we – Mohammed Bilal Khatri, 30, and Kazeem Khatri, 23 –
learnt Bagh block printing by seeing our forefathers at work. Our father kindly
taught us nuances of the technique, and we have held live demonstrations of
the craft at different cities in India and abroad. Bilal has received several awards,
including the International UNESCO Award (2016) and National Merit Award
(2011) for his work. We are very happy to promote the craft on the national and
international level.
He also worked on the technique
for garments for the urban market
such as sarees; home linen such as
table covers and bedspreads; and
articles such as bamboo blinds.
