Bagh Natural Dye Block Print Dhar Madhya Pradesh

Bagh printing is a GI-tagged natural dye block printing tradition from Bagh village on the Baghini river in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, practised exclusively by the Khatri Muslim artisan community. The process is distinguished by the use of natural clay resist prepared from tamarind seed and clay, and the mineral-rich river water of the Baghini — whose composition is said to fix natural dye into cotton uniquely — for the final washing cycle. The block printing uses carved teak and sheesham wood blocks with bold geometric and floral patterns; the two dominant block sets are called Phool (flower) and Jaal (lattice). After resist printing, the cloth is boiled in natural dye (madder for red, indigo for blue), then washed in the river, and dried on gravel banks. The resulting print has a soft earthy quality with natural bleed at the resist boundaries that is considered a mark of authenticity. The Khatri family — hereditary Bagh printers — are the sole custodians of this craft. Ismail Khatri, a National Award winner, has been the public face of Bagh printing revival since the 1990s. Bagh print textiles are sold through national craft fairs and export to European natural dye textile collectors and slow fashion markets.