Kalam Kari

Kalam kari
By
Madduri Mounika Reddy
Section -B
What is kalam kari ?
• Kalamkari is an ancient style of hand painting
done on cotton or silk fabric with a tamarind pen,
using natural dyes.
• The word Kalamkari is derived from a Persian
word where ‘ kalam ’ means pen and ‘ kari ’ refers
to craftsmanship.
• Motifs drawn in Kalamkari spans from flowers,
peacock, paisleys to divine characters of Hindu
epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana.
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 as time passed , the process of telling tales
transformed into canvas painting and that’s
when Kalamkari art first started .
• According to the historians, fabric samples
depicting Kalamkari art was found at the
archaeological 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
skilful 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.
The making
Cotton fabric used for Kalamkari is first
treated with a solution of cow dung and
bleach. After keeping the fabric in this
solution for hours, the fabric gets a uniform
off-white colour. After this, the cotton fabric
is immersed in a mixture of buffalo milk
and Myrobalans. This avoids smudging of
dyes in the fabric when it is painted with
natural dyes. Later, the fabric is washed
under running water to get rid of the odor
of buffalo milk. The fabric likewise, is
washed twenty times and dried under the
sun. Once the fabric is ready for painting,
artists sketch motifs and designs on the
fabric. Post this, the Kalamkari
artists prepare dyes using natural sources to
fill colours within the drawings.
Colours of kalamkari
• Kalamkari art primarily use earthy colours like indigo, mustard,
rust, black and green.
• Natural dyes used to paint colours in Kalamkari art is
extracted for natural sources with no use of chemicals and
artificial matter.
• craftsmen extract black colour by blending jaggery, water and
iron fillings 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 algirin.
• Likewise, blue is obtained from indigo and green is derived by
mixing yellow and blue together.
Types of kalamkari
• There are two identifiable styles of Kalamkari art in India – Srikalahasti
style and Machilipatnam style.
• In the Machilipatnam style of Kalamkari, motifs are essentially printed
with hand-carved traditional blocks with intricate detailing painted by
hands.
• Srikalahasti style of painting draws inspiration from the Hindu mythology
describing scenes from the epics and folklore.
• Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are two prime states in India, where two
different types of Kalamkari patterns are done.
• The Andhra Kalamkari borrows design inspiration from forts, palaces and
temples of India, along with motifs of animals and birds.
• While the Gujarat Kalamkari depict motifs of mythological
characters like Krishna-Arjuna from Mahabharata, lord Krishna,
lord Ganesha, lord Buddha etc.
Present Day 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.
Thank
you

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