Kalamkari coffee table book

Kalamkari

The Art & Craft of Indian Heritage

Introduction

Kalamkari is an ancient Indian art that originated about 3000 years ago. It gained popularity in India between the 16th and 17th century. It derives its name from Kalam meaning Pen, and Kari meaning work, literally Pen-work.The Kalamkari artist uses a bamboo or date palm stick pointed at one end with a bundle of fine hair attached to this pointed end to serve as the brush or pen. The Kalamkari art includes both, printing and painting. The colors used in making these paintings are Craftsmen of this beautiful art are given very little light for the brilliant handwork organic, although that art declined and prints are now often made with chemical they do. The nomadic nature of these craftsmen has brought about an intermingling of castes, and the community to which these craftsmen belong are many in dyes. number. The Telugu Naidu community seems to be the largest, who were settled There are three main styles of kalamkari artwork : in the Tanjore region during the Nayak rule. They also called themselves VanMasulipatnam kalamkari (printing style) , is influenced by Persian motifs & niya - Kula. There are craftsmen who belong to the Mudaliar and Reddy castes, designs.The outlines and main features are done using hand carved blocks. The Mudaliar engaged in trade and Reddy’s engaged in agriculture. There are paintfiner details are later done using the pen. ers from the weaver communities of Saurashtras and Saliyars. Salapu caste from Sri Kalahasthi kalamkari (painting style) , this style developed in the temple Andhra Pradesh also have kalamkari painters. There are Balojas from the Baloja region mostly concentrated on themes form Hindu mythology, epics (Ramayana, community who are from Sri Kalahasthi and were originally bangle sellers.

Mahabharatha), images of Gods and heroes. These paintings were earlier drawn on cotton fabric only, but now we can see these paintings on silk and other materials as well.

Karrupur style of Kalamkari that developed in the Thanjavur region during the Maratha rule. The work was a further embellishment to the gold brocade work in the woven fabric, which was used as sarees & dhotis by the royal family during the period of Raja Sarfoji and later Raja Shivaji.

The book deals with Block Printing style of Kalamkari The fully hand painted tradition of temple kalamkari gave way to the block printed style in later centuries, moving away from its religious moorings. It was synonymous with the emergence of craft centre and guilds that were set up by the mughal emperors, who were great lovers of beauty.

Their intervention in the kalamkari tradition lifted this craft from its strong village identity and made it a sophisticated art for the urban people. Masulipatnam was the main centre in the middle of the 17th century for a flourishing trade with cities like Persia, Turkey, Arabia and Egypt. The Kalamkari technique was used by the sultans not only for tent canopies, but for many export fabrics. The inspiration behind the printed cloths of this period was Iranian in character, similar to the floral decorative motifs of Mughal paintings.

Pressure on the craftsmen to produce for the market made them move away from the slow hand drawn technique, and resort to printing methods for quicker results. Stenciling of patterns with purchased design sheets was the usual method for reproduction of these motifs. The kalamkari craftsmen would use use their pen for further embellishment of the patterns, with finer details. Thus the Masulipatnam style in the early period was a combination of stenciled design and free hand drawing. Later, with the advent of wooden blocks, the kalamkari craftsmen were able to produce huge tapestries to order, putting the block prints together in a variety of ways. The ‘Tree of life’ was a favourite motif of this style. The samba, the panda, the mihrab. the cypress tree and the paisley were also used. These were the main motifs of Persian and Iranian art. The block printed kalamkari of Masulipatnam is categorized as the mosaic inlay tradition, because it is very similar to the patterns and designs found in Mughal architecture.

History of kalamkari

Kalamkari or qalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile, produced in parts of India and Iran. Its name originates from the Persian language, which is derived from the words qalam (pen) and kari (craftmanship), meaning drawing with a pen. Fabric samples have been found during excavations at Mohenjodaro dating back to 2600 B.C. to 1700 B.C. Similar fabrics were also found in a tomb at Al Fustat near Cairo proving that it was a prized commodity of trade in the ancient world.

