“Kalamkari is the only art and craft in the world where vegetable dyes were used to paint in such a fine way on cloth creating fast colours and giving a touch of sophistication,” “Kalamkari is the only art and craft in the world where vegetable dyes were used to paint in such a fine way on cloth creating fast colours and giving a touch of sophistication,” Kalamkari literally means, Kalam - pen & kari - work, i.e., art work done using a pen. Vegetable dyes are used to colour the designs applied on cloth. The art of painting using organic dyes on cloth was popular in several parts of India, but this style of Kalamkari flourished at Kalahasti (80 miles north of Chennai) and at Masulipatnam 200 miles east of Hyderabad and North Karnataka region.

Different print pattern of Kalamkari during medival India 15th to 18th century

Kalamkari literally means, Kalam - pen & kari - work, i.e., art work done using a pen. Vegetable dyes are used to colour the designs applied on cloth. The art of painting using organic dyes on cloth was popular in several parts of India, but this style of Kalamkari flourished at Kalahasti (80 miles north of Chennai) and at Masulipatnam 200 miles east of Hyderabad and North Karnataka region.

Kalmakari work on Jubba with Golden Zardozi Work

Kalmakari work on Carpet.

The Kalamkari tradition chiefly consists of scenes from ancient Indian mythology. Figures of deities with rich border embellishments were created for the temples. In Masulipatnam, the weavers were involved in the block printing art, while at Kalahasti, the Balojas (a caste involved in making bangles) took to this art. Owing to Muslim rule in Qutub Shahi of Golconda,and Adil Shahs of Bijapur the Masulipatnam Kalamkari was influenced by Persian motifs & designs, widely adapted to suit their taste. The outlines and main features are done using hand carved blocks.

For more about Mens Dresses and Attire during Adil Shah Era

Kalmakari work on Ali Adil Shah II Jubba right. A noble man Jubba with kalam kari wrok

The finer details are later done using the pen. Under the British rule the designs as well as the end use of the fabric differed - for garments as well as furnishings. During this period floral designs were popular. The artisans were made to create even portraits of English men.

The artists use a bamboo or date palm stick pointed at one end with a bundle of fine hair attached to this pointed end to serve as the brush or pen.

Kalmakari work on tent lining cotton cloth called CHINTS

The dyes are obtained by extracting colours form parts of plants - roots, leaves along with mineral salts of iron, tin, copper, alum, etc., which are used as mordants. Karrupur is a style of Kalamkari that developed in the Thanjavur region during the Maratha rule. The Kalamkari work was a further embellishment to the gold brocade work in the woven fabric, which was used as sarees & dhotis by the royal family during the period of Raja Sarfoji and later Raja Shivaji. The specialty is that the finished products are mellow. Bright colours are used but the finish is not gaudy. The fabric looks better and better with further washing, with the designs standing out even better against the background.

Detailed Account

Kalamkari paintings, rich in natural colours and intricate designs.
Its a old and Complicated art

"Some of my best pieces may take months to complete. But the craft is far more complicated than what it seems. There are various laborious stages to go through before the painting is completed. "Authentic Artists uses only natural dyes from bark, flowers and fruits. The pictures are hand-painted so every piece is unique. For instance, the colour yellow is got from dried pomegranate, black from a mixture of jaggery, palm jaggery and iron pieces, blue from indigo and red from madder root. Green is obtained by mixing yellow and blue.

Floral motifs

With these colors and a practiced pen, artists create floral motifs, birds, animals and scenes from mythology. Before the painting process is started, the cloth is dipped in milk to prevent the color spreading. Artists of Kalahasti use a pen-brush to paint while Masulipatnam artists use blocks to print. Most times, the artist's family helps paint the cloth after the drawing is over.
The color schemes used in Kalamkari are the same employed in most folk paintings. The artist, working within the frame of tradition can also evolve new styles.

the mordents, dyes and gums used are entirely herbal or natural and therefore eco-friendly. Also, the process being chemical-free, these clothes would be allergy proof for people . It is the nuances and intricacies of the singular processes involved in creating both the hand painting (with a kalam, pen) and block printing (a Moghul period development) kalamkari works that the coffee table book deals with. The richly il lustrated tome also traces the historical journey of the art that dominated the entire Coromandel Coast. Kalamkari (so named by the Mughals in the 17th Century) readily adopted motifs and designs to suit the changing times. It mutated from “being an exclusiveHindu temple craft some five centuries ago to become popular among the Mughals too. Prayer mats, tapestries and garments with distinct Persian designs were made. To cater to the huge European market Victorian motifs like vases, flowers and laces also got incorporated in the designs.

The aesthetic appeal, the sophistication with muted colours and the fastness of the colours made people the world over go crazy about Kalamkari by the 17th Century,” she emphasises. However, the imperialists began enacting laws back home forbidding the import of Kalamkari. With the introduction of chemical dyes, the craft suffered a setback.

Kalamkari is a little-known art form today, but fabrics decorated with kalamkari were once used as currency-in place of gold-in the medieval spice trade. These fabrics were valued for their beautiful and intricate designs, which were applied to the cloth through a complex process.

The origins of kalamkari have been traced back to Persian-Indian trade in the 10th century. The art flourished in India in the 13th century when kalamkari panels decorated temples with depictions of stories from Hindu epics. Such scenes are still popular subjects for kalamkari today, along with floral and animal motifs.

Kalamkari is a medieval Persian word for "pen work." Artisans draw designs on cotton fabric with dye using a bamboo pen, called a kalam. Dyes used in kalamkari are extracted from roots, leaves and flowers. Mineral-based agents fix the color on the fabric. The process of making kalamkari involves about 17 different steps of drawing and dyeing, so it may take up to several weeks to create a single work.
Adding to the labor is the fact that the artist draws the design freehand onto the fabric, although occasionally some block printing may be used in addition. Because so much of the work is hand-drawn by an artist, each piece is one of a kind. Variations created by the use of natural dyes further set each work apart.


Modren day Kalmakari work on Salaha Mat
In spite of the unique nature of kalamkari, the market for these fabrics began to disappear with the slowing of the spice trade, followed by the growth of textile industries in Europe and elsewhere during the 18th century. By the early 20th century, the craft was almost nonexistent. It wasn't until the 1950s that kalamkari was revived, with a government-affiliated organization establishing a program to train craftspeople, and a handful of nonprofits following suit. The art form has since seen rising demand both in India and internationally.
Kalamkari now decorates a variety of clothing, furnishings and home accessories, as well as the wall panels for which it originally was known.

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Notes Sources:
Different Sources
Ramani - Chairperson of the Craft Education and Research Centre