India has a glorious history of arts and culture. You will find variety of folk arts in every region or state. They tell the story of craftsmanship skills. Although some of these art form are lost in the pages of history, but their artists are still keeping it safe in their best way. One of such folk arts is Kalamkari. It is a 3000-year-old art, a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textileform practiced in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Kalamkaris used to be known as Pattachitras, an art form still found in the neighboring state of Odisha and other regions of India and Nepal. The term “Pattachitra” comes from Sanskrit, where “Patta” means “cloth” and “Chitra” means “picture”.
Kalamkari refers to the ancient style of hand painting that is done with a tamarind pen, using natural dyes. Literal meaning of Kalamkari is kalam, which means pen and kari which refers to craftsmanship; which is derived from a Persian word. Motifs drawn in this ancient art of Kalamkari, include flowers, peacock, paisleys and also divine characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata.
History
Kalamakari was born out of an art of story-telling. In ancient times, people used to travel from village to village and told stories; some of them even drew it on a canvas. This art is primarily used to make Kalamkari sarees. Kalamkari is a very detailed and complicated painting that results in beautiful and elegant designs. Kalamkari designs and colors are very vibrant and bright. The artisans of Kalamkari came up with innovative designs influenced by Persian motifs, Hindu mythology and religious symbols; that gave identification to Kalamkari designs. It is a highly popular art form in which hand and block printing are used for making narrative scrolls and panels. Kalamkari art primarily involves earthy colors such as indigo, green, rust, black and mustard.
Types
In India, there are two unique styles of kalamkari art, namely, Srikalahasti and the Machilipatnam style. The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, in which the pen or the “kalam” is used for freehand drawing and filling in the colors, is a complete handwork art. Machilipatnam style of Kalamkari craft involves vegetable-dyed block-painting of a fabric.
Technique of painting
The process of kalamkari painting is very slow and dynamic. It goes through a process of resist — dyeing and hand printing. There are several treatments involved before and after the painting are finished.The colors change depending on the treatment of cloth and quality of the mordant. Every step in the process is done and with perfection.
Process of making Kalamkari fabric, involves 23 steps. This involves bleaching Kalamkari fabric, softening it, drying it in sun, preparing natural dyes, air drying and washing. The entire procedure is intricate and requires an eye for detailing. Generally, cotton fabric is used for making Kalamkari; however, silk fabric can also be used. Kalamkari fabric is first treated with a solution of cow dung and bleach. After keeping the fabric in this solution, it gets a uniform off-white color. To avoid smudging of dyes on the Kalamkari fabric, it is also dipped in a mixture of buffalo milk and mylobalans. Kalamkari fabric is then washed twenty times and sun dried. After this, the fabric is ready for printing. Kalamkari designs are then painted on the fabric, by hand. Kalamkari fabrics include minute details and it is painted using natural dyes.
In modern times, new types and new techniques of Kalamkari have been introduced. Silk, Mulmul, Cotton and Synthetic Sarees are also sold with Kalamkari print. Printing has made the task much easier than the original pen work of Kalamkari.
Due to this the original art form has lost its shine. But till today, there are many families in Andhra Pradesh continue to practice the original art form and this has served as the prime source of livelihood for them, over the generations.
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