The beauty of batik

Batiks are things of beauty, each meticulously crafted piece of garment considered a piece of art. The market for batik has begun heating up in Araihazar upazila in Narayanganj -- the pulse of the batik business -- and homes there are turning into splashes of colour, owing to the batik cloths hung out to dry. While the tradition is a hundred years old, much of the unseen and often unheard of work goes behind the scenes, which shows the amount of dedication and expertise the task requires. For around 12-14 hours a day, batik workers dye, print, wash, dry, fold and package the end product. Till today, around 95 percent of batik is handcrafted. The work becomes more arduous ahead of festivals, such as the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. Demand for the cloths are also high in European countries and in the US, home to many migrant Bangladeshis. The cloth sells for around Tk 500-1,200.

Photo: Anisur Rahman