1. Kalamkari is a traditional hand painting art from Andhra Pradesh, India done using natural dyes on cotton or silk fabric. 2. The art dates back over 3000 BC and involves 23 steps including dyeing, painting, printing, and cleaning. It features motifs from Hindu epics and figures like peacocks and flowers. 3. There are two main styles - Machilipatnam uses printed blocks and hand painting while Srikalahasti draws from Hindu mythology in painted scenes. The art is used primarily to create Kalamkari sarees.

1. T R A D I T I O N A L P A I N T I N G O F
A N D R A P R A D E S H
Art Education Module
V S SAJIKUMAR
Art Teacher,
JNV Alappuzha, Kerala

2. Kalamkari is an ancient style of hand painting done on
cotton or silk fabric with a tamarind pen, using natural
dyes. The word Kalamkari is derived from a Persian word
where ‘kalam‘ means pen and ‘kari‘ refers to
craftsmanship. This art involves 23 tedious steps of
dyeing, bleaching, hand painting, block printing,
starching, cleaning and more. Motifs drawn in Kalamkari
spans from flowers, peacock, paisleys to divine
characters of Hindu epics like Mahabharata and
Ramayana. Nowadays, this art is primarily done to
create Kalamkari sarees.

3. This colorful art dates back to more than 3000
B.C. According to the historians, fabric samples
depicting Kalamkari art was found at the
archeological sites of Mohenjo-daro. during the
Mughal era this style of painting got recognition.
This art flourished at Machilipatnam in the
Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh . During the
18th century, this become more decorative
design on clothing which was promoted by
Britishers in India.

4. Kalamkari Brush
. palm stick pointed at one end with a bundle of fine hair
attached to this pointed end to serve as the brush or pen.

5. Two types of Kalamkari Paintings …
There are two identifiable styles of Kalamkari art in
India – Srikalahasti style and Machilipatnam style.
Machilipatnam style of Kalamkari, motifs are
essentially printed with hand-carved traditional blocks
with intricate detailing painted by hands.
Srikalahasti style of painting draws inspiration from
the Hindu mythology describing scenes from the epics
and folklore. This style holds a strong religious connect
because of its origin in the temples
The Andhra Kalamkari borrows design inspiration from
forts, palaces and temples of India, along with motifs
of animals and birds.
Gujarat Kalamkari depict motifs of mythological
characters like Krishna-Arjuna from Mahabharata, lord
Krishna, lord Ganesha, lord Buddha etc.

6. 1. Brush Making (Kalam)
Kalam or kalamkari pen is basically prepared with a
small bamboo stick, one end of the stick is sharpened
until required, pure cotton cloth is rolled on, near the
sharpened edge of the stick and then tied tightly in a
crisscross pattern with a cotton thread making sure
that the cotton cloth stays in the exact position. Cotton
is used because it acts as an ink pillar and which
absorbs colour and makes it easier for the artisan to
draw on the fabric. Instead of a cotton cloth many
times a lump of cotton is also tied to the bamboo stick
allowing more absorption of colour mostly this is used
in the inside areas of the fabric which has to be
painted. Flow of ink depends upon the material used
in kalam, for outlines, a cotton cloth (ex: - bandage
cloth) is used for precision drawing. The thickness of
the tip actually determines the fineness of the line
drawn.

7. Colors of Kalamkari
Kalamkari art primarily use earthy colors like indigo,
mustard, rust, black and green. Natural dyes used
to paint colors in Kalamkari art is
extracted for natural sources with no use of
chemicals and artificial matter. For instance,
craftsmen extract black color by blending jaggery,
water and iron fillings which they essentially use for
outlining the sketches. While mustard or yellow is
derived by boiling pomegranate peels, red hues are
created from bark of madder or algirin. Likewise,
blue is obtained from indigo and green is derived by
mixing yellow and blue together.

8. Light yellow
• Local Name: Karakha pindhi / Kadukka pinju
• Botanical Name: Terminlia chebula
• Fruit Name: Mayrabolan
• Colour ObtainedMayrabolan is actually a fruit
Black
• Local Name: Kassim kaaram
: Blue
• Common Name: Natural Indigo, blue, indigo
Golden yellow
• Common Name: Pomegranate
• Locally Called: Karakha Pooh
• Botanical Name: Punica granatum
Rosemary
• Common Name: Catechu
• Locally Called : Suryada chakka
• Botanical Name: Accacia catechu
• Colour obtained:
Gray
• Colour Obtained:
Colour is obtained when Alum is mixed with water for a ratio
of 1:4.
Red
• Common Name: Algerian
Green.
The colour green is obtained by mixing two colours which are
yellow and blue which results in darker shade of green,
Yellow and black forms a more lighter shade of

24. Cotton fabric used for Kalamkari is first