Like all other arts and crafts of India, Kalamkari tradition also has a strong base. It blossomed in the environs of the Hindu temple, as a religious tapestry, which supplemented mural paintings around the sanctum and corridors of the temple. Wandering minstrels painted mythological figures on cloth and carried these tapestries from place to p l a c e , s i n g i n g a n d spreading the word of God. Kalamkari tradition g r e w a n d g a i n e d importance as a visual medium to support the chitrakatha tradition, which was a part of Hindu folk religion. It played a significant role in propagating the tenets of the well loved epics, The Ramayana, The Mahabharata and the other hindu shastras. It was a part of a flourishing popular cult, which had strong roots in the village life of India.

It is obvious that long before christian era the art of textile dyeing and printing had been in existence in India, not only as a religious art, but also as colorful textiles, painted using vegetable dyes. The distinctive name of Kalamkari, however, came into use only during Muslim rule. The sultans of Golconda who came upon this craft tucked away in the southern most corner of the kingdom, were captivated by the brilliant colors and exquisite designs created with the aid of a simple tool, the Kalam. They thus, dubbed the artisans who worked with the pen, as Qalamkars, and the product came to be categorized as Qalamkari. Until then, the technique did not have a name and was only known by the name of the various products that it produced. Baptized as Kalamkari by the rulers of the Qutub Shahi dynasty, it now had an identity, which was later to blossom into an international art form.

Mughal invasion of India in the 16th century, brought Persian art into the country but instead of dominating the indigenous art, it was transformed by Indian influences into a distinctive art with its own unique character.

The first transformation of the Kalamkari tradition came under muslim influence, under which the technique and colorful dyes were used to produce textiles with Iranian motifs. Craftsmen from Iran and carpet designers known as Naqqash, were brought to India and settled in the capital of Golconda. Production of Kalamkari cloth was started on a large scale in karkhanas set up for the purpose by the king and the nobles. Iranian motifs were incorporated during this time and a variety of floor coverings, curtains and colorful patterned sashes and rumals favored by the sultans were produced.

The English set up an office and production base in Masulipatnam as early as in 1611. For two whole centuries, from 1600 to 1800, India became the greatest exporter in the world and her colorful fabrics penetrated every nook and corner of the civilized world. The East India Company was more interested in whipping up the manufacture for increasing trade rather than in learning the craft. The demand far exceeded the supply and procuring goods to meet bulk orders took up all companies energy and drove the officers to distraction. Kalamkari process was tedious and time consuming and largely dependent on weather conditions. Production was slow and craftsmen were less. The craftsmen were held by the company who were threatened and cajoled by turns to sustain optimum production.

Early in the 20th century, chemical dyes were discovered and the technology of style of dyeing and printing began growing by the leaps and bounds. Natural dyes in any case were not sufficient to meet the enormous pressure of mill-manufactured products. It is thus not surprising that the people gradually turned away from the laborious style of kalamkari printing. The impact on the kalamkari craftsmen was tragic. After reaching great heights and being forced to grow beyond their customary rural boundary, the craftsmen, uprooted and left without jobs, began to die of starvation and penury. A famine occurred in the southern districts in the year 1940, in which it is recorded that more than ten million people died of starvation.

Hence, it is to surprising that knowledge of the kalamkari craft died along with the craftsmen. The craft now survives in isolated pockets of Masulipatnam, Kalahasti, Salem and Kumbakonam. It has, however lost its earlier magnificence and only the tattered remains of a once vibrant tradition are now seen.

These Kalamkari textiles, known as Golconda cottons, formed part of a flourishing trade and the main harbor for handling these exports was the city of Masulipatnam on the Andhra coast. Demand for Kalamkari fabrics grew over the years and many mechanical aids were introduced by the Persian designers to enable indian craftsmen to increase production. The systems of punched tracings, traditionally used in Iran, was introduced to stencil the patterns onto clothes. This was followed later by the use of hands carved wooden blocks. Free hand drawing of the earlier tradition was however not totally given up because Kalamkari craftsmen still continued to use the Kalam for design embellishment and applications of certain colors like yellow.

