Kalamkari: Indian fabric art form continues to fascinate over the years 

“We send at least two shipments every month to the New York store,” Pitchuka Srinivas, a second-generation original kalamkari artisan from Pedana in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, told South First.

“Due to supply-chain disturbances caused by Covid-19 in the last two years, the shipments were delayed. Now, it’s almost back to normal,” he added

Les Indiennes store in New York

Kalamkari art also draws different nationals to this nondescript village near Machilipatnam.

American national Mary Bergtold Mulcahy, who runs the Les Indiennes store in Hudson, New York, had been a regular visitor to Pedana until Covid-19 disrupted everything.

In the past, artists from the Netherlands, Singapore, and so on visited the village to learn and understand the art form.

Apart from being available across the US, Les Indiennes’ kalamkari products are also sold in Australia, Canada, the UK, South Africa, and some other European countries as well.

Famous worldwide

The art form is confined to only two places in Andhra Pradesh, one at Pedana and the other at Srikalahasti in the Chittoor district.

Pitchuka Srinivas

However, of the two, Machilipatnam kalamkari is famous worldwide and also secured a GI tag in 2013 for its unique style, which is confined to only one particular geographical area.

Machilipatnam kalamkari is a style of work that involves vegetable-dyed block painting of a fabric.

Though it is named Machilipatnam kalamkari, it is actually produced in the nearby town of Pedana.

This style of art evolved during the rule of the Mughal dynasty and was practised in the Golconda Sultanate.

Under medieval Islamic rule, the term kalamkari was derived from the words “kalam”, which means pen in Persian, and “kari”, which means craftsmanship in that lnguage. Later, artisans started using wooden blocks as well.

“It was during the Qutb Shahi period that kalamkari art flourished. Qutb Shahis had trade relations with Iran and Masulipatnam (now called Machilipatnam). During that period, many Iranians visited the Golconda area and Machilipatnam port was the gateway. With them, the Iranians brought the technique of hand-drawn kalamkari and taught it to local weavers in Pedana,” noted historian and archaeologist E Sivanagi Reddy told South First.

Kalamkari block printing being done by artisan

He added that kalamkari designs existed in India during that period as they were seen on the Lepakshi temple dome.

“It’s not that the designs didn’t exist during those times. But Iranians provided the technique to the local weavers. They also used to get the Pedana weavers to do a lot of kalamkari fabric work, which has been exported back home to Iran where there was a lot of demand.,” said Reddy.

“While Pedana kalamkari uses general thematic designs of all sorts, Srikalahasti kalamkari is confined to temple art,” he explained.

Textile products produced from this style of work include wall hangings and clothing, like bedsheets, curtains, and saris.

Kalamkari mainly uses vegetable dyes, which are applied to the fabric with the help of wooden blocks.

The Pitchuka family 

Though Pedana kalamkari dates back to the 15th century, the art form was struggling well into the 20th century when weaver-trader Pitchuka Veera Subbaiah revived it in the 1970s.

Pitchuka Srinivas

“My father Veera Subhaiah brought back the original kalamkari art to Pedana. As a weaver-trader, he chanced upon the Pedana kalamkari fabric in Mumbai during the 1970s,” Pitchuka Srinivas told South First.

“He took an interest in it and started researching it. He also found old pots and wooden blocks in the family’s ancestral home. Then he revived the art,” added Srinivas.

Now, the third generation in the Pitchuka family — Srinivas’ son Varun — is continuing the legacy.

Kalamkari’s distinct wooden block-print designs using natural colours are the main raw for enthusiasts.

“Kalamkari is a distinct art. The making of the kalamkari fabric using natural colours, the processes and procedures that bring finesse to it are the main attraction,” fashion designer Singampally Kesa Harshini, who runs a boutique in Vijayawada, told South First.

“I get at least three-four inquiries and many clients looking for kalamkari-based work. We design shirts, sarees, and overcoats with kalamkari art. The peacock and its feather designs are the biggest hit among my clients,” she said.

Block party

Kalamkari wooden blocks

Original and genuine kalamkari work employs eco-friendly, natural colours and teakwood blocks.

A design is cut in relief on blocks of teak wood for block engraving, and the raised parts transfer the design to the fabric when dipped in colour.

“Boiling jaggery and iron pieces produces black, indigo leaves produce blue, gooseberry flowers produce turmeric, madder plants produce red, and pomegranate peels produce yellow,” explained Pitchuka Varun.

“And there is a process to make these natural colours, which is also time-consuming,” he added.

A Myanmar connection

Myanmar’s Martaban variety pots/jars

The kalamkari art form thrives on Martaban jars of Myanmar. These jars from Myanmar aid the quality of colour-making.

According to Pitchuka Srinivas, the pottery of Myanmar helps produce better-quality colours that enhance the overall quality of the kalamkari fabric.

As the Martaban pots and jars his father procured had withered, Srinivas tried a few local varieties.

“Some artisans use cement tubs to make colours. But the quality of the colour doesn’t look good. I finally found a vendor in Myanmar,” said Srinivas.

In a painstaking exercise, Srinivas procured at least 40 pots and jars from Myanmar recently, shelling out a bomb.

“These Myanmar jars have some micro holes which are not visible to the naked eye. Those holes probably promote oxygen movement that reduces moisture, which helps in fermentation activity to make colours. It takes at least 16 days of fermentation to make a certain colour and not to compromise on the quality, I procured these expensive jars from Myanmar,” he added.

Lord Vishnu in the British Museum

A large decorated cotton textile executed in the kalamkari technique is on display at London’s British museum. The kalamkari fabric that is on display belongs to Srikalahasti’s temple art design.

On this kalamkari fabric is a roundel in which is depicted Lord Maha Viṣhṇu lying on the serpent Ananta (Viṣṇu Anantasayan), whose five heads rear up protectively above the blue-skinned god.

He is flanked by guardians, ‘dvarapala’, which is perhaps meant to be the Ranganatha image at Srirangam.

The central register is surrounded by small panels, in comic strip format, depicting scenes from the Mahabharata, all of which are captioned in the local vernacular, Telugu.

The Dutch effort

Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Wikimedia Commons)

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands and contains a beautiful old collection of sits, the Dutch word for kalamkari textiles.

A group of four Dutch artists from the Netherlands visited Pedana in 2019 to learn the art form.

These four artists work in the education department of the museum.

They wanted to know more about the textile collection at Rijksmuseum and came to Pedana to conduct their research and experience it for themselves.

One of the four Dutch artists, Irma Anne De Bruijne (Head of the arts programme), during her visit to Pedana, said that history dictates that kalamkari artwork reached Rijksmuseum about 1,600 years ago.

Dutch settlers brought kalamkari to the Netherlands from Andhra Pradesh. These kalamkari wardrobes used to be an expensive and exclusive affair and not everyone used to possess them.