Bhit Shah - Matiari District
We left from Karachi early morning at about 8.00 am towards BhitShah a small town situated just 16 km away from Hala (National Hwy 5) is named after Sufi Saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhatti. Artisans of which are known for hand-dyed block printing specially Ajrakh which is a unique form of block printing.
Cotton has been cultivated as major source of fiber since prehistoric times and amongst them Egyptian and Sindhi cotton grown on delta`s of Nile & Indus river is considered to be the best. Sindh has an ancient tradition of dyeing cloth and the oldest record of dyed cloth in the world was found at Moenjodaro. Sindh exported cloth to Mesopotamia, where it was known as Sendal or Sindhu. Jewish merchants took this cloth further west to Greece, where this fine cloth became known as Sindon.
Block printing is the process of printing patterns by means of engraved wooden blocks. It is the earliest, simplest and slowest of all methods of textile printing. Block printing by hand is a slow process. It is, however, capable of yielding highly artistic results, some of which are unobtainable by any other method.
The indigo dyeing process involves making the soluble, yellow-green indigo in the bath turn blue while still attached to the fibre as it takes in oxygen from the air. Indigo builds colour, so the more immersion-oxidation cycles, the deeper the colour.
In evening we visited Hala which is an old city situated in Matiari district of Sindh known for “Kashi” pottery craftsmanship originated in Central Asia or Kashgar, China. Amongst many handicrafts, Hala is popular for its terracotta, Colorful wooden chairs, Soosi cloth e.t.c.
We had visited Hala's workshops resemble pottery yards more than actual factories or clearly demarcated studios, and each yard is divided into various sections. Some are used to stock the pottery and other earthenware, others are used for heat-treatment, and the front of the workshops are largely devoted to molding and painting pots.
