KALAMKARI

Content

• Introduction
• History
• Middle & modern age
• Technique
• Color fixing
• Theme
• Products
 Klamkari
• Kalamkari is a hand painted cotton fabric that is produced in Andhra Pradesh, India.
• Kalamkari uses only natural dyes and involves twenty-three steps [ dyeing, bleaching, hand
painting, block-printing, starching, cleaning, fixation and more ].
• India has two unique styles of Kalamkari art, the Srinkalahasti style and the Machilipatnam style.
• The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari is completely handmade by using a 'kalam' or pen to draw
the design freehand and fill it with colour.

1
A kalamkari artist creating his handicraft
2
 History
• Musicians and painters known as Chitrakars would leave the village to tell stories from Hindu mythology to
the villagers.
• They illustrated their reports with large canvases that were painted on site using simple methods and
vegetable dyes.
• Likewise, large kalamkari panels that have been found in Hindu temples depicting Hindu mythology and
imagery are similar to Buddhist thangka paintings.
• As an art form, it was found at the affluent apex of the medieval Golconda Sultanate of Hyderabad.
• The Mughals who popularized this craft in the Coromandel and Golconda provinces called the practitioners
of this craft "Qualamkars", from which the term "Kalamkari" was developed.
• Under the patronage of the Mughals and the Golconda Sultanate, the handicraft of Pedana Kalamkari, made
in Pendana near Machilipatnam in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, was developed
• The art of Kalamkari has been practiced by many families in Andhra Pradesh and some villages in Tamil
Nadu [sikkalnayakanpettai] have been made a living by generations of Telugu-speaking immigrant families

3
 Middle forms
• In the Middle Ages, the term was also used to refer to the manufacture of cotton fabrics with
freehand and woodblock designs using vegetable dyes, which were produced in many parts of
India.
• Where the fabric is block printed, a kalam (pen) is used to draw finer details and apply some
color.

Modern Day
• In modern times, traditional technology has been replaced by digital technology. In this era, new
technology was introduced and Kalamkari digital files were widely spread in the Indian region.
• Today, silk, murmur, cotton and synthetic sarees with Kalamkari prints are also sold in India.
Printing is much easier than traditional Kalamkari work. Kalamkari dupattas and blouses are
very popular among Indian women.

4
 Techniques
• The first step in making kalamkari is soaking it in astringent and
buffalo milk and then drying it in the sun.
• After this, the red, black, brown and purple parts of the design are
outlined with mordant, and the fabric is placed in an alizarin bath.
• The next step is to apply wax to the cloth except for the part to be dyed
blue, and dip the cloth in indigo dye.
• The wax is then scraped off, and the remaining area is painted by hand,
similar to Indonesian batik.
• To create the outline of the design, the artist uses a bamboo or date
palm stick with a pointed end to which a bundle of fine hairs is
attached, which is used as a brush or pencil.
• The pen is soaked in a mixture of jaggery and water, applied one layer
at a time, and then added with vegetable coloring.

https://youtu.be/aiRIwb_Ma5E 5
6
 Colour Fixing
• Dyes for cloth were obtained by extracting colors from various roots,
leaves, and mineral salts of iron, tin, copper, and alum.
• Various effects can be achieved by using cow dung, seeds, plants and
broken flowers for natural dyes.
• Along with buffalo milk, Myrobalan is also used in Kalamkari.
• Myrobalan is also used to deodorize buffalo milk.
• The color-fixing agent contained in myrobalan can easily fix the dye
or color of textiles during the fabric treatment process.
• Alum is used in the manufacture of natural dyes and also in the
treatment of fabrics.
• Alum ensures the color stability of Kalamkari weaving.

7
 Theme
• Kalamkari particularly features epic poems such as the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.
• More recently the Kalamkari technique has been used to depict Buddha and Buddhist art forms.
• Recently, many beautiful graphics like musical instruments, small animals, flowers, Buddha and
some Hindu symbols like swastika were also introduced in Kalamkari.

8
Kalamkari, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Lord Krishna with his disciple Arjun
India, c.20th century, cotton, natural dyes,
123X112 cm, Museum of Art & Photography
[MAP], Bangalore
9
 Products

INR 2,199.00 INR 2,743.00 INR 3,200.00 INR 3,200.00

INR 8,697.79 INR 16,400.00

10
 Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamkari
https://www.google.com/search?q=Products++of+kalamkari&client=firefox-b-
d&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPnbnL39r9AhXYzjgGHYY_BXoQ1TV6BAgJEEg&b
iw=1280&bih=559&dpr=1.5#spd=12262705025534414557

https://outputs.kalgudi.com/p/c/srikalahasti-kalamkari-fabric-painting-of-geethopadesham/4qtc_00zn

https://prajwalkukreja.wordpress.com/2017/11/12/kalamkari-
colors-of-india/

11
THANK YOU