To understand anything, it is important to delve into its origins. The third-year students of fashion design from Institute of Design and Technology, (IDT), as a part of their education, have travelled to various parts of Gujarat to research on the age-old crafts of the state, like Ashavali weave, zari, zardozi and tie and dye. The craft research and documentation by the students are currently on display at the institute.
The richness and diversity of creative traditions in kutch is a direct result of the mix of cultures and communities present here. The district has a large coast line and was once a major stop along sea trade routes between India, Africa and the Middle East. Concurrently, kutch was a passage way to the north west region of India that saw for reaching movement up to and beyond the swat valley in Pakistan. A common river system was shared between kutch, the sindh regions and part of Rajasthan and the pastoral communities here moves freely between the three regions in search of fodder for their cattle in seasons of drought.
Embroidery remains the dominant craft identity of kutch with 17 specific techniques and design vocabularies being practiced by women of more than 16 ethnic communities. Other textile craft include different styles of hand weaving, block printing and tie-dyeing. Arrange of hard material craft like metal bells, wood carving, lacquer art, leather art and pottery, rogan art [an exclusive art of painting done only in one family of NIRONA (Bhuj)].
All this craft have been intricately linked to the life and identity of this region. 3rd year students had their craft documentation project in which they had to learnt art and craft of kutch. They learnt different embroideries like soof, kharek, and appliqué work from artisans in village and other craft like block printing, pottery, weaving and many more crafts, which can help them future and they can get knowledge of so much rich culture, art and tradition of kutch. They visited NGO’s named khamir, kalavatisha to see their preserved sample. Visited NIRONA for rogan art, lacquer art metal bells and ajrakhpur for block printing. They directly interacted with artisans to get better knowledge of craft of kutch
