Bagru printing is associated with which state?

Bagru printing is a traditional hand-block printing technique from Bagru, a village about 30 km from Jaipur, in Rajasthan.

About Bagru printing:

• It has been practised for more than 300 years by the "Chhipa" community of printers ("chhipa" comes from words meaning "to print" or "to stamp").
• The designs are printed by hand, using carved wooden blocks.
• It uses natural, vegetable dyes, such as indigo (blue), madder (red), turmeric (yellow), pomegranate peel and iron rust mixed with jaggery (black).
• The cloth is first soaked in "harda" (myrobalan) to give it a cream or yellowish background.

It uses two main methods:

"Syahi-Begar" printing: black (syahi) and red (begar) designs on a cream background.

"Dabu" printing: a mud-resist technique, in which a paste of mud (clay), lime, wheat flour and gum is printed on parts of the cloth. When the cloth is dyed, the covered parts resist the dye and remain uncoloured.

Common motifs include flowers, leaves, buds and geometric patterns.

Bagru Hand Block Print received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2011.

Other block-printing traditions:

Sanganeri print: Sanganer, near Jaipur, Rajasthan; known for delicate floral patterns on a white background. It received a GI tag in 2010.

Dabu printing: also practised in Akola (Rajasthan) and other places.

Ajrakh: Kutch (Gujarat) and Barmer (Rajasthan); geometric designs in deep blue and red.

Kalamkari: Andhra Pradesh. There are two styles: the "Srikalahasti" style (painted by hand with a pen, or "kalam") and the "Machilipatnam" style (block-printed). Kalamkari received a GI tag.

Bagh print: Bagh, Madhya Pradesh; red and black designs.

Other famous textiles of Rajasthan:

Bandhani (tie-and-dye), Leheriya (wave-pattern tie-dye), Kota Doria (lightweight woven fabric) and Gota Patti embroidery.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Gujarat is famous for Ajrakh and Patola.
• ✗Andhra Pradesh is famous for Kalamkari.
• ✗Madhya Pradesh is famous for Bagh print and Chanderi.