The Ajrak is an integral part of Sindhi culture. Ajraks are usually about 2.5 to 3 meters long, patterned in intense colours predominantly rich crimson or a deep indigo with some white and black used sparingly to give definition to the geometric symmetry in design.Ījraks are made all over Sindh, especially in Matiari, Hala, Bhit Shah, Moro, Sukkur, Kandiaro, Hyderabad, and many cities of Upper Sindh and Lower Sindh. Women use it as a dupatta or a shalwar and sometimes as a makeshift swing for children. Men use it as a turban, a cummerbund or wind it around their shoulders or simply drape it over one shoulder. The garment has become an essential part of the Sindhi culture and apparel of Sindhis. The tradition still prevails centuries later, and people still use the same methods of production that were used in the earlier days to create an ajrak. The level of geometry on the garment comes from the usage of a method of printing called woodblock printing in which prints were transferred from geometric shapes etched on the wooden blocks by pressing them hard on the fabric.

Sindhi people also present Ajrak as a gesture of hospitality to their guests. Ajrak is a symbol of pride and respect for men and glory for women. Similar patterns appear in recent Ajrak prints.Ījrak can be called the identity of Sindh and Sindhi people. Excavations elsewhere in the Old World around Mesopotamia have yielded similar patterns on various objects, most notably on the royal couch of Tutankhamen. Of special note is the trefoil pattern etched on the person's garment interspersed with small circles, the interiors of which were filled with a red pigment. These civilizations are thought to have mastered the art of making cotton fabrics.Ī bust of the Priest-King excavated at Mohenjo-daro, currently in the National Museum of Pakistan, shows one shoulder draped in a piece of cloth that resembles an ajrak. In Persian -ak is a suffix which forms the diminutive.Įarly human settlements in the lower Indus Valley found a way of cultivating and using Gossypium arboreum commonly known as tree cotton to make clothes. The Sindhi word ajrak (اجرڪ) comes from Persian language ajar or ajor (اجر) meaning brick and -ak (ک) meaning little.

Culture day poetry in sindhi