The Ajrakh Weavers of Kutch — A 4,000 Year Old Tradition

In the salt deserts of Kutch, Gujarat, the Khatri community has been making Ajrakh — hand block-printed fabric using natural dyes — for over 4,000 years. We travelled to Kutch and met Mohammed Siddique, a third-generation Ajrakh master.

A single piece goes through 16 precise steps over 14 to 21 days — resist printing using hand-carved wooden blocks, dyeing in natural indigo and madder root, and sun drying between each step.

The Threat to the Craft

The Ajrakh craft faces an existential threat from cheap machine-printed imitations. This is why Sutras of Bharat documents every piece we source. When you buy an Ajrakh saree from us, you receive the complete story of its making — the craftsman, the dyes, the village.

Because a saree is not just fabric. It is a living document of human skill.