Fall in love with Kalamkari
I did when I first laid my eyes on that beautiful bed cover in my aunt's house in Hyderabad, India. The drawing and the detailing left me speechless, it was fine, fine work and evidence of the superb skill of the artisan. Kalamkari is an exquisite ancient textile art form that involves hand
drawing or block printing fabrics with the traditional use of natural
vegetable dyes. Though an item of Kalamkari may be hand block printed
rather than hand drawn, traditional artisans will still employ the use of a pen or kalam to
create the finer details of the overall design. You can see Kalamkari on apparel, home textiles or even wall tapestries , believe me there's not even one item on which it will look anything but gorgeous.
There's actually quite a bit of history behind the art form. The word ‘Kalamkari’ is derived from the Persian words ‘ghalam’, which means‘pen’, and ‘kari’, which translates to ‘craftsmanship’ or ‘work’. As with many other traditional Indian textile arts, the intricate techniques of Kalamkari have been passed down from one generation to the next for over 3000 years. Kalamkari was born in ancient times as a means of transcribing Hindu mythology. It was a way of recording several mythological stories and tales and depictions of various scenes from Hindu religious texts.
The Mughal rulers have been almost all been big patrons of the textiles art forms as is evident by the fact that many art forms reached India during the Mughal era. Kalamkari was considered one of the rick art forms. The wealthy and royalty would dress themselves up in fine apparel with Kalamkari. It was considered a sign of opulence especially in the province of Golconda ( Andhra Pradesh ). Just like old times, the art of Kalamkari continues to flourish in the state of Andhra Pradesh till date.
The creation of a Kalamkari product is a time consuming, meticulous process wherein the fabric can undergo up to 20 washing processes before all dyes are applied to complete the design. Needless to say, Kalamkari’s outstanding characteristic is the fine details and colors of its intricate hand drawn pen work. Meticulous, patient and attention to details - are the must haves if you want to get that perectly drawn design on your saree or your bed cover. It is not just textiles that can be made using this beyond gorgeous art form, there are painting and art works too that are done using this great art form. The process is very slow and vigorous. The kalamkari goes through a process of resist – dyeing and hand printing. There are lots and lots of treatments involved before and after the painting are done. The colors change depending on the treatment of cloth and quality of the mordant. Every step in the process is painstakingly done and with perfection. Kalamkari paintings have a flourishing market in and outside of India. The kalamkari art for sale is available in leading exhibitions that showcase and promote Indian handicrafts. These are some really expensive paintings.
Kalamkari artisans have a special name too, the artists who work on the Kalamkari painting scrolls are known as Jadupatuas or Duari Patuas, which basically translated to magical painters, quite apt if you ask me. These magicians are trying hard to save an art form that has been passed down to them by their ancestors by keeping the craft alive and passing it on to the next generation. You and I need to do our bit by supporting these hard working artisan communities by buying hand made.
Check out some hand made home decor & textiles here Hand made with love , practice and participate in Fair Tarde and let's remember that it is possible to do well while doing good.
There's actually quite a bit of history behind the art form. The word ‘Kalamkari’ is derived from the Persian words ‘ghalam’, which means‘pen’, and ‘kari’, which translates to ‘craftsmanship’ or ‘work’. As with many other traditional Indian textile arts, the intricate techniques of Kalamkari have been passed down from one generation to the next for over 3000 years. Kalamkari was born in ancient times as a means of transcribing Hindu mythology. It was a way of recording several mythological stories and tales and depictions of various scenes from Hindu religious texts.
The Mughal rulers have been almost all been big patrons of the textiles art forms as is evident by the fact that many art forms reached India during the Mughal era. Kalamkari was considered one of the rick art forms. The wealthy and royalty would dress themselves up in fine apparel with Kalamkari. It was considered a sign of opulence especially in the province of Golconda ( Andhra Pradesh ). Just like old times, the art of Kalamkari continues to flourish in the state of Andhra Pradesh till date.
The creation of a Kalamkari product is a time consuming, meticulous process wherein the fabric can undergo up to 20 washing processes before all dyes are applied to complete the design. Needless to say, Kalamkari’s outstanding characteristic is the fine details and colors of its intricate hand drawn pen work. Meticulous, patient and attention to details - are the must haves if you want to get that perectly drawn design on your saree or your bed cover. It is not just textiles that can be made using this beyond gorgeous art form, there are painting and art works too that are done using this great art form. The process is very slow and vigorous. The kalamkari goes through a process of resist – dyeing and hand printing. There are lots and lots of treatments involved before and after the painting are done. The colors change depending on the treatment of cloth and quality of the mordant. Every step in the process is painstakingly done and with perfection. Kalamkari paintings have a flourishing market in and outside of India. The kalamkari art for sale is available in leading exhibitions that showcase and promote Indian handicrafts. These are some really expensive paintings.
Kalamkari artisans have a special name too, the artists who work on the Kalamkari painting scrolls are known as Jadupatuas or Duari Patuas, which basically translated to magical painters, quite apt if you ask me. These magicians are trying hard to save an art form that has been passed down to them by their ancestors by keeping the craft alive and passing it on to the next generation. You and I need to do our bit by supporting these hard working artisan communities by buying hand made.
Check out some hand made home decor & textiles here Hand made with love , practice and participate in Fair Tarde and let's remember that it is possible to do well while doing good.
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| The Process , hand drawn with a Kalam |
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| The finished painting |
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