It is so satisfying to watch the untying of these knots”, I exclaimed on my first ever visit to a Bandhani workshop as I saw the artisans completing the final leg of the entire process
“Haan, jitna acha isse kholne me lagta hai, utna hi jyada time badhne me jata hai”, said the badhani artisan with a gentle smile on her face.
WHAT IS BANDHANI?
One of the oldest yet evergreen and colourful crafts of India which derives its name from a Sanskrit word ‘bandh’ meaning a knot. This craft involves pinching fabric from the tip of your finger and tying the pinched bit very tightly with a thread which then prevents colouration of the tied portion while being dyed. Once the cloth is dyed and is completely dry, it takes less than a minute to open the knots which took weeks or even months to tie.
THE ARTISANS WHOM WE MET
We met our Bandhani artisans, a couple duo, Adil ji and Zakiya ji, to understand the basics as well as the complexities involved in this age old craft:
PROCESSOnce the fabric is washed and scoured, it is folded in half and stitched. Desired designs are then printed in thin dotted lines with temporary dye using a paper stencil called ‘khakha’. Now starts the most time taking process of this craft – the tying saga. With time, there has become an unsaid understanding that the tying process will be done by women and dying by the men in the society. Once the plucking process is complete, the all tied fabric is dyed in the desired colour and is allowed to dry in sunlight. Once completely dry the fabric is pulled diagonally from the edges and all the knots get untied within a few seconds transforming into beautifully crafted designs where each tied knot comes out to look like an individual flower and all the flowers put together form different motifs according to the ‘khakha’.
THE TYING SAGA
One needs years of practice to acquire the skill and make each bandhani with greater precision, clarity and speed. This is the step from which the craft gets its name – bandhani. The most time consuming, skill-worthy and rewarding process in this craft. It is the women who are typically engaged in the tying saga. But most women artisans can make time to perform bandhani only once they are done with their everyday household chores. Bandhani is often considered a leisure job or a means to earn some extra pocket money by these women. Quoting beautiful words which our artisan said for the tying process, “majboori wala kaam nahi hai ye, shauq wala kaam hai”. Now, because tying is done by women at their convenience and leisure for an additional source of income, this project often takes a backseat and gets deprioritized over their other household tasks. Often the delay is such that it may impact the delivery of the final order.
Bandhani, a skill acquired through personal interest and years of practice:
EACH BANDHANI ARTISAN IS PAID DEPENDING UPON
- The size of each dot– Smaller the size of each bandhani dot, the more intricate is the design which requires a more skilled hand to do the tying and hence earns more.
- The number of dots they tie in each project– the denser the placement of dots in a bandhani design, the more complex it becomes for an artisan to tie the knots and hence more rewarding in terms of earnings.
- The quality of the work they do– Quality means the neatness in the tying process which comes with years of practice and skill. The better the quality of knots tied, the higher the price commanded by artisans.
- Type of bandhani– There are two types of bandhani – ‘circum’ (which means the outline of a motif), bharti (which means filling in inside the outline of the design with very close dots). Typically bharti is a more skilled work and takes more time. Bharti artisans are paid almost 2x that of ‘circum’ artisans.
Our artisan told us that if a bandhani artisan works for 6 hours per day, she may end up earning more than what one can earn in a regular desk job. Because the demand is plentiful – the bottleneck is the bandhani tying process which limits the production capacity of this beautiful craft.
HOW CAN ONE IDENTIFY AUTHENTIC BANDHANI?
Authentic bandhani is one wherein the above process is followed to make the final product. These are the basic identification points of an authentic bandhani:
- Tactile fabric- The bandhani fabric is tactile to touch as even after untying the knots, the fabric still has a mini peak-like feel on top of each bandhani dots. Handmade bandhani fabric is typically not hot iron pressed so that it doesn’t lose this tactile effect.
- Mirror effect- The fabric is folded into half and stitched before starting the plucking and tying process. As bandhani was done on a two layered folded fabric, when the fabric is untied and opened, the two halves reflect a mirror image of dots. Typical mirror effect can be traced in products with big breadth like sarees and suit pieces; this effect cannot be seen in scarves because the latter is cut into two pieces from the folded part.
- Unevenness in dots- Because all the dots are tied by hands, all dots will not be identical and there will be unevenness in the dots.
CURRENT MARKET CHALLENGES
- Unavailability of bandhani artisans – The youth is losing interest in crafts and are opting for corporate and other jobs in the city over getting into traditional crafts. A lot of current artisans are also keen on making this movement
- Competition – There are a lot of players selling bandhani products today which is giving rise to high competition and competitive pricing scenarios thereby yearning little margins for the ultimate artisan and the players themselves.
- Screen printing / digital printing – Other than the tactile feel which is a clear differentiator between authentic and printed forms of bandhani, one might find it easy to make a copy of hand tied bandhani products.
SOME COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Is Bandhani and Bandhej the same?
Ans. Yes, both are the same -
Rye or black mustard seeds and grams are used while tying knots in Bandhani?
Ans. Interestingly, bandhej is said to be made from mustard seeds and gram just to get an idea of the size of the dots and no mustard or gram is tied in it. In fact every dot is made by directly pinching little fabric from the fingers and tightly tying thread around it.
SO, WHY IS BANDHANI SO EXPENSIVE?
You must have guessed it by now!
Bandhani is expensive because it takes a lot of time and effort to make. Each tiny dot or pattern on the fabric is tied by hand, which takes several hours or even days depending on the complexity of the design. Plus, it’s made with natural dyes which cost more than synthetic ones. The artisans who create it are highly skilled and experienced which commands a higher price. Finally, the demand for bandhani products has increased globally, leading to higher prices for these unique and beautiful textiles.