An original Ajrakh print passes through sixteen stages of washing, resist-printing and natural dyeing before anyone can wear it. Meanwhile, a screen-printed copy comes off a machine in minutes and sits on the same shelf at a similar price. Most shoppers cannot tell the two apart. So here are seven checks you can run yourself, in a shop or on your phone. 1. Turn the fabric over Start with the reverse side. Genuine Ajrakh uses resist-dyeing, so colour soaks right through the cloth. As a result, the back looks almost as sharp as the front. Screen prints sit on the surface instead. Flip a printed saree over and you will see a pale, washed-out ghost of the design. This single check catches most fakes. 2. Study the colour palette Traditional Ajrakh runs on indigo blue and madder red, with black from iron and rust. Because these come from plants and minerals, the tones look deep but slightly uneven. Neon pinks, bright oranges and flat greens usually point to chemical dyes. Some workshops now mix natural and synthetic colours, which is fine, but the seller should say so plainly. 3. Welcome the small flaws Artisans stamp each block by hand, one repeat at a time. Therefore, motifs shift a little at the joins. Corners overlap. A line of colour bleeds slightly. Beginners read this as poor quality, though it is actually the clearest proof of handwork. A perfectly repeating pattern with no variation anywhere came from a machine. 4. Feel and smell the cloth Natural dyes leave a faint earthy, slightly sour smell that lingers for weeks. Chemical prints smell sharp instead. Next, run the fabric through your fingers. Cotton Ajrakh feels soft but has body. Modal silk drapes heavier and cooler. If a fabric feels waxy or plasticky, the finish has been added to hide a thin base cloth. 5. Run a small wash test Wash a corner in plain cold water. Natural dyes release a little colour in the first two or three washes, then settle. On the other hand, chemical prints often keep bleeding for months. Some fade badly after one wash. Ask the seller directly whether the piece has been pre-washed, since good workshops always do this before selling. 6. Ask where it came from Real Ajrakh comes from a handful of places. Ajrakhpur and Dhamadka in Kutch, Gujarat, hold most of the working families, and Barmer in Rajasthan has its own tradition. The craft carries a documented history going back centuries. A seller who knows the craft can name the cluster and often the family. Vague answers about