JOIN USThe term kalamkari literally means drawing with a pen. Although the art got this name during the Muslim reign, it had a much earlier and humbler origin. Long ago, groups of musicians and painters called chitrakattis travelled across villages, entertaining people with stories from epics and mythology. They illustrated their stories with drawings made on large pieces of rough canvas. They drew on the spot, using brushes made of twigs and dyes extracted from plants. This was how kalamkari was born and was destined to become an important form of art later on.
During the medieval period, the Mughals, impressed by this art form, patronised the artists who were from the Coromandel and Golconda regions, now parts of Andhra Pradesh. The artisans came to be known as kalamkars. The term now signifies painted and block-printed cotton and silk cloths, produced in southern and coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of coastal Tamil Nadu.
‘Kalamkari’ hubs
The two best-known centres of kalamkari are Srikalahasti in Chittoor district and Machilipatnam in Krishna district, both in Andhra Pradesh. In Srikalahasti, the painting is done directly on the cloth with pens made of bamboo sticks wrapped in cotton. Whereas, in Machilipatnam, the paintings are done on wooden blocks first and then printed on cloth.
Artists in Srikalahasti, which is an important pilgrim centre known for its Shiva Temple, were patronised by the Pallava, Chola and Vijaynagara kings. Cloth produced in Srikalahasti was mainly used as a canopy and backdrop at the temple. The style of drawing is characterised by bold, black, angular lines along with fine details. They remind you of murals from temples, such as the Veerabhadraswamy Temple and the Lepakshi Temple. Kalamkari in Machilipatnam is done primarily on clothing, prayer mats, bedspreads, tapestry and wall hangings. So these are block-printed.
Both kinds of kalamkari require similar materials. And they involve many steps in the process of production. In Srikalahasti kalamkari, the cotton cloth is thoroughly washed in water first to remove starch and other oily substances, after which it is set out to dry. After drying, the cloth is dipped in buffalo milk mixed with myrobalan fruit dust. Myrobalan is the common name for fruit plants such as cherry plum, amla, bibhitaki, haritaki, arjuna and so on. After the cloth is thoroughly soaked in this mixture, it is squeezed and kept out in the sun to dry. The primary drawing is made at this stage with charcoal and twigs from the tamarind tree. Pens fashioned out of bamboo twigs are used for colouring. The tip of the bamboo is sharpened and then wrapped in a piece of cotton cloth, fixed firmly with thread. The solution used for drawing the outline is called kasim. It is made of sugarcane jaggery, palm jaggery, rusted iron powder and water. The mixture is set aside to ferment for three weeks before it is ready.
The colour quotient
Red is the most common background colour used for kalamkari. The areas to be painted with red are treated with a solution of alum water, applied with a blunt pen. Then it is dipped in a solution of alizarin and finally dipped in boiling hot water and kept submerged for 45 minutes. The artists then take the cloth to the neighbouring Swarnamukhi river for washing. The water of the river is shallow and perfectly suitable for the job after which it is left on the river bank for three days to dry. The cloth is then soaked in buffalo milk and dyed in different colours. The dust of ripe myrobalan mixed with alum is used to create yellow colour, and indigo is used for blue.
The cloth needs to be washed and treated similarly for the Machilipatnam style too. But as it is block-printed, line drawings are not necessary. Artists usually belong to the carpenter community. A cross-section of teak wood is generally used for making the blocks. The surface of the wood is coated with a white solution and then the design is transferred on it. The blocks are carved by a relief process. The colouring process usually starts from the outlines and ends with the filling in of colour. Black and red are printed first and then the cloth is washed and boiled. The colours are kept in flat rectangular wooden vessels and covered with several layers of cotton cloth or jute. The cloth is then dried and sent for the final printing.
The process of kalamkari is an elaborate and painstaking one. However, the end product is beautiful enough to make it seem worthwhile.