aavaran – UdaipurBlog

Meet the Woman from Udaipur who generates employment for 300 People

aavaran logo

AAVARAN (means ‘covering’ in Mewari language) was founded by Mrs Alka Sharma, textile graduate from Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur, Rajasthan, by this Alka wanted to uphold rural and indigenous communities and preserve their ‘traditional’ craft.

The initiative was started from Akola, which is a block printing cluster near Udaipur. The aim was to revive the culture so that the coming generations can carry the art forward.

AAVARAN’s workshop is predominantly of blue-white color, starting from the paint at the walls to cushion covers to pouches to the chappals to everything.

The process at AAVARAN is totally conventional, that’s why the job is very labour intensive. They develop cloth from various types of cotton and silk (chanderi and kotadoriya). The cotton cloth takes around 15-20 days to develop whereas silk takes around a month because mud-resistant is to be applied on the fabric for 4-5 days and then it’s bleached.

Cloth at AAVARAN goes through following stages to reach to you:

The fabric is imported from the Southern part of India.
The fabric is then washed to remove the impurities of the fabric which are the barrier in the printing procedure.
The fabric is then checked to ensure that there aren’t any weave-mistakes or holes.
The plain cloth is dyed with various dyes, one of them being indigo dye.
The fabric is then printed in different colors and blocks.
The printed cloth is embroidered and stitched upon.
The stitched cloth is then packed in the stock room.
The finished product is consumed by both domestic and international markets.
aavaran udaipur

AAVARAN’s speciality is Dabu print which is traditional hand block printing craftsmanship from vintage Rajasthan. It is made from Dabu which is a mud resist process, and comprises of black soil, gum (gond) and chuna (calcium hydroxide). A mixture of beedan and ground along with mud is used to make a sticky paste. Dabu is applied to the fabric using wooden blocks. At AAVARAN, artisans make use of single and double dabu dexterities for cloth printing.

AAVARAN’s USP is that they manufacture Indigo printed clothes which is Mewar’s ancient expertise. They have 4 pits, each 9ft deep for bleaching the cloth with Indigo. After bleaching/dying the cloth is of greenish shade but turns into blue after exposed oxidization.

AAVARAN also specialize in Lep, as its literal meaning, mud is evenly spread on the cloth and left for drying after which the cloth is bleached and color texture can be seen in different shades on the same piece.

Zari and zardozi are one of the major embroidery craft done at AAVARAN.

Till now around 300 people have been employed by this initiative out of which 100 are in-house employees at AAVARAN who are engaged in Block Printing, Stitching, Dyeing etc., Udaipur and other 200 are women in and around Udaipur who work in clusters of 30 each and do dari making, tassel making, button making etc.

AAVARAN manufactures women’s sarees, shirts, kurtas, tops, dupattas, pyjamas and skirts. The brand also has a men’s cloth line and children’s range as well as home decor such as bedsheets, carpets, cushion covers, etc.

Currently, their trade is Brand to Brand, they cater to Fabindia, Kilol and many other brands of Japan and Korea. They have 3 retail stores in Udaipur, Jaipur and Bangalore each; they’ll soon be opening in Chandigarh as well.

“We are a zero-waste company because we utilize all our scrapes in making home furnishings, jewelry, bags, pouches and many other embellishments” ~says Mrs Alka Sharma.

‘Aavaran’ From Udaipur Has Taken Mewar’s Dabu Hand Prints to International Levels!

Truly living up to its name ‘Aavaran- Echoes of Rural India’, has taken Mewar’s Dabu work to international levels. Aavaran derives its inspiration and beauty from the indigenous work of the families residing near Udaipur. The dabu work is an exemplary example of the art of indigenous communities of Rajasthan, known to be one of the best art forms in the entire nation.

