Batik/Wax-Resist Dyeing on Cloth of Gujarat

Mundra, Anjar, Valsad, and Bhuj are the main production centres of this craft. In the 18th and 19th centuries the East India Company used to export batik print products. Today its production depends on indigenous demand rather than on the export market.

In this process a carved wooden block is immersed in melted paraffin wax and printed on white cloth. The cloth is then dipped in lighter colours followed by an application of wax. The wax retains the colour of the cloth wherever required. The natural hair-like cracks, permeated by various colours have a unique appeal, an effect, which is impossible to achieve in any other kind of printing. The design repertoire includes floraand fauna and geometric designs.