History and evolution of kalamkari

Hello guys,

I'm back with a new blog post and as i have told u in my previous post, in this post i m going to talk about the history and evolution of kalamkari.

so by reading my previous posts you all basically know that kalamkari is the patterns and the designs done on the fabric are very colorful and vibrant and are mostly natural vegetable dyes and synthetic colors are not used in kalamkari. The kalamkari paintings are widely distributed in various products like saris, drapes, hand towels, wall paintings, prayer rugs wrappers, bed cover, door covers and dress materials. In olden days  which dates back to the period between 13^th and 19^th centuries  specially in the state of Andhra Pradesh where groups of singers, musicians and painters called chitrakattis kept moving from village to village only to depict the stories of Hindu mythologies in the form of street plays and generated income for their living.

The chitrakattis slowly came up with new ideas for the better understanding of the people where they staged their plays using large bolts of canvas painted on the spot with basic means and dyes extracted from plants. This is how kalamkari was introduced in the country. Then many Hindu temples started having large panels in the temple premises with kalamkari work on it illustrating the episodes of Indian mythology just similar to that of the stained glasses of the Christian cathedrals. Kalamkari soon flourished as an art form which found its culmination in the middle ages during the reign of the rich Golconda sultanate of Hyderabad. The mughal rulers of Golconda and commanded provinces appreciated and patronized the art of kalamkari and also called the skilled craftsmen of this craft as ‘qualamkars’ it is from the word’ qualamkars that the craft form got its name kalamkari.

Soon the products of kalamkari paved way for trade and commerce in ancient India concentrated mainly in the province of Andhra Pradesh. Srikalahasti and machilipatnam were the two major centers for kalamkari work in Andhra Pradesh. Water being one of the most essential components for the kalamkari art among all the centers, Srikalahasti emerged as a major center for kalamkari work because of the steady supply of clean flowing water it received from the river. The kalamkari market had demands both from the domestic and international markets and was exported to different parts of the world resulting the major source of trade. This form of Indian textiles was also used as a form of currency in spice trade in ancient Times

Being required even in other parts of the world the artisans of kalamkari also had to modernize with new ideas and themes. The artisans came up with innovative patterns and ideas highly influenced by Persian motifs, Hindu mythology and religious symbols. Kalamkari art has been practiced by many families in Andhra Pradesh and over the generations has constituted their livelihood

But in the year of 1950 the art of kalamkari had a major setback and almost became extinct due to ignorance and revived back only because of the demand from the international market by the efforts put by the government and crafts men behind these paintings. 

During the British period they had lot of affinity for this art and they started using this as decorative element for clothing.

That's all for the history and evolution, stay tuned to for more information about kalamkari.