Table of Contents
Beyond Ajrakh and Rogan: The Living Art Traditions of Kutch
When conversations around Kutch’s artistic heritage arise, Ajrakh prints and Rogan paintings often take centre stage. Their visual appeal and commercial success have made them synonymous with the region’s identity. Yet, this focus unintentionally eclipses a broader ecosystem of crafts that have evolved quietly alongside desert life. Across the Rann of Kutch, art has never existed in isolation—it is woven into architecture, pastoral economies, seasonal migration, and belief systems. These lesser-known traditions do not aim for spectacle; instead, they record how communities adapt, survive, and express continuity in an unforgiving landscape.
Lippan Kaam: Sculpting Memory on Earthen Walls
Floral Mandala Lippan in Lippan by Nalemitha For Home Decor, Gifting
Lippan Kaam, the traditional mud and mirror work of Kutch, occupies a unique space between architecture and ornamentation. Practised largely by women of the Rabari community, this art emerges from the domestic sphere, transforming humble mud homes into reflective, sacred spaces. The process begins with locally sourced clay mixed with camel dung, a material choice that enhances durability and thermal insulation. Artisans mould the clay directly onto walls, shaping motifs by hand rather than using templates, making each composition deeply personal.
The mirrors embedded within the clay serve both symbolic and practical purposes. They reflect light into dim interiors and are believed to deflect negative energies, turning homes into protective environments. Motifs often reference desert life—flora adapted to arid conditions, animals central to pastoral identity, and geometric patterns that echo cosmic balance. While contemporary adaptations have brought Lippan onto canvases and décor objects, its most authentic form remains inseparable from the rhythms of Rabari domestic life and seasonal movement.
Banni Embroidery: Mapping Identity Through Stitch
Exhibit in the Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photography was permitted in the museum without restriction
Banni embroidery is not a single tradition but a constellation of styles shaped by multiple communities inhabiting the Banni grasslands. Groups such as the Mutwa, Jat, Meghwal, and Harijan each maintain distinct visual languages, identifiable through colour choices, stitch density, and mirror placement. Unlike mass-produced embroidery, Banni work is slow and deliberate, often created during periods of rest between pastoral duties.
Historically, embroidery functioned as both adornment and archive. Garments, dowry textiles, and household objects carried patterns that signified marital status, community affiliation, and even personal milestones. The extensive use of mirrors—once sourced from traders passing through Kutch—added luminosity to textiles worn in vast, open landscapes. In recent decades, changing lifestyles and market demands have altered motifs and formats, yet Banni embroidery continues to assert cultural identity through thread, resisting complete homogenisation.
Kharad Weaving: Textiles Born from Pastoral Necessity
Textiles Born from Pastoral Necessity
Among Kutch’s most understated textile traditions is Kharad weaving, practised primarily by the Vankar community. Unlike decorative fabrics, Kharad textiles are rooted in survival. Woven from hand-spun camel and sheep wool, these thick, coarse blankets were designed to withstand extreme desert temperatures—offering warmth during cold nights and breathability during hot days.
The weaving technique prioritises function over finesse, resulting in bold stripes and minimal patterning. This restraint reflects a worldview shaped by scarcity, mobility, and resourcefulness. With the decline of traditional pastoral economies and the availability of cheaper industrial blankets, Kharad weaving has seen a sharp reduction in practitioners. Its revival is not merely about aesthetics but about sustaining a knowledge system that understands climate, animal husbandry, and material efficiency.
Copper Bell Making: Crafting Sound and Movement
In the village of Nirona, the making of copper bells represents a rare intersection of metallurgy, acoustics, and pastoral culture. Crafted without welding, these bells are shaped through repeated heating and hammering, then coated with a mixture of copper, brass, and iron. Each bell is tuned by hand, producing a unique sound that once helped herders locate their animals across vast grazing lands.
Beyond functionality, bells occupy an important ritual space. Their sounds are considered auspicious, believed to cleanse environments and invoke protection. Today, as mechanised farming and urban lifestyles reduce their original use, these bells have transitioned into decorative and spiritual objects. Yet, their true significance lies in how sound once structured relationships between humans, animals, and open landscapes.
Art as Continuity, Not Commodity
What distinguishes these art forms from globally popular crafts is their resistance to dislocation. They are not easily detached from the environments that produced them. Each craft reflects a deep understanding of land, climate, and community interdependence. While market exposure can offer economic support, it also risks flattening complex traditions into consumable aesthetics.
To look beyond Ajrakh and Rogan is to recognise Kutch as a living cultural terrain rather than a catalogue of exportable crafts. Preserving these traditions requires more than revival projects—it demands respect for the communities that continue to practise them, adapting heritage to contemporary realities without erasing its roots.
References
-
Chakravarty, Anjali. “Mud, Mirror, and Memory: Lippan Kaam of Kutch.” Marg: A Magazine of the Arts 61, no. 3 (n.d.): 52–61.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311671547 -
Bhan, Mona. “Embroidery as Identity: Women’s Textile Practices in Banni, Kutch.” Journal of Material Culture 18, no. 2 (n.d.): 145–162.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259432781 -
Jain, Jyotindra. Living Traditions: Folk Arts of India. Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, n.d.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321024458 -
Prasad, Lokesh. Textiles of Nomadic Communities in India. Ahmedabad: Calico Museum of Textiles, n.d.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343112907 -
Mehta, Ritu. “Sounding the Desert: Copper Bell Traditions of Nirona, Kutch.” Indian Folklife 34 (n.d.): 23–27.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332984615 -
Bhowmik, Sharit K. Artisans and the Informal Economy: Craft Communities of Western India. London: Routledge, n.d.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275714982 -
Singh, Kavita. “Craft, Community and Sustainability in Kutch.” Studies in South Asian Culture 9, no. 1 (n.d.): 77–95.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338774091
