Multani block-making in India

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2024: a dying art

Parul Kulshrestha, April 2, 2024: The Indian Express

Block designs are being first printed on a paper to keep it as a sample for future references. (Express photo by Parul Kulshrestha)
From: Parul Kulshrestha, April 2, 2024: The Indian Express

While the demand for block printing increased again with the rise in tourism and textile emporiums, by then most of the Multani families had gotten out of the trade. (Express photo by Parul Kulshrestha)
From: Parul Kulshrestha, April 2, 2024: The Indian Express

Among the last of the Multanis in Jaipur involved in making wooden blocks used to print intricate patterns on fabric, 55-year-old Mashkur Ahmed Multani says he didn’t have many options growing up. From his home in Jaipur’s Walled City, he has been working from the age of nine, helping his father and grandfather craft these blocks.

Their story starts around 300 years ago, when several families of ironsmiths left Multan (in present-day Pakistan), following their Sufi guru Hazrat Alauddin Hasan Rehmatullah Aliah, and settled in Sanganer, a town near Jaipur. Sanganer was already a block-printing hub at the time, and these families began making wooden blocks.

According to the director of the Adivasi Academy in Gujarat’s Tejgarh, Madan Meena, who has studied the Multani block artisans, the community has been known as ‘Bhathkada’, where ‘bhath’ refers to the block designs.

The block-makers moved to Jaipur soon after the city was established in 1727, and passed down their skills through generations. But with several setbacks over the years, most of their descendants have moved on to different pursuits.

Mohammad Rafeeq Multani, Mashkur’s 85-year-old father, recalled that before the 1990s, there were 10 shops of Multani block-makers in Purani Basti, inside the Walled City. Now, his shop is the only one that remains.

“We make blocks and sell them to the Cheepa (a community of block printers) in Sanganer and Bagru (a town 30 kilometres from Jaipur). Both the towns have different art forms and motifs. Some block-makers were dedicated to Sanganer and some to Bagru. The method is similar, but the design is different,” said Rafeeq.

Communal tensions, and a decline

Rafeeq is the eldest of seven brothers and four sisters, and as per tradition, all of his brothers were block-makers. They worked in the various shops that lined Purani Basti; at one point, there were 70 Multani block-makers in Jaipur, Rafeeq said.

But the communal tensions of the 1990s changed that. “One day, Muslim homes and shops in Purani Basti were set on fire. Local political leaders, with whom we were on good terms and who used to come to our homes regularly, helped rioters. No one died, but we lost everything,” Rafeeq said.

According to Mohammad Waheed Multani (43), Rafeeq’s brother, their houses burnt for a week because they had so much wood in stock.

“Those were dark times. We lived in makeshift tents in the Walled City area of Jaipur and then with relatives for a while. During that time, the Cheepa, a Hindu community from Sanganer, helped us. Many gave us advance payment and offered financial assistance. I do not think we would have survived without their help,” Waheed said.

However, except for one family, all other Multani block-makers sold their shops and houses at Purani Basti and moved to other parts of the city. After a few years, Waheed moved to Jodhpur and started a cloth business there.

Mashkur recalled working throughout the night after the communal tensions to make more blocks. “We used to work on Gurjan and Saagwan wood during that time, which are now banned. The wood used in making blocks has to be dried for at least a year in the dark because the rays of the sun crack it. As we lost our stock in the riots, we had to take special permission from the government to get more wood urgently,” he said.

The introduction of screen printing made another dent to their livelihood. The cheaper synthetic cloth on which such printing was done became a more affordable option for buyers in comparison to block-printed cloth. Many Multani families also moved to the screen-printing business.

While the demand for block printing increased again with the rise in tourism and textile emporiums, by then most of the Multani families had gotten out of the trade.

According to Rafeeq, the hard work and patience required for block printing, combined with the low wages, have meant that the new generation of the Multani families are not interested.

“A construction worker in Jaipur gets Rs 1,200-1,500 per day, but we artisans are paid Rs 500-600 for around 15 hours of work. Why will the new generation be interested?” Rafeeq asked.

A ray of hope

At the same time, Rafeeq’s relative Abdul Kuddus (57) is among those looking to use their expertise to expand their prospects. Kuddus, along with his son Abdul Kayyum (31), started making wooden jewellery on the pattern of the blocks.

“In recent years, I have realised that we cannot survive making just wooden blocks. We supply the blocks to the Cheepa community, and if the design is appreciated, the credit goes to them. Our work is not publicised. Hence, we invested our time and started making rings, earrings, necklaces, and anklets with designs carved on wood. We were called to exhibit our wooden blocks in New Delhi, where we sold this jewellery for the first time,” he said.

Later, they tied up with several brands and designers who agreed to buy from them in bulk.

With most Multani block-makers leaving the business, the Cheepa community of block printers have resorted to hiring labourers from Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh to replace their services. “A Farrukhabad worker can prepare a block in a day. Most of the time, they do not work on dry wood and charge Rs 4,000 for an eight-inch block, for which a Multani charges Rs 12,000. The Farrukhabadi blocks are not as deep as the Multani ones. The quality of work of the Multani people is incomparable, but demand has increased and we had to find an alternative,” said Brij Ballabh Udaiwal, a Sanganeri block printer from the Cheepa community.

Rafeeq says that while the experienced businessmen still prefer the Multanis’ work, he does not see the future generations of his family remaining in this field.

“My grandson has started doing screen printing work as he has no patience to make blocks. In a few decades, Jaipur will not have any Multani block-makers. It is the beginning of the end,” he said. Kayyum’s brother tried his luck for seven years learning this art, but, in the end, he too switched. Now, Rafeeq, his son Mashkur, their relative Kuddus and his son Kayyum are the only remaining Multani block makers left in Jaipur.