Table of Content
Kalamkari art, a timeless artform from the region of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu and is renowned for its intricate beauty. Dating back almost 3000 years, this art was popularised by the Rayas of Vijayanagara, and reached its heyday during the Mughal period (1526-1857) in India. Under the Vijayanagara empire, Kalamkari was a religious art, its theme dependent upon mythological stories and stories from the Hindu pantheon. It revolutionised trade in the 18th - 19th century, reaching as far as Europe, and was widely popular with the British, Dutch and Persians as well.
The term ‘kalamkari’ has Persian roots where ‘kalam’ means pen, and ‘kari’ means craftsmanship. Therefore, ‘kalamkari’ translates to the intricate art work done through a pen made from natural ingredients. The pen or the ‘kalam’ is obtained from the bamboo and sharpened, it is traditionally dipped in kasimi (a natural black dye) black liquid. The ‘kalam’ is wrapped with wool around it, which holds the black dye and the artist squeezes the wool to extract this dye as and when required.
This is a legacy art passed on from father or grandfather to their children. Passing on from one generation to another, Kalamkari art and its artists are truly an epitome of India’s rich artistic heritage.
Kalmkari art was typically done in a narrative style, illustrating stories from the Hindu mythologies such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas as well as depicting various deities. Certain stylisations such as intricate and detailed costumes, elongated eyes, and oval faces are defining features of this artform exclusively.
Regarding the colour scheme, mostly earth tones are used in Kalamkari art as the colors in Kalamkari art are traditionally naturally derived. Colours such as tones of reds, yellows, greens, and browns are generally employed in adorning these works of art. The cloth before being drawn upon, is treated with Myrobalan, a valuable mordant, to strengthen the cloth. It is usually done cloth, sarees, and more recently on canvas as well.
Creating a Kalmkari work of art requires a lot of time and skill. A typical piece could take around one month or more to get completed. The process too, is an elaborate one, with close to 23 steps required to execute a piece.
Tree of Life: Kalamkari Painting by Harinath. N
Srikalahasti Kalamkari
Dancing Krishna with Cows: Kalamkari Painting by Harinath. N
This style originates from the Srikalahasti region of Andhra Pradesh. It is primarily influenced by temple art and Hindu mythologies. This type of Kalamkari art was primarily created for religious purposes.
Srikalahasti is also well known as one of the most sacred Hindu pilgrimages, which is the Srikalahastisvara temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is highly revered by the devotees. Initially, this style of Kalamkari was used as wall hangings and backdrops for the idols of Hindu gods.
Kalamkari is traditionally drawn with a freehand and primarily tells a story in most of its pieces. These stories are regarding Hindu mythologies and epics. This style is completely dependent on hand work and even the colours are filled by hand.
The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari art makes for beautiful intricate works, paying homage to Hindu gods and their stories.
Ganesha: Kalamkari Painting by Harinath. N
Apart from artworks related to the Hindu religion, this style sometimes also includes works relating to nature. The Tree of Life motif discussed above is a part of this style of Kalamkari art.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a renowned name in the field of traditional art and the first chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board, publicised this particular style and made it the traditional artistic icon that it is now.
Read more about the process of Kalamkari here.
Machilipatnam Kalamkari
Peacocks Amidst Blossoms in Kalamkari by K. Lakshminarayan
The Machilipatnam style of Kalamkari art form comes from the Machilipatnam region of Andhra Pradesh. It is also known as Pedana Kalamkari style since it is particularly made in the Pedana town of Machilipatnam region. Unlike the Srikalahasti style of art, the Machilipatnam Kalamkari art includes foreign influences. It harbours Persian influences in its designs and themes. Highly detailed floral and geometrical patterns, along with intricate borders are a defining feature of this style. Birds and creepers are also recurrent motifs in this style.
