List of products by brand Abdul Kadar Khatri

Abdul Kadar Khatri (1961–2019)was an Indian master craftsman in the sector of traditional hand block printing known as Bagh Print. He was the son of Ismail Sulemanji Khatri, founder of Bagh print. He along with his father saved the tradition of Textile printing of Bagh from extinction and took it to new heights. His artifacts have brought laurels to India and particularly to Madhya Pradesh state from across the globe by showcasing his exceptional talent in Bagh Print in many countries. His family has been working in the trade of Traditional Bagh Hand Block print since the 7th century.

Bagh print is a traditional Indian handicraft originating in Bagh, Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. The process is characterized by hand printed woodblock relief prints with naturally sourced pigments and dyes. Bagh printing is all done manually, involving several painstaking processes of repeated washing, dyeing, and printing. In the first step, the fabric is soaked overnight in water to get rid of shrinkage, then dried in the sun for hours. The fabric is then dipped in a big container filled with a mixture of castor oil (arandi ka tel), goat dung (mengni), raw salt (sanchura), and water, processed by walking on it constantly. Then the cloth is dunked overnight in the mixture. After a soak, it is washed with water. All these steps are repeated thrice to get completely rid of impurities and starch. Later, the fabric is drenched and dyed in a mixture of harad (Terminalia chebula) and water in order to form a base for printing. Natural colors are mined from fruits, flowers, seed, iron etc. Alum (fitkari) is simmered and stored in a pot then boiled with the powder of tamarind seed (chiyan) to get the red color. For black, hirakasish (iron sulfate) or a piece of iron, jiggery and water are mixed and stored in an iron container for 20-25 days. Then, the processed rust water and tamarind seed are boiled together to get the intense color. The paliya (dye tray) is set with seven layers of jute, which work like a dye pad for designing. After printing, the fabric is dried in the sun for 10-15 days and then taken to the river and washed in flowing water there; this process of washing is called 'vichliya'. In the next step, the fabric with the mixture of floral and leaf extracts is boiled in a copper vessel. 

The concoction allows shine, color-fixing, and fastening; this process lets the red, black, and white to finally develop and appear. The fabric is now washed in clean water and then bleached. After some more drying, the colors are fixed, and the finished printed fabric is arranged to be sold in the market.

The designs are inspired by nature, wildlife, architecture and the ancient Bagh Cave paintings. Name of the blocks are as follows: Genda (Marigold flower), maithir or makkhi (mushroom), leheriya (waves), keri (mango), saaj (border), nariyal Jaal (inspired by Taj Mahal), tikoni (triangular), chaukdi (rectangular), dhaari (stripes), mitthu Boota (inspired by parrot) and jurvaria (polka dots). Bagh printing not just adorns cotton but also silk fabric, cotton-silk, tussar, maheshwari, chanderi, jute, chiffon and crepe. One can find a pool of Bagh printed stoles, sarees, dupattas, bed sheets, curtains, pillow covers, cushion covers, mats, table runners and rugs in the market reflecting the class and sophistication.