The beautiful fabrics produced and exported in this period caught the imagination of western countries. European nations had well established trade links with India even before this time, but now when the popularity and demand for these textiles increased, they wanted to ensure supplies by establishing their own factories and workshops, where they could control the productions.

In this race for commercial supremacy, many European powers - The French, The Dutch, The Portuguese and The English became rival combatants. Kalamkari fabrics, dubbed as Chintz, by english traders, formed a major part of trade of the East India Company founded in A.D. 1600.

The Dutch termed these fabrics as Pintadoes and the French as Indiannes.

MASulipatnam and it’s history

Machilipatnam, also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of the Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarters of Machilipatnam mandal in Machilipatnam revenue division of the district. The ancient port town served as the settlement of European traders from 14th century and it was a major trading port for the British, Dutch and French in the seventeenth century.

The town has existed since the 3rd century BCE (Satavahana period) when, according to Ptolemy, it was known as Maisolos. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea calls it Masalia in the 1st century BCE.The port is located on the southeastern, or Coromandel Coast, of India.

Situated in the mouth of the River Krishna on the Bay of Bengal, the Masula port saw flourishing sea trade. Muslin clothes were traded by ancient Greeks from the town and the word muslin originated from the name Maisolos. Muslin was an important source of income for the town, being a favourite of Roman traders for domestic consumption. Several Roman coins were found during excavations of Buddhist towns located near Machilipatnam.

The town was the district headquarters of the then, Masulipatnam district and now to the Krishna district, which was formed in 1859 in the composite Madras state

Machilipatnam Kalamkari is a handcrafted dyed block-painting of a fabric. It is performed at the nearby town of Pedana and was registered as one of the geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh.Machilipatnam and Srikalahasti style are the only two existing Kalamkari style of works present in India.

During seventeenth century, it was known with the name Masulipatnam, Masula and also Bandar (translates to port). The port town in the ancient times was also referred with the name Maesolia.

Machilipatnam is known for its handloom industry, which produces Kalamkari textiles exported to United States and other Asian countries.

The other notable industries are the boat building and fishing.Machilipatnam was a trading base for the Europeans in the 17th century and known for minting copper coins, exporting diamonds, textiles etc., through the port. The state government is taking certain measures to bring back the glory of the former port city. It has planned to set up Machilipatnam deep sea port and its associated industrial corridor under Machilipatnam Area Development Authority. This move is expected to generate employment to over 25,000 people.

TOOLS AND RAW MATERIALS

Basic tool used in Kalamkari painting is undoubtedly the Kalamkari pen and then comes natural dyes, burnt tamarind stick and kalamkari magam. Kalamkari pen is made out of bamboo reed, sharpened at one end and a cloth rolled on the stick in a particular pattern and a thread is tied around the cotton cloth to secure the cloth at the required place. Cotton cloth acts as filler when dipped in dye and then used on to the fabric. The pen is first dipped in required dye and it is gently squeezed for the colour to flow on the area, which needs to be painted. The pen which is used in the outlines are sharp compared to the one used to fill in large areas. Burnt tamarind sticks are also used to draw the outlines. Kalamkari maggam, a wooden frame is used while painting which, secures the cloth on both ends.

Different colours of vegetable dyes used are: 1. Mayrabolan (Karakha Pindhi mixed with cow milk) forms light yellow.

2. Kassim kaaram (Jaggery + Rusted iron filings + water) black outlines for the fabric.

3. Natural Indigo produces Blue.

4. Pomegranate produces Golden yellow.

5. Catechu (Suryadu chakka) produces Rosemary.

6. Algerian produces Red. 7. Alum mixed with water gives out Gray.

8. Cow Milk (Highlights the colour on the fabric).

Kalamkari is the earliest and more complex techniques of block-printing on cloth using vegetable dyes. This flourished at Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The origin of the word kalamkari is from kalam or pen and kari or work. The kalamkari done here is a mixture of painting and hand-printing. This craft was started in the old city of Golconda after which it spread along the eastern coast up to Tamil Nadu.

