Kalamkari or Pen art

Hello,

This is my second blog post, if you guys have already read my previous post, then you’ll know how I came up with the topic kalamkari. So in this blog I am going to tell you about what I found about Kalamkari in my first week of research

So what is basically kalamkari..? KALAMKARI is a folk art of Andhra Pradesh in which painting and printing is done on a fabric.  The kalamkari name is derived from two words “Kalam” means ‘pen’ and “Kari” means ‘work’ which literally means pen-work . It is a hand painting as well as block printing using vegetable dyes.

There are two styles of doing kalamkari; one is the srikalahasti style which is more of a painted technique and the other one machilipatnam style in which block printing is done on a fabric.

kalamkari done by pen  in srikalahasti

kalamkari block printing (machlipatnam)

Srikalahasti is a village near the temple town of tirupathi which is an ancient center, so because of this it is more influenced by the gods and goddess and Hindu mythology. However the same craft has an equally popular variant, which is prevalent in a small town called Pedana, about 13 km from Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Unlike srikalahasti it has creepers, floras which are influenced by Persian motifs.

block printed kalamkari with Persian motifs

kalamari painting of lord Krishna

Usually vegetable dyes are used but nowadays the uses of pigment dyes have also started. The dyes are obtained by extracting colors from different parts of the plants like roots, leaves, Minerals.

In Srikalahasti, the textiles are literally painted with pens made out of bamboo and cotton, in Machilipatnam, the line drawing done with a pen is transferred onto wooden blocks which are carved and then used to print fabric. In Machilipatnam, the production is carried out in karkhanas (commercial workshops), where the block makers, washers and printers work under the same roof. In Srikalahasti, the textiles are produced by small family units where the members work together. This essay discusses the history, stylistic development, materials and techniques of kalamkari at both Srikalahasti and Machalipatnam.

 So this is all about a brief introduction to Kalamkari. Next post onwards, I will discuss the history and evolution of this beautiful art. Stay tuned.