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Ajrak



Ajrak (Sindhi: اجرڪ‎) is a name given to a unique form of blockprinted shawls and tiles found in Sindh; Kutch, Gujarat; and Barmer, Rajasthan in India. These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps. Common colours used while making these patterns may include but are not limited to blue, red, black, yellow and green. Over the years, ajraks have become a symbol of the Sindhi culture and traditions.

Early human settlements in the region which is now the province Sindh in Pakistan along the Indus River found a way of cultivating and using Gossypium arboreum commonly known as tree cotton to make clothes for themselves. These civilizations are thought to have mastered the art of making cotton fabrics.

A bust of a priest-king excavated at Mohenjo-daro, currently in the National Museum of Pakistan, shows him draped over one shoulder in a piece of cloth that resembles an ajrak. Of special note are the trefoil pattern etched on the person's garment interspersed with small circles, the interiors of which were filled with a red pigment. This symbol illustrates what is believed to be an edifice depicting the fusion of the three sun-disks of the gods of the sun, water and the earth. Excavations elsewhere in the Old World around Mesopotamia have yielded similar patterns appearing on various objects, most notably on the royal couch of Tutankhamen. Similar patterns appear in recent ajrak prints.


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