COVER STORY
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HEALING LOOPS KSHIPRA GADEY Author, Textile Value Chain
Abstract India is an efficient nation with a very rich culture and heritage. It has a history that is beyond what technology can answer. One such example is of Ayurvastra. It is the med cloth that can cure diseases and infections. It is constructed by weaving organic yarns into a fabric and then imparting medicinal properties into that fabric by dyeing it with medicinal herbs. This fabric is not much popular among people from non-textile backgrounds as it looks outdated in front of the modern dressing culture that consists of a lot of new varieties and designs of fabrics that have better aesthetic properties. The modern-day clothing culture mostly consists of knitwear. Though ayurvastra was traditionally made with woven fabric, it is now made with knitting to match with the modern clothing culture. Knitted ayurvastra has its own benefits and can be potentially used on an everyday basis to prevent our bodies from certain diseases and infections we suffer due to our lifestyle. Keywords: knitting, ayurvastra Introduction The word ‘Ayurveda’ is a Sanskrit word that literally means lifelong knowledge. ‘Ayurvastra’ means ayurvedic fabric. This fabric is imparted with medicinal properties that could cure numerous diseases way before technology could. This fabric is traditionally made by weaving the organic natural yarns
into a fabric and then dyeing it with medicinal herbs that consist of the ability to cure numerous diseases. Due to the changing trends in the clothing culture ayurvastra was on the verge of losing its charm. Textile experts soon came up with ayurvastra from knitted fabric. Due to this kind of ayurvastra, Ayurveda lovers can now wear ayurvastra while they don’t can wear modern clothes and are not limited to the traditional ones. Skin has the ability to absorb toxins from the water, and it also has the ability to absorb herbs contained in natural dyes. The medicinal properties of these herbs are released into the body, improving the skin's ability to block and resist harmful substances. Ayurvastra clothing comes in a number of colours due to the use of about 200 herbs. Each colour is made from a mixture of one or more predominant plants/herbs, such as Turmeric in Turmeric clothing, as well as 40 or more others, all of which are carefully mixed and prepared medicinal herbs, plants, flowers, roots, and barks. Organic cotton, which is grown without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, is the most commonly used fabric. Silk, wool, coir, linen, hemp banana, nettle, bamboo, and other natural materials were also used in the preparation of Ayurvastra. Process of Ayurvastra The dyeing method tries to keep the
medicinal properties of the textiles intact. Dye fixation is carried out with the aid of natural and non-toxic resources of high medicinal value. This approach employs novel strategies to ensure that the consistency and quantity of colors are constant over long periods of time. All natural textiles such as cotton, jute, linen, and silk, as well as woven and knit fabrics, can be dyed using this innovative technique.' Herbal dyeing is used on textiles such as raw fiber. Fabric that is woven. Fabric that has been knitted or fabric that is not woven. Depending on the application and ailment, the fabric will take anything from three to seven days to produce.' Ayurvastra is produced in one of two ways. The cotton is first medicated before spinning, and the cloth is then dyed after weaving. In each of the processes, the following four steps are essentially incorporated: •
Bleaching – The raw yam is washed with a natural bleaching agent before being dipped in Ayurvedic concoctions for anything from 4 hours to several days at a temperature regulated setting. Both scouring and bleaching the grey doth are done with camel/buffalo/ cow/sheep dung.' A natural gum aids in the encapsulation process. It is then allowed to dry before being carefully washed to remove any loose parddes. To remove the sizing and gums used in the spinning process, the hand loomed doth
MARCH 2021
