Artist Talkies: Sajid Khatri on the tie and dye tradition

In the remote town of Bhuj in Kutch, the now traditional and well known craft of tie and dye was first born about 5000 years ago and over the years it has found recognition as a traditional Indian craft. Bandhej or Bandhani is derived from the Sanskrit word “bandhan” which loosely translates into “to be tied together”. This word alludes to this notion of something that is closely knit together. This is such a sacred notion in the Indian tradition that in Gujarat and Rajasthan, brides are made to wear Bandhani saree because it is supposed to bring a lot of luck in their marriage.

The Khatri community also has a long drawn ‘bandhan’ with Bandhej. The entire tie-dye tradition is indebted to the Muslim Khatri community who allowed this method to thrive in India. What started as a means of barter with the different nearby communities as a means of survival became one of the trademark craft of not merely their community but also of the country over the recent past. The tie and dye method was used on clothes and then they were worn as turbans, sarees and ‘odhnis’ by the different communities. The various patterns on these clothes also were a means of identifying which community a person belonged to. 

Sajid Khatri, son of master craftsman Khatri Abdul Shakur Osman, has been over the years the torchbearer of the Bandhej tradition within his community and he is really humbled by this. He says it has been over 15 to 16 years since he joined the family’s craft tradition. A craft that was seen as necessary only as a means of survival for the community has thrived for so long that it has become part of the Indian heritage. He constantly reiterates the skill that is required in the art form and how over the years this skill has somewhat declined. But he is an optimist who talks about his community with pride. He tells us about how thousands of men and women are central to this continuity of the tradition. 

Sajid Khatri at work.

Abdul Khatri won the National Award in 1998 for his
contribution to the Indian craft heritage.

Sajid talks us through the process of bandhani and tells us that there are three major division of the process; first is the pressing method which is followed by the tie and dye methods which makes for beautiful and multi colored and layered cloths. In the pressing method, the design to be used is imprinted onto the white fabric. This imprinting is done with a thin transparent paper which has pinpricks on it to allow the colors to be transferred onto the cloth. The cloth is then pulled with a long fingernail where the hole has been imprinted on the cloth. This area is then tied and tightened in such a manner that the cloth protrudes to form a knot or a bhindi. Sajid tells us that this process is usually done by women. He says that the community has thousands of women who are adept at this technique, having learnt it from their childhood itself. 

Once the entire design has been implemented by tying knots or ‘bhindi’ over the cloth, it is then thoroughly washed. This is followed by drying and then dipping it in napthol and then some lighter colors. It is then again dried before the actual dyeing method is introduced wherein darker and then lighter colors are dyed onto the cloth to achieve the desired print. The tied knots avoid getting colored as the color doesn’t seep into those tightly tied knots. Once the final stage is dispensed with, the cloth is washed and if it is deemed necessary, is starched. 

He tells us that over the years, the community has shifted from natural colors to synthetic colors because it allows them a varied range of colors to be used on the cloth. He also says that natural dyes, even though they make their craft much more authentic, don’t allow for a good get up of the cloth overall. Plus over the years, natural dyes that are extracted from roots, berries and other such resources are dwindling; this along with the cheap availability of synthetic dyes have made such shift important. 

Another interesting fact that he tells us is that the one can recognize the design pattern based on way the knots are tied on the cloth. Many of the final products of Bandhani are known by various names, some of the common ones being Khombi, Patori, Ghar Chola, etc. The patterns on the cloth are also representative of the class of the various community, but they also tell whether a woman is married or is expecting kids based on the colors she wears. 

When we near the end of our conversation, Sajid tells us that his father, Khatri Abdul, who inspired him ever since his childhood, won the National Award in 1998 for his contribution to the Indian craft heritage. He humbly adds in that he himself is a National Merit Certificate holder since 2008 for the efforts he has put in. He enjoys the recognition the community has gained because it allowed him and his father to go places. He proudly tells us that he is waiting to go to Columbia in December for another demonstration of his skills at Bandhej. 

Sajid Khatri signs off by saying that over the years his art has flourished only because the community managed to travel around to display their wares. Older generations suffered because they remained within their boundaries. 

Abdul & Sajid's stunning creations are available on The Color Caravan. Click here to view the collection.