What is Kalamkari?

What is Kalamkari?

Deriving its name from the two Persian words ‘kalam’ which means pen and ‘Kari’ which means craftsmanship, ‘Kalamkari’ refers to a particular, intricate style of hand-painting onto cloth. It originated in the modern-day states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana several hundred years ago. It was first used to portray scenes from sacred texts such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavatam. These paintings were often displayed as decorative backdrops in temples, depicting the stories of deities. There are two types of Kalamkari painting: Srikalahasti, which is the freehand drawing style, and Machilipatnam, which is the block-printing technique. The Srikalahasthi style of Kalamkari is used mostly for narrating the religious myths and also epics on fabric while the saris of this particular style are renowned for its classy and artistic borders and pallu.

Kalamkari’s History

Centuries ago, folk singers and painters used to wander from one village to other, narrating stories of Hindu mythology to the village people. But with course of time, the process of telling tales transformed into canvas painting and that’s when Kalamkari Art first saw the light of day. This colorful art dates back to more than 3000 B.C. According to historians, fabric samples depicting Kalamkari art were found at the archeological sites of Mohenjo-daro.

But it was during the Mughal era when this style of painting got recognition. Mughals promoted this art in the Golconda and Coromandel province where skillful craftsmen (known as Qualamkars) used to practice this art, that’s how this art and the word Kalamkari evolved. Under the Golconda sultanate, this art flourished at Machilipatnam in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and further was promoted during the 18th century, as a decorative design on clothing by Britishers in India. Till today, many families in Andhra Pradesh continue to practice this art and this has served as the prime source of livelihood for them, over the generations.

Kalamkari Technique

Kalamkari technique involves buying cotton cloth from mills, which are then cut into pieces. These pieces are soaked in water mixed with cow-dung. Once soaked well, the water is loosely squeezed out and the cloth is laid on the floor overnight. The next morning, these pieces are washed on a stone in a pond and spread on grass and water till evening. This process is repeated the next day and then all the cloth pieces are washed and dried. The next step involves treating the cloth with Myrobalan seeds and buffalo milk to prevent smudging of dyes when painted. After this process, the cloth is printed using natural colors as per the required design and then washed in flowing, fresh water. For designing, after tracing the central figure with charcoal sticks, the artist uses a finely pointed kalam, or a bamboo pen, dipped in the black kasimi liquid. The kalam is wrapped in wool that holds the liquid, and the artist squeezes this wool to release the ink while painting. Overall, for medium sized works, this demanding procedure takes about a month as the cloth and ink must fully dry between each step.

Color Sources

Kalamkari art primarily uses earthy colors like indigo, mustard, rust, black and green. Natural dyes, used to paint colors in Kalamkari art, are extracted from natural sources with no use of chemicals and artificial  matter. For instance, craftsmen extract black color by blending jaggery, water and iron filings which  they essentially use for outlining the sketches. While mustard or yellow is derived by boiling pomegranate peels, red hues are created from bark of madder or alizarin. Likewise, blue is obtained from indigo and green is derived by mixing yellow and blue together.

Current Scenario

From the first representation of Kalamkari art as religious paintings, depicting Indian gods and goddesses to the process of gaining recognition during the reign of Mughal dynasty, and till today when Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of Kalamkari; this art has come a long way. In the past decade, due to the tedious technique involved in its making, Kalamkari art was losing its shine. The emergence of high on technology machine looms and printed textiles also escalated the extinction process of this art. But it was the fashion designers of the Indian fashion industry who came together to revive this art and helped artisans practicing this art in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Creative minds like Gaurang Shah beautifully portrayed Kalamkari sarees on the fashion runways which brought this immortal art back in the limelight.