The stories of the younger generation in an artisan family, no longer wanting to pursue the craft their ancestors practised for a living, plays on a loop. It's common and repetitive. In such a scenario, Kutch-based craftsman Prakash Naran Vankar’s case comes as a respite. He is happily taking forward the legacy of weaving that started around 11 generations ago in his family in Rajasthan. Prakash traces his roots to the Meghwal community which migrated from Rajasthan to Kutch some 800 years ago. “The community brought with them the craft of kharad weaving where both warp and weft are done in wool and panja dari weaving. As flying shuttle weaving became popular for weaving Kutchi shawls and blankets, we also took to it and started weaving carpets on it,” says Prakash.
In fact, Prakash has taken up another craft that had never gained much ground in the family much - dyeing. His grandfather dyed yarns as Khatri community was primarily involved with bandhani technique.
With a diploma in industrial design, Prakash was getting ready for a regular job. He happened to recognise the vibrant craft scene in Kutch and decided to team up with his father. “In Kutch, things started looking up after NGOs came there post-earthquake. That helped Kutch redevelop its crafts. My father was working under a master weaver and per piece, he would make only Rs.180. I had seen that struggle all his life but the changed atmosphere gave us the encouragement to do something on our own. In 2007, my father and I started working independently,” says the young craftsman from Bhujodi. Prakash was in Bengaluru to speak alongside Ghatit Laheru, Director of Khamir at “Meanings, Metaphors - Handspun and handwoven in the 21st Century”, a festival organised by Registry of Sarees at Bangalore International Centre. Delivering the talk before a mixed crowd of scholars, weavers and handloom enthusiasts, Prakash gave a peek at his creative process.
Working independently, the family realised the need to go back to dyeing and started off with chemical dyes, but in 2008, during a design education course run by NGO Kala Raksha, in a class on nature as inspiration, he felt the urge to switch over to natural dyes. “Also, because we had started working with Tikau store in Finland and we were beginning to get involved with Khamir. Both these organisations work lay emphasis on natural and sustainable practices, we shifted to natural dyeing in 2008. They are good for the environment. They are acid-free and are good for the skin but runs out fast," reasons Prakash.
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Now he experiments freely and attempts to extricate newer and better shades. Last month, he innovated and obtained a shade of green from rose petals. For his work with Tikau, and other NGOs, Prakash works mainly with three-four dyes - indigo (for blue), madder (for red) marigold (for yellow) and lac (for a deep red) for dyeing. From every dye, Prakash says, it is possible to extract three shades with a lot depending on several factors like the oxygen content in water, pH levels in water and also the fabric. "While colours easily come on to wool, you get dull shades on cotton and linen. Actually, the toughest part is fixing the colour with mordants or dye fixatives like alum, iron and myrobalan. Natural dyes are also more expensive. It needs more water.” When someone from the audience also asked for solution to the problem of standardisation of colours, he said that he writes down the exact quantities used to obtain various shades and refers to his notes to get exactly the same shade.
The prospects of natural dyes have improved with several non-profit organisations pushing for eco-friendly practices entering the fray. "There is a demand for natural dyes and newer shades which encourages one to experiment. Earlier in our carpets, we largely used undyed wool but it is changing now,” says Prakash.
