As Rajasthan’s Chhipa community leaves their Sanganeri block printing work behind, people from other states see an opportunity and step in to keep the craft alive.

Paridhi Choudhary |January 13, 2025

Sanganer, Rajasthan: Ketram Satyarthi, 68, migrated from Uttar Pradesh to Jaipur in search of work to support his family back home in 2003. He started working as an artisan in the Sanganeri block print unit.
Twenty-one years later, he runs his own unit.

The Sanganeri print has traditionally been crafted by the Chhipa community of Rajasthan and has been involved in this art for about 500 years. The prints have detailed motifs, generally flora and fauna. The designs are imprinted using a wooden block dipped in paint and pressed onto the cloth.

Like Satyarthi, many artisans have migrated to Jaipur. They are working in these units as members of the Chhipa community are moving away from the craft and looking for job opportunities in other sectors.

“I started my unit in 2018 and I have seen a shift in workers here. Earlier my unit had more artisans from Rajasthan and few from other states, and now the proportion is more or less the same,” said Satyarthi who has nine artisans working in his units and five of them are migrants.

It takes two years for an artisan to learn this craft. Most artisans working in these units are young. Young migrants like 19-year-old Arun Kashyap earn Rs1000 daily for printing 100 metres of cloth in 12-hour shifts.

Where most artisans are shifting away from traditional art, some family-owned legacy businesses from the Chhipa community want to continue this legacy for as long as possible. They begin teaching the art to their children at a very young age to ensure that it continues.

“We are very proud of our heritage. My forefathers were involved in this work. I have been working here for the last 60 years, and my children and their children will work in this industry,” said Ram Narayan Dovitya,75, owner of Dovitya Impex Print.

Dovitya has been running the business since the late 1950s. He takes great pride in the work that they’ve been doing over the years.

“The legacy should continue in my family but I don’t mind migrant workers joining us,” said Dovitya as he guides his 19-year-old grandson, Raman Dovitya, to continue the legacy in the future.

Dovitya is one of the few artisans from the community who has stayed in the profession. He has four brothers who have also stayed in it, running their units separately. As one moves along in the streets of Sanganer, one will find many small shops where only one worker is working and selling their craft. 

With the ease of technology, many artisans have also shifted to screen printing, an easier printing technique with pre-made designs which picked up in the early 2000s. 

One such artisan who left the block print work was Dinesh Marwal. He grew up learning the craft of block printing and, after working for a year, left it. He now works in a managerial position at Marwal Printers, a screen-printing unit. 

Screen printing’s efficiency outpaces traditional methods, producing 500 metres of printed cloth daily compared to block printing’s 100 meters.

As societal recognition and appreciation are very important for the artisans. It is a major reason for them to leave work or to encourage their kids to work in this craft.  “This was good work for me, but I don’t want my children to work here. I want them to work in offices, not these printing units,” said Marwal, who left block printing 20 years ago.

The rise of screen print was linked to preference for geometric patterns. The decline in hand block printing is because artisans were not upskilled according to the fast-paced market changes and they are not aware of the correct pricing of their work, said Himanshi Singh, Founding Member, of Bare Craft- a platform to bridge the gap between rural artisans and global small- medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

In the past few years, block printers have adopted new designs to keep up with changing trends and market demands. 

While small artisans struggle with domestic sales, businesses like Rangotri Foundation, earning ₹12crore yearly through exports, demonstrate the industry’s potential

“As far as the craft is concerned, it will sustain because there is still demand for the work. As consumers become more aware of the craft, they are choosing handicrafts over machine-made products,” said Singh.