Srikalahasti is a holy temple town in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is about 38 kms north of the town of Tirupati (one of India’s most famous temples) and is located on the banks of Swarnamukhi river. This town is very famous for its ancient Shiva temple that is said to have been originally built during the ancient Pallava period and later fortified by the Chola kings during the 11th century. Srikalahasti is also famous for the ancient traditional Indian art form of Kalamkari that is still practiced by a few select artist families that live and work there.

Mr. Chandra, one of the prominent Kalamkari artists in town, greeted us and took us to our hotel right by the temple. “Please visit the temple as early as possible in the morning to avoid the crowds and then I will meet you and take you home” he said. As promised, the next day, after visiting the beautiful Shiva temple we proceeded to his home. A moderately new house painted in pink welcomed us. As we entered the hallway, we were quite intrigued to see heaps and heaps of cotton fabrics with traditional motifs, strewn all over the place. There were paint buckets and brushes all over and we could see men, women and children working on these fabrics with utmost focus. It took us a minute to realize that we had finally  arrived at the famous Shri Vijayalakshmi Fine Kalamkari Arts studio, home to a generation of artists that had mastered this traditional art.

Mr. Chandra, who is the head Kalamkari artist in the family wasted no time in explaining to us the labour intensive steps involved in this beautiful art. The entire process of producing Kalamkari motives is quite labor intensive. First the cotton is washed in water from the neighboring Swarnamukhi river. It is said that the river water has a special chemical composition that helps create a binding layer for the colors used later in the painting stage. After the fabric is dried, it is soaked in a special paste made with dried fruits and flowers along with buffalo’s milk and is then ready for sketching and painting. Traditional Kalamkari only uses natural dyes that are made using various dried herbs, roots, flowers, and fruits.

  

Thick white Chittor cotton is initially pre-washed in the Svarnamukhi river. Then a dried fruit called ‘Pindhi’ is mixed with karkai flowers, soaked overnight and then later ground into a paste. The paste is mixed with buffalo’s milk and water. The washed white cloth is then immersed in this mixture which forms the yellow base cloth for Kalamkari.

Burnt bark of the tamarind tree is used for sketching freehand designs on the yellow base cloth. Bamboo sticks are sharpened with a knife and a waste cloth is tied around the stem in a certain pattern, to make a traditional pen called kalam. A thin pen is used for drawing the outline and a thick one for filling the homemade natural colors.

Jaggery and bits of rusted iron are mixed in water and stored in mud pots for 15 days to get Kasim Karam (black ink). Alum generates the kalamkari red, karkai flowers gives yellow, katha for brown and pink is got by boiling Chawal Kodi (vine of a tree from Assam) with alum and water. All other colors are derived by mixing these base colors.

After applying each color on to a particular motif, the fabric is washed again. Thus, each piece can undergo up to twenty washes, taking several days to finish.

The art of Kalamkari is slowly diminishing as the entire process is slow and vigorous. Each piece goes through a process of resist and there are a lot of steps involved before and after the paintings are done. Moreover, the colors change depending on the treatment of cloth and quality of the mordant.

Due to the complexity of the process, traditional Kalamkari is sadly declining and many artists have abandoned their craft in search of better employment. However efforts by the Indian government and many NGOs to revive Kalamkari, asserts the belief that traditional arts are not just for beauty, they are an integral part of India’s rich culture and heritage.

Art and artisans from around the world are truly inspiring and India has some incredibly unique and beautiful art forms that are indigenous and native to her culture and heritage. We truly hope that people like Mr.Chandra and the Shri Vijayalakshmi Fine Kalamkari Arts studio find a way to sustain this beautiful and culturally rich art form.

Kalamkari Art Form From South India

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