Peacock in Kalamkari by Harinath. N
The colour scheme is more or less similar to the Srikalahasti Kalamkari art. However, the Machilipatnam Kalamkari is not entirely hand-drawn. It is made through the process of block printings wherein, stunning designs are hand carved onto blocks of wood and thus, stamped on the cloth/canvas. These motifs are later filled with intricate patterns and are hence called Kalamkari.
The motifs in this style are mostly cross-cultural, intermingled with various traditional and Persian influences.
Since this style is considered to be a more versatile version of Kalamkari art, it has more of an international appeal. This style can be seen printed on various home décor items, sarees, bed sheets and scarves.
Karuppur Kalamkari
Karuppur Kalamkari, or Chithra Paddam (figurative drawing), is an uncommon style of Kalamkari practiced in the state of Tamil Nadu. These figurative drawings were first patronised in Thanjavur in 1540 by Sevappa Nayak. This style of Kalamkari was used as temple hangings, canopies, panels for door frames to name a few.
The process, technique and materials of Karuppur Kalamkari are slightly different from that of Srikalahasti or Machlipattam, primarily owing to their geographical location. To prepare a Karuppur Kalamkari painting, the cotton cloth is first treated with a paste prepared of cow-dung. This is followed by starching it with rice and milk, and Malabar nut or Adathudai. Kalams, or pens, play an important role in Kalamkari. The Kalam for Karuppur kalamkari is often made using palm, while the preliminary sketch is made using a tamarind stick similar to Kalamkari of Telangana. Unlike the Kalamkaris of Srikalahasti and Machlipatnam that use different shades procured from tribal communities living in the forest, the Karuppur kalamkari uses natural materials such as Haldi or turmeric. Traditionally, the colours in Kalamkari are limited to black, red and yellow. However, today they have started incorporating different colors as well. Yellow is prepared using turmeric powder, Indian mulberry and Karuva gum (verali manjal and nuna pattai), black from rusted iron, jaggery and karuva gum, red from cinnamon sticks (surul patta and udayam patta), and blue from indigo (auri), are a few of the major primary colours obtained from the roots, leaves, and mineral salts rather than mineral stones. These colours are combinedwith water and Kuruva gum to achieve consistency. The use of vegetative colours is what differentiates Karuppur Kalamkari from Andhra Kalamkari.
Karuppur Kalamkari also plays an important role in temple festivities, such as the Panguni Uthiram festival. Since these paintings are used in temples, there are numerous motifs with symbolic meanings behind them. Some common motifs are yazhi, swans, peacocks, etc.
Wildlife in Kalamkari by K. Lakshminarayanan
Conclusion
While these three styles of kalamkari art have their own unique features, they are similar in the type of effort that is required to make these pieces. All styles of Kalamkari are labour intensive styles of art which require long hours to be executed. They also represent the extremely rich cultural heritage that the regions bear and have to offer.
Bibliography
- “Kalamkari (Andhra Pradesh).” 2018. My Grandma’s Legacy. My Grandma’s Legacy. March 11, 2018. https://grandmaslegacy.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/kalamkari-andhra-pradesh/.
- “Kalamkari: An Introduction.” n.d. Sahapedia. https://www.sahapedia.org/kalamkari-introduction.
- Sravani, Maddala, and Chiruvoori Varma. 2018. “The Ancient Art of Kalamkari: Problems and Prospects with Special Reference to Pedana, Andhra Pradesh Project Director -ICSSR Sponsored Project on Problems and Prospects of Kalamkari Units in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh Sanjeev Institute of Planning and Management, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. 533003 India Research Associate -ICSSR Sponsored Project on Problems and Prospects of Kalamkari Units in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh.” International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ResearchGate Impact Factor. https://doi.org/10.21275/SR20713172207.
- Umaid. 2022. “Kalamkari Painting Style - Umaid.art.” Umaid.art. August 8, 2022. https://umaid.art/2022/08/08/kalamkari-painting-style/.
- 2024. Granthaalayahpublication.org. 2024. https://www.granthaalayahpublication.org/Arts-Journal/ShodhKosh/article/download/1091/997?inline=1.
