Handpainted Kalamkari from Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh

Crafts, Handlooms, Art

Handpainted Kalamkari from Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh

Craft Revival Trust

Issue #003,Summer, 2019
Craft Revival Trust
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Figurative and narrative painting, using natural dyes, on textiles is an art which has been practised for centuries in Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh. Used as temple hangings these textile paintings are drawn free hand with charcoal sticks while the painting is done with a bamboo kalam (pen). The themes, mainly religious in nature include scenes from the great epics, picturisation of deities, the rendering of the Ras-Lila and other stories. The process followed is lengthy and painstaking with attention paid to minute detailing and each step is rigorously followed to produce a final piece.
  1. Unbleached cotton cloth that is to be used for the hand painted Kalamkari.
  1. The fabric after it has been washed in water and bleached by soaking in buffalo or goat dung solution, then washed in clean water and dried in the sun for a few days.
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