GUNTUR: A teacher of a Zilla Parishad High School at Alluru in Pittalavanipalem mandal is striving to promote ‘Bandhani’ by training students in the nitty-gritty of the tie-dye textile art. Bandhani is one of the ancient arts, which has its roots back to Indus civilisation. The art of Bandhani is a highly skilled process, including a tie-dye process. The technique involves dyeing a fabric which tied tightly with a thread at several points, thus producing a variety of patterns like Chandrakala, Bavan Baug and Shikari, depending on the manner in which the cloth is tied.
This art is famous in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sindh and Punjab regions. However, in the last few decades, the art had lost its sheen. As a measure to conserve and restore ancient arts, the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) conducts workshops on various ancient arts for government teachers. Venkateswarlu, an English teacher of the ZP school, attended the workshop held at Udaipur five years ago.
“As the entire process of tie-dye textile art is closely related to a lesson in eighth standard English textbook, The Story of Ikat, I decided to train students in Bandhani,’’ he said, adding that the school authorities supported his initiative. Now, he is teaching the art to about 50 students, who are interested in learning the dye art, every year. School headmaster Koteswara Rao said the art helps students understand our rich culture and heritage.
Likitha, a class 10 student, said, “I have been practising the art for the past six months. It needs concentration as the cloth should be tied with precision. I hope I can make complex designs on clothes in the near future by mastering the art.” Having learnt about the initiative of Venkateswarlu, local schools have started inviting him to conduct workshops for their students on the dye art. After learning the textile art, students can make it a good career option by setting up their own business, the ZP High School teacher said.