My visit to Aavaran:

I visited Aavaran a few days back and as soon as I entered the main area I was startled by the fact that everything around me had the aboriginal Indigo color. The spreads, the cushion covers, the coasters, even the ‘chappals’ were made from the Indigo dyed cloths. Aavaran believes in zero waste hence even the ornamentations were made from the scrapes of the Indigo clothes.

I noticed motifs getting printed over cotton cloths via hand block printing- the blocks for printing are being hand carved. It is a long process but the output is simply stunning and pleasing to the eyes. I got into a conversation with the managing team there and came to know some staggering facts, figures, and information about Aavaran which surely made me awestruck, amazed and proud. Yes, proud that Udaipur has some hidden gems which we people are still missing on.

What exactly is Dabu Work?

Dabu is mud resist hand block printing technique from ancient Rajasthan. The practice almost died out in the last century but was revived and flourished by organizations like Aavaran. This technique of cloth printing is quite laborious and involves several stages of printing and dyeing. At Aavaran, artisans also make use of double and triple dabu techniques for cloth printing. Undoubtedly, the result is extraordinarily beautiful.

Aavaran- Echoes of Rural India

Based out of Udaipur, Aavaran was started by Ms Alka Sharma, who is a textile grad from Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur. She, from her childhood, always had a thought for bringing out the craftsmanship of Indian rural communities. One such community lives in Akola, a village near Udaipur, which utilizes a cloth dyeing technique called Dabu.

Ms Alka, fascinated by the artwork, urged to sustain this impeccable yet dying art form.

She calls Aavaran a journey started to uphold the rural indigenous communities and their traditional craft. Aavaran’s attempt is to evolve and sustain the traditional ‘Dabu’ mud resist technique of hand printing, specifically the indigo dyed ‘phentiya’ print which is a staple of Mewar Region.

“Our efficient team works on minimal prints, with no compromise with comfort and style.” –says Ms Alka Sharma. She further adds, “As we are a zero waste company, we utilize all our scrapes in inventing home furnishings, jewelry, bags, pouches and so much more.”

Aavaran Family

‘Aavaran’ From Udaipur Has Taken Mewar’s Dabu Hand Prints to International Levels! — Aavaran Family

Aavaran has almost 280 people working with them, out of which 80 are skilled artisans. There are 200 ladies who with the support of Hindustan Zinc Limited and Aavaran by COS-V, have learned different skills like stitching, hand embroidery, rug making, accessory making etc. and work for Aavaran, which helps them to generate a livelihood for themselves. Rest of the 80 artisans work at the Aavaran production unit, where they are involved in the activities of Dyeing, Printing, Stitching and so on.

What makes Aavaran different?

Aavaran uses Dabu Mud resists hand block printing as the primary technique wherein natural dyes are utilized like Haldi Dye, Manjistha Dye, Kashish & Indigo Dye.

Apart from this, Aavaran has developed Ayurvastra which is a 5000-year-old philosophy revolving around Ayurveda. Here organic cotton is treated with a defined combination of herbs and oil which treats ailments and heals inside out. Clothes dyed under the concept of Ayurvastra help in increasing the immunity and reaching a better mental equilibrium.

Aavaran in the markets and other accomplishments

Aavaran, not only produces goods under their label but also for other renowned labels. This has subsequently increased Aavaran’s presence in India as well as in the entire world.

One of the prime people working with Aavaran is Mr. Ramkishore Ji Chippa, who has received an award from CRAFT COUNCIL OF INDIA, for the natural dyeing process in the year 2016, which is indeed a big accomplishment for Aavaran.

The workspace of Aavaran is a beautiful premise with loads of dedicated workers and artisans joining hands together to create impeccable and outstanding pieces of apparels. With 3 different outlets in Udaipur, Jaipur, and Bengaluru, Aavaran has established its name in the textile industry via reviving a unique art of hand dyed prints.

The journey of Aavaran has been through ups and downs. With climate changes and other factors, it has seen quite a number of hurdles in its journey and despite all these issues it has risen and planned a better life for artisans.