Working with Batik master craftsman Shakil Khatri for the last ten years in Gujarat, to revive the 1000-year-old tradition using vegetable dyes, Madhumita Nath of Ek Katha hopes to serenade a young audience with reimagined crafts.
By Asmita Aggarwal
She studied textiles at NIFT Mumbai and JJ School of Art, the Mumbai-raised, Nagpur-born Madhumita Nath of the label Ek Katha took time to launch her label. She came from a renowned family of science mavericks, with her grandfather Prof. M. C. Nath, moving from Dhaka to India, setting up the Biochemistry institute, in 1946, Nagpur. Most family members are Ph.Ds, so when she decided to study textiles, it was met with “surprise.”
2016, was the year when she decided she would like to concentrate on Kutch weavers, she sought advice from mentor Kudeep Gadwi, who took her to meet artisans exposing her to lesser-known jewels like Batik from Mundra, Gujarat.
The “khakan” is made locally, earlier they used oil of a seed, not paraffin wax to dye, but now only four families are left out
of hundreds who have abandoned this process, six in the adjoining village— digital printing killed traditional art. “You can make digitals in Rs 15 to Rs 30 per meter, which ends up in Dadar market, it is quick. Ancient techniques, 1,000 years old, have a subtle layering, the beauty of it has been erased due to bulk digital prints. Batik used vegetable dyes, chemical- free, laborious, painstaking but excellent,” says Madhumita.
Master craftsman Shakil Khatri’s family has been batik block printing for six generations, using oil of the pilu tree (Salvadora persica), locally known as kakhan, as a resist. As it is thick and sensitive to heat—the oil can only be used in the morning. Kutch batik left natural dyes shifted to naphthol-based ones, but Shakil sticks to sustainable processes, he makes 12 shades of natural colours from indigo, rust iron, turmeric, pomegranate skin, madder and onion after he was trained at the Kala Raksha, in innovative ways. He gave life to Batik with new designs, artisans in Batik Kutch are Khatris, Kutchi-speaking Muslims.
“Khatri didn’t give up block making, his gradations due to the layering is unmatched,” says Nath, who in 2018, made a line for the Sustainable fashion day in Spain with The Circular Project. “I am not a businesswoman, when Covid struck, I shut shop for two years,” she says. Providence gave her an amazing opportunity to learn from an incubator program for women entrepreneurs, NSRCEL, started by the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, in 2023. IIM (Bangalore) has partnered with Goldman Sachs, Capgemini and Maruti also.
“I received helpful inputs on the financial aspects of running a business, for six months through the management institute. It was a learning to see where I belong, how to survive when you do slow fashion, meet investors, pitch in front of them,” she adds. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) membership helped her figure out how small batches of hand-made can be exported to the US and the Middle-East. “I wanted to do something craft-based, but I am not a sustainability warrior,” she admits, as she worked with kala cotton, reducing carbon footprints with hand-made techniques.
“I love crafts, bazaars, haats, seeing lots of stuff stacked up, and the beauty of Batik is that it is monotone, unique in so many wonderful ways,” she adds. Generally, she admits, Gujarat is often associated with colourful embroidery. “I did start with Ajrakh, but soon shifted to Batik, Kala cotton is not glamorous, but I know North Indians will be hesitant, but the Japanese will buy it at any price, as they know its value. When you can get a heavily embroidered piece for Rs 10,000 anywhere, why would anyone but pure, natural, plain fabrics? Many don’t realise the artistry,” she confesses.
For LFWXFDCI, Nath has combined Batik with fabric cording, using khadi and kala cotton from Bengal, also paying homage to Kota Doria, adding delicate, subtle textures to create flowy shapes. Her love for patchwork, cutwork and quilting used in abundance can be seen, without serenading waist defining silhouettes, yet the line is young in appeal. “I would like to do B2B exports in the future —I know I have to build my capacity first,” she concludes.