Ajrak Dupattas

Can one ever have enough Ajrak dupattas? It’s so supple and versatile that you cant help but fall in love with it - It is utilized as a lounger for babies, headgear for young ladies, wedding décor item, a turban and a cloak, a bed blanket, a decorative liner, and as a badge of regard to respect a visitor. The beauty lies in the imperfection of the prints - madder red and indigo blue bases, interspersed with white highlights of unprinted areas.

How are these Ajrak dupattas made? Little squares cut out of Sheesham are generally employed for block printing. Known as "chappay" locally, they are engraved with various desi motifs which are then plunged generously into paint and ink and imprinted onto textures. Be that as it may, block printing is certainly not a simple assignment. These wooden squares take at least four to five days to plan on normal for one single square and this excludes the printing time, for which the ink is made using natural herbs. Once printed, these Ajrak dupattas are then drenched and dried at the banks of river and folded why slightly damp.

Ajrak dupattas are essentially a Sindhi custom, recognizable from the most ancient archeological finds of the old Indus’s human civilization of Moen Jo-Dero. But over the last decade, this fabric has integrated into the urban wardrobe with a slight update: There has been a shift from traditional motifs to contemporary ones; animals, figurines, hearts – we’ve seen them all! From chaadors, the size has scaled down to make scarfs and Ajrak dupattas. Silk is now a common fabric being printed in the traditional way, giving more variety to the texture of the base.

They were a hit when we launched them so we’ve made Ajrak dupattas as part of our range permanently! Shop them away on www.sareeka.com.pk. Next time you effortlessly pair your ajrak dupatta with your outfit and wonder about how astonishing you look in it, and god forbid your family has already been waiting for 30 minutes to get somewhere, make them postpone some more and revel in this piece of history you have simply donned.