Craft Talks: On 25 years of the Earthquake’s Blow to Kutch's crafts and How Artisans Weaved it Back

It has been 25 years since the devastating earthquake hit Gujarat's Kutch, but the memories are still fresh in the minds of those who fell victim to it. "Within moments, our home collapsed in the earthquake. My mother was injured, and tragically, my 15-year-old daughter lost her life after being trapped under the debris," says Dr. Ismail Mohamed Khatri, who belongs to the family of traditional hand block printers and natural dyers, from Kutch's Dhamadka Village, calling January 26, 2001, one of the most painful days of his life.

In less than an hour, the entire village was devastated, and 105 members of the community passed away. "Initially, we believed the destruction was limited to our village, but we soon realised that the entire Bhuj region had been severely affected," he adds. Dr. Khatri, now 67, referring to the community of textile artisans, says that the earthquake deeply impacted their practice.

Healing through what was damaged, the region's craft

Kutch is known for its rich and diverse textile traditions, where generations of artisans have been involved in embroidery, weaving, printing, and working with tie-dye, intricately patterned fabrics, standing in contrast to the region's desert landscape.

However, textile practices have also been important because, due to the region's vulnerability to earthquakes, droughts, and cyclones, farming is a livelihood, and these textile practices become central to sustenance. The earthquake of 2021 damaged key centres such as Bhujodi, Dhamadka, Anjar, and Khavda, resulting in the loss of many skilled artisans.

"Many artisans lost their houses, their embroidery materials, tools, and finished pieces that represented months of work," says Mukesh Bhanani, the project Director from Kala Raksha Trust, a Kutch-based organisation that works with the artisans. 'In those early days, survival was the first concern, but soon we realised that reviving craft would be essential for emotional and economic recovery."

Moreover, for the artisan community, it was not the first adversity, as Dr. Khatri shares with Local Samosa. "When the river (Dhamadka Saran Ganga) also dried up, we had feared that we would have to abandon our craft and leave the village. However, resilience has always defined us," he says, referring to the artisan community and the collective working.

The river, which the ninth-generation-old artisan referred to, was important for the Ajrakh block-printing community, of which he is a part, for washing fabrics, but it began to dry up in the 1990s, leading to the community's relocation to Ajrakhpur.

Following the earthquake, however, with support from the mosque and contributions from villagers, the artisans of Dhamadka undertook the enormous task of rebuilding their lives. "We purchased nearly 800 acres of land for residential rehabilitation and 1,600 acres for workshops. We worked closely with the government to secure essential infrastructure such as water, electricity, drainage systems, schools, and communication facilities — and where required, we developed some of these at our own expense," Dr. Khatri recounts.

"When artisans began stitching again, it was not only about earning, but it was also a way of healing trauma and rebuilding community strength. Craft became a language through which people processed loss and slowly regained hope," says Bhanani.

Sharing the stories silently 

Craft, however, is still the language of these artisans - some of whom, including Dr Khatri and Kala Raksha Trust artists, have used it to showcase their memory of loss, and revival of their livelihood that have been on display at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS). 

Last year, Dr. Khatri, who learnt block printing from his father, Mohamedbhai Siddikbhai Khatri,  a renowned National Award winner, and who completed his primary education up to the 7th standard in Gujarati and became an expert block printer by the age of 14, used Cotton and natural dye to create Ajrakh hand-block-print describing not just the community's resilience after the earthquake, but also civilisational memory. 

"I have personally carved and created 60 blocks, each embodying a part of this evolving journey," he says, about the presentation at the CSMVS, mentioning the narrative of their craft's journey is at the centre this time, for the exhibition, 'Resurgence 2026', unlike the previous one that was curated for 2007-2008 here.

Marking the 25 years since the devastation, the artists have created five textile panels, each representing a phase of Kutch’s journey over the past twenty-five years, from the earthquake and recovery to education, environmental change, and global recognition. From people helping each other after the earthquake, women stitching together during recovery, to the beginning of Rann Utsav, the panels depict all, says Mr Bhanani.

Nilanjana Som, who curated the panels both times, that she wanted to know how they (artists) see themselves today, in the fast-paced 21st century, a quarter of which is already over. "After the earthquake, the artists began rebuilding. It is important that we have constant dialogues with the artists who practice traditional folk and community-based art and understand their way-of-looking at the world, as well as themselves."

Som asked a few artisans who had participated in the exhibition ‘Resurgence 2001 – stories of an earthquake, survival and art, an exhibition of textiles from Kutch, India’ at CSMVS, Mumbai in 2007-08, whose styles vary from each other but are all representations of artwork from the region, to tell their story in 2026, after 25 years of the earthquake. "They wove and stitched the historical past into a future they are building for the region."

Changing Kutch and times 

The future, however, might look different from the past. There has been a significant shift in our materials over the years. Talking to Local Samosa, the veteran Dr Khatri, who has witnessed decades of the craft unfold before his eyes, hints at how Kutch has seen the times change. "At one point, synthetic indigo and Alexandrine dyes — widely used in European textile industries — were commonly adopted, and we too incorporated them into our practice. However, these dyes contained highly toxic chemicals."

He further shares that when reports began to emerge in Europe linking such dyes to serious health risks, including skin cancer, and international health authorities issued advisories, they were compelled to reconsider their methods. "We realised that if there was a health risk to those wearing the textiles, there was an equal or greater risk to the artisans producing them," he says.

As a result, the artisans made a conscious decision to completely discontinue the use of chemical dyes and return to traditional natural dyes — the same processes practised by their ancestors. 

On the other hand, the earthquake also brought changes to how the artisans were going to practise. "Before 2001, much of Kutch’s textile practice was home-based and largely invisible to the outside world. Artisans had extraordinary skills, but limited access to markets, design exposure, or recognition. Craft was often seen only as traditional decoration rather than as creative expression or cultural knowledge," Mr Bhanani, from Kala Raksha Trust, says.

After the earthquake, many support systems emerged, like NGOs, design education, and collaborations that helped artisans with their work. "Institutions like Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya encouraged artisans to innovate while staying rooted in tradition. Tourism, especially through Rann Utsav, created direct connections between artisans and audiences," he says. 

In the current scenario, the textile ecosystem in Kutch seems to have been interconnected, if not organised. As Mr Bhanani says, artisans have been participating in international exhibitions. "What has changed most is perception: earlier craft survived quietly; today it speaks loudly, telling stories, shaping identity, and connecting Kutch to the world."

Dr Khatri, who is also conducting workshops outside the country, calls it a renewed engagement, which is leading to opportunities. Citing a workshop in Australia where he spent three weeks teaching students traditional techniques of Indian craft, says that even the digital era has strengthened our ecosystem. "....as we can share designs instantly and connect directly with customers across geographies. This has enabled greater visibility, transparency, and sustainability for artisans."

In this "New Kutch", however, while historical places like Dholavira have become UNESCO World Heritage sites, Kutch’s age-old Ajrakh craft, a water-intensive craft, is reeling from a threat posed by excess iron in groundwater, which has been flagged again and again by researchers and ecologists.