77
multiple colours according to the motifs and
pattern to be created on the textile or garment.
This means tying the cloth with yarn and
dipping it in dye, drying it, and repeating the
process while moving from light to dark shades
or colours. This is done so that when the yarn
is finally removed, the cloth is covered with
multi-coloured roundels. My father initiated
this expression of tie-dye in Kutch and our
family continues it. Our customers are amazed
by the thousands of multi-coloured dots filling
the cloth and creating a pattern! The featuring
of many colours in one textile involves time,
effort, skill and patience. For his mastery of
tie-dye my father received the National Merit
Certificate in 1982, the National Award in 1987,
and the Golden Jubilee Award of a gold medal
in 1997.
The Family Act
My father and mother both practised Bandhani.
My mother would tie knots as was the norm
for women, as the men would be involved
in the dyeing processes. We are five brothers
and three sisters. My brothers Khatri M.
Rafik, Khatri Shabbir Hussain, Khatri Zahid
Akhtar, Khatri Mukhtar Ahmed and I practise
Bandhani and specialise in multi-coloured tie-
dye. Rafiqbhai is doing Bandhani work and has
successfully made his passion for Bandhani
his business. Shabbirbhai and Zahidbhai are
specialising in multi-coloured tie and dye.
Mukhtarbhai has explored the craft in another
dimension and is a fashion designer. He has
done a one-year course in Textile Designing at
Somaiya Kala Vidya in Adipur, Kutch, Gujarat.
Mukhtar benefited greatly from this exposure
as he learnt about innovation in design, fashion,
colour trends, market trends, costing, pricing
and marketing.
Our three sisters Memuna, Rashida and Asma
also practise tying of knots. My sisters are
married and have taken the craft with them
to the home of their in-laws. We create tie-
dye on different types of cotton and silk, and
on stoles, dupattas, sarees and
aaba
which is a
kalidar
kurta. We do not work with synthetic
fabrics and continue to create traditional tie-
dyed patterns such as the
Chandrokhani
for
