In Indore: printing on thin margins

“Washing [fabrics dyed with] natural dyes requires a flowing river,” says Abdul Halim. “Yahan pe to haath dhone ka paani nahi milta [Here we don’t get enough water to wash hands]!

Halim is a third generation block printing craftsman struggling to keep his workshop running in the face of steadily decreasing profits and the rise of counterfeit products. In water-scarce Indore city, he has had no choice but to use chemical dyes that hold colour quickly.

Block printing starts with designing wooden blocks and Halim creates designs which he then sends to block makers in Jaipur, Farrukhabad and Fatehpur. They typically use sagwan (teak) or sheesham (Indian rosewood) to make the blocks.

These blocks are dipped in dye and printed on the cloth. "It's part of our heritage,” says Halim as he bends down to print pink roses on a Chanderi dupatta, careful not to smudge the indelible colours. The dye mixture he is using has been filtered through jute, mulmul cotton and mosquito netting before being applied to the fabric. Weather conditions, particularly during monsoon, can complicate the drying process which typically takes about 72 hours.

Seated in his workshop in New Siyaganj, Halim speaks with pride of the uniqueness of his designs, many inspired by historical monuments and Mughal motifs. He recalls that at one exhibition, he was inspired by the intricate Bidri (a kind of metal handicraft) work of a craftsman from Hyderabad. He later adapted those designs for printing on a saree. “He was so happy when I forwarded him the photos of the saree,” Halim recalls with a smile.

Halim’s family traces its roots to Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh – a town in Ashoknagar district and a famous handloom textile centre. His ancestors were weavers and printers working with fabrics like Maheshwari, Chanderi and Tussar silks. As competition crept in and earnings began to fall, Halim’s father, Abdul Aleem, made the difficult decision to relocate first to Mumbai in the late 1970s, and eventually to Indore.

Halim says his relatives back in Chanderi have largely abandoned the craft. “Most of them are now working as manual labourers,” he adds. “There is not enough profit to be earned in this work and you need to put in a lot of effort.”

Halim's household in Indore consists of his parents, his wife Nehnaz Ali, their son and himself. Nehnaz, 32, is also involved in the business having learned embroidery, hand painting and crochet from her sister when younger. After marriage, she began hand painting on Maheshwari and Chanderi silks, finding success at exhibitions. Balancing household responsibilities, Nehnaz dedicates three to four hours daily to her craft, working on intricate designs that take between three to seven days to complete depending on the complexity.

The family manages most aspects of their business, from designing blocks to printing, by themselves. Finding skilled labor is challenging, as most local craftsmen either specialize in Bagh printing or Batik work instead.

Direct sales through their workshop ‘Huda Printers and Crafters’ and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook and sales to government emporiums help sustain their art, says Halim. However, counterfeit products are wiping out their margins: “The original Chanderi fabric cannot sell for less than 400 rupees a metre,” Halim explains doing the maths for the cost of labour and raw material. “Labour costs 600 rupees a day. But customers don’t understand this. The market expects us to sell printed sarees for 1,500-2,000 rupees.”

The process of printing a single saree can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 15 days, depending on the intricacy of the design. Weaving a saree takes even longer – anywhere from two days to three months.

Printers like Halim and his father say that government schemes to subsidise for blocks and dyes would help. “The Madhya Pradesh government is not promoting hand block or Bagh printing, Batik dyeing or Chanderi weaving despite their global recognition,” adds Halim with frustration.

Despite such obstacles, Halim and Aleem remain committed to their craft. They even conduct workshops for fashion design students and raise awareness about hand block printing through colleges in Indore.

The covid-19 pandemic severely impacted their business, halving their annual income to just Rs. 5-6 lakhs. Rising costs of custom blocks and dyes have further strained their finances.

“We started selling online, but it wasn’t worth it,” says Halim. Customers returning used sarees, long complaint processes and high commission rates made it an unprofitable venture. They tried selling on sites like Amazon Karigar and Ajio only to find fake Maheshwari sarees being sold for as little as Rs. 300 alongside genuine products. “To jin logo ko asli-nakli ki parakh nahi hai, wo humara maal kyu khareedenge [Then why would the customers who can’t differentiate between real and fake products buy ours]?” asks Halim.

This prompted the family to stop selling on these platforms. Instead, they occasionally upload product photos on Instagram and receive customer inquiries. Opening a physical store is not an option due to the money required and the competition from big brands. Even if they choose to work with big brands, it comes with its own challenges, as their stringent terms and conditions often do not account for the variables that small artisans face, such as weather conditions or the availability of raw materials.

“Government departments exist, but they don’t work on the ground,” says Aleem, who like many other artisans, would appreciate more support from the state especially during crises like the pandemic. Instead, the police shut down their workshop and fined them Rs. 3 lakhs.

Despite the setbacks, the family continues working. Halim hopes that customers will come to value the labour and artistry that go into creating each piece and that artisans like himself will be able to thrive without constantly struggling to make ends meet.

“Hand block printing, like several other craft forms, deserves to be preserved," he says. “We just need the right kind of support to keep that story alive for future generations.”