Originally known as Coromandel chintz, the textiles produced here are famous the world over.

The process followed is complex and intricate, and the blocks used are made by specialist artisans. These blocks have very detailed and elaborate designs carved on them. The fastness of the colours is ensured by washing, bleaching, and sunning. Mordants like alum are used to fix the colours onto the cloth.

Wax is used as the resist agent when a combination of colours are used to embellish different parts of the design. The wax-resist is hand-printed on to the fabric with a kalam or pen made of an iron loop attached to a bamboo stick. This step is done before the application of indigo. After the wax is removed by boiling, other colours are applied. The detailed colouring is done with a brush. Running water is used for washing and the process takes several days, weeks, or months depending on the length of the cotton cloth.

This craft reached its zenith during British rule and was also in high demand as dress and furnishing material in Europe and Southeast Asia. The motifs used were floral and animal designs. The Persian influence on the designs is visible: ornamental birds, flowers, creepers, and mehrabs or archways found chiefly in Mughal architecture are common.

From a plain cloth to the final block printed fabric using natural ingredients as dyes.

WOODEN BLOCK MAKING Wooden Block Making plays a major role in Kalamkari Production. The skill of the Craftsmen is very much wanted not only in carving of integrated designs and motives but also exact over lapping for multi-colour blocks.

PROCESS OF WOODEN BLOCK MAKING : Block making is a general term used in relation to graphic blocks made for letter press printing. Wooden Blocks for Kalamkari printing has to be hand carved to bring out the designs. Generally a set of 3 blocks are made for a single pattern.

1. Border outlines block.

2. Body outlines block.

3. Filling of other colour blocks.

Selection of Wood : The following woods are used in South India for Block Making : 1. Teak Wood 2. Neem Wood 3. Jack Wood 4. Poovarasu Wood

The main reason for the selection of these woods is the fact that the above woods have the straight grains and oil content. The presence of oil in the wood prevents the breakage of finer edges while cutting, as well as using the block.

While selecting the wood, the age of the tree plays an important role. Generally, a two decades old tree is suitable for this purpose. The quality of the block is assessed on the depth of the carving.

Types of Wooden Block : 1. Border Block : It is used for the printing of border lines on the cloth.

2. Body Block : This is used for all over the body of the bedspread or any running material.

3. Butta Block : This is also used for all over the body.

4. Kangady Block : It is used to give the extra effect to the border generally in a single block in single colour.

PROCESS :KALAMKARI BLOCK PRINT

Cow dung treatment for natural bleaching: Fresh Cow’s dung is mixed with water in a mud pot and the above grey cloth pieces are mixed in it nicely so that each and every corner of the cloth absorbs the cow dung mixture solution. It is then squeezed loosely and kept it on the floor for overnight.

Myrabalam process: Myrabalam seeds are powdered and soaked in water for one day. Next day, it is filtered with gunny cloth. The ready cloth pieces are dipped one by one in the juice extracted. This process has to be done carefully so that all the threads of the cloth absorb the juice evenly and is squeezed properly and then dried in sun.

Printing process: Printing is done by using wooden blocks and vegetable colours made by using a mordant name ALUM and black colour from iron jaggery and salt water.

Washing: The printed cloth is washed in flowing water in a big pond. The canal must have sand underneath the water, if not then the print will get smudged and the damage cannot be controlled. Canal washing needs a rope to hang the cloth pieces in water otherwise the cloth with float away with the flowing water. This process takes 2-4 hrs. times. After this the cloth is dried in sun.

Boiling: The cloth is now boiled in copper vessel using leaves, barks, and dry flowers etc. giving different colours/shades. After boiling the cloth needs to be dried again.

Starch applying: Rice starch is applied for getting stiffness for second printing.

Second colour printing/painting: The second colours pinks, yellows, greens and blues are printed in this process.

