BEHIND THE SCENES - PART I : SANGANER (INDIA)

Just 10 miles south of Jaipur - India, Sanganer is a world renowned village known for it’s distinctly vibrant style of hand block printing which dates back to the 17th century. Thanks to the constant wars with the Mughals and Marathas, many printers migrated from Gujarat to Rajasthan during that period. Under the royal patronage, by the end of the 18th century this industry was fully developed in Sanganer. The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in its report on the Jaipur hand block printed textile cluster, has mentioned, "Shades of black come out best after washing the cloth in the waters of Sanganer. Sanganer motifs are mostly floral based. Fine lines and intricate detailing are specialties of the Sanganeri style." Sanganeri block printing received it’s own geographical indication tag in 2010, certifying the block printed products from this area as genuinely handmade according to traditional methods.

I went there during my travel in India when I read on my Lonely Planet that it is a beautiful place to take pictures, especially during the preparation of the tissues. It is really a magical place, full of charm, atmosphere and colors. I got in a factory, where several women were coloring a huge cloth with a thousand colors. At first the owner asked me a lot of money to get in, probably seeing the reflex he thought I was a journalist. When he realized that I was a mere tourist, whereas before he did not want me to take pictures, later he began to take a lot of pictures of me. However, I focused my attention on the woman in the photograph above. Suddenly, seeing the owner that I took pictures, she laughed, covering simultaneously some of her face with a veil using her right hand. I snapped the picture, one of my favorites for spontaneity and originality.