Meet a tie dye guru in Jodhpur

Come to my home in Jodhpur to learn the ancient art of Bandhani – tie dye – which was passed down to me from my grandfather. Tie dye has a long history in India that has evolved over time, from the days when we used only natural colouring and hand-drawn designs to today’s modern stencils and dyes that offer unlimited patterns. Every piece I create is unique and the most complicated designs can take up to 15 days to complete.

I like to host visitors at my workshop and will welcome them with some of my special energy tea, which I make with spices and jaggery – guests love it. It makes me very happy when visitors admire my work, they also like to take photos with me wearing my colourful tie dye turban. In my workshop, I’ll tell you all about textile traditions in India and my family history with tie dye before the demonstration.

We start by cutting the raw fabric, which could be cotton or silk, then folding and securing it with stitches. We’ll work with a handkerchief, which you can take away as a souvenir. Then we mark the pattern with iron stencils before tying knots in the fabric. This is detailed work that’s usually done by ladies in the evening, while they’re chatting. Lastly, you can choose your colours and dip the fabric into the dye. When we open the designs it’s a real wow moment – everyone is amazed!