DESIGN AND MOTIFS The motifs seen today are mostly related to nature, birds animals and leaves interlacing through the width of the fabric. ‘Tree of Life’ and peacocks are most common. The most recent trend is that of wearing mythological figures on dupattas and sarees. Earlier it was considered disrespectful to make mythological figures on clothing.The colours used today are much brighter which indicates they may not necessarily be natural. This change is seen mostly in the mass produced kalamkaris and not those made by individual artisans.

Symbolic Motifs These motifs always symbolize some thing or there is always a reason behind it.These motifs are always present in the traditional motifs list.

1. Tree of life The concept of a Tree of life as a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related and considered to be one according to science, religion, philosophy, mythology and other areas.The tree being a living thing with so many other life from the bottom to the top gives a lively feeling to the viewer which explains the humanity in a very simple way.The image shows one style of tree of life in Kalamkari.

2. Creeping Vine It is again a Persian origin which came to India through Mughal.

It is mostly preferred by the designers or the craftsmen for filling the empty area with free flow designs.They look harmonious and rhythmic which gives the viewer a pleasant feeling. It is majorly used in block prints from Machlipattnam and other embroideries.Creepers with flowers, leaves, buds, and fruits makes a heavy creeping wine pattern and fruitful.

3. Lotus Lotus has been a very popular motif almost all over the world.The lotus has a lot of relevance in the Hindu religion, goddess Laxmi the goddess of financial well holds a lotus in her hand. so the flower symbolize her. also lord Krishna’s feet is compared to lotus.People believe that the products which is designed with lotus motifs are considered to be blessed by the goddess with better status in life. Other than all this lotus is considered to be a good flower to offer to the god which symbolize purity and peace.It is also a symbol of cosmic harmony and essential womanhood.This flower is always considered to be auspicious. The flower is also used by other countries as it is considered to be one of the beautiful flowers.

4. Paisley Paisley is a droplet-shaped motif of Indian and Persian origin. It also resembles a mango so its called mangai motif.In Persian the design is known as “”boteh jegheh“.The modern French words for paisley are boteh. In Pakistan, paisley designs are widely termed the carrey design. Carrey in Urdu means mango seed In Punjab, this pattern is referred to as an “Ambi”. Ambi is derived from the word Amb which means mango in Punjab

PRODUCTS

Kalamkari hand painting on fabric is a technique used to embellish temple cloth and hangings.

Painted hangings are used for religious instruction, in temples and as backdrops in various ceremonial occasions.The temple hangings and tapestries of Srikalahasti are famous worldwide. Other products involve sarees, bags, fabrics, and many more decorative items.

Traditional Use of Kalamkari The oldest use of Kalamkari is that of a Wall hanging. But apart from that it was first adapted into traditional Indian Clothing such as Sarees, Dupattas and Kurtas.

Contemporary Use of kalamkari Kalamkari today is used in a wide range of home and lifestyle products, accessories and clothing in a more contemporary manner.

FUTURE OF KALAMKARI

India has a strong tradition in all her arts and crafts. We would indeed be poorer if we are unable to preserve this heritage and carry it forward, to make it meaningful for the present generation. The Kalamkari heritage with its beautiful and vibrant colours, its eco-friendly nature, has a great potential has a vital component in a fashion trade. Proper design inputs would go a long way to present this craft in a modern setting, without losing its moorings in tradition.

Unless there is proper understanding and concerted effort to revive the craft with proper inputs of technology and design, this heritage is in danger of being lost forever. Science and technology have opened up vast vistas of knowledge, strengthening traditional lore in many areas of arts and crafts.

There is now a revival of interest in organic methods, which support life.

The world has woken up to the accumulation of poisonous wastes by manmade chemicals and right thinking people are trying to revive ancient practices, which taught men to live in harmony with Nature. It is in this context, that traditional crafts like Kalamkari need to be understood and promoted.

The strength of the craft has always been its color, derived from nature, which had the world markets begging for more during the olden days.

The Kalamkari tradition based on vegetable dyes, and deeply rooted in Nature, has a message for the present generation. Tradition is not static, but ever growing and changing, assuming new forms with each passing generation. The inner core, however remains the same.