Kalamkari - The wonderful handpainted or block printed Textile

Kalamkari work is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile produced in Isfahan, Iran, and in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.Its name originates from the Persian meaning, derived from the words kalam (Pen) and kari (Craftmanship), meaning drawing with a bamboo pen on silk or cotton fabrics. Only natural or vegetable dyes are used.

This art form of hand painting was started sometimes in 3000 B.C in a small district of Andhra Pradesh but it only got recognition during the Mughal Era. 

The whole process of Kalamkari undergoes 23 steps.This involves bleaching the fabric, softening it, drying it in sun, preparing natural dyes, air drying and washing. The entire procedure is intricate and requires an eye for detail.

The colors used in Kalamkari are exquisite earthy tones of reds, blues, greens, yellows and browns. Women are depicted in shades of yellow, gods in blue and demons in red and green. The use of synthetic dyes is strictly forbidden and thus every color is procured using natural means (from vegetable dyes)

Motifs drawn in this ancient art of Kalamkari, include flowers, peacock, paisleys and also divine characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Kalamakari was born out of an art of story-telling. In ancient times, people used to travel from village to village and told stories; some of them even drew it on a canvas.

Some images to reflect on Kalamkari designs follow here and commonly used are in sarees, duppatta's, fabrics, blouses.