Hand Block – Printing of Nagaur, Rajasthan

The main tribal group here and at Kishangarh are the Banjaras. Costumes are printed here along with jajams and spreads. The spreads are usually in red and yellow, with the design motifs being scorpions, centipedes or chaupars. Red and yellow are also used for jajams. The prints on these include the chowki, singhara or mirchi (chilli) designs with motifs of creepers, kanwal or ladders along the borders.

Reja cloth is used for making floor spreads or padharnas. The motifs used are those of the elephant, cheeta, chaupar and soldiers, among others. Mill-made long cloth or pharad is also used along with fine cloth like cambric. Printing is also done on muslins and silks. Good printing is not obtained on fine cloth and is also visible on the reverse side. However intricate designs can be printed only on fine cloth, and not on coarse fabric. In traditional printing, animal motifs are not printed on cloth meant for costumes. Chemical colours and new printing methods and techniques are found in the hand-printing craft in modern times.