In the arid landscape of Kutch, on the India–Pakistan border, agriculture is precarious and uncertain, so craft has become a way of life. Among the most enduring traditions is extra-weft weaving amongst the Vankar community, practiced for over six centuries since Marwada artisans migrated from Rajasthan to Gujarat.
From the village of Sarli, Rajan Bhimji Vankar carries this lineage forward. A fourth-generation weaver, he grew up watching his father and grandfather at the loom; today, in his early twenties, he is already celebrated as a master of the craft.
Rajan’s scarves, stoles, shawls, and blankets draw from both earth and sky: muted desert browns, cool indigoes, flashes of hot pink, even near-neon oranges. He works with a palette of extraordinary fibers—local Desi and fine Merino wool, handspun Tussar and Eri silks, indigenous Kala cotton—bringing softness and strength into each piece.
His intricate motifs, created with the traditional extra weft technique (similar to Bengali jamdani), are both contemporary and deeply symbolic. Patterns like Chomukh (the four-pointed cross), Dhunglo (mountains), and Saat-Kanni (the eyes) are woven not only as designs but as carriers of Kutchi identity.
Rajan describes weaving as an “ecology of collaborative effort”—a network of farmers, spinners, dyers, vendors, and artisans whose work converges at the loom. His practice is both revival and reinvention: keeping alive the symbolism of Vankar weaving while bringing it into dialogue with global design.
In Rajan’s hands, weaving becomes a living lineage—threads carrying memory, meaning, and the spirit of Kutch.
