The Gypsies of Bagra

In March 2023 I went with Marigold Tours on a 10 day adventure in textiles to Rajastan, India. We went to Bagra to experience dabu (mud resist) dying and there we met the gypsies. The parents worked in the dye baths and fields, laying out the long lengths of printed cloth to dry in the sun and the children, dressed in vivid colours ran about us as we wandered among the lengths of fabric. The older children shepherded the younger ones.

These people are itinerants and live in makeshift camps of bamboo covered with old quilts. I have tried to capture the camp in the background placing it under net to push it back in emphasis. The children were so happy and resilient, polite and delighted when we gave them toiletries.

This thread painting is a composite layout from several photographs I took and was quite a challenge in getting tonal facial features to show sunlight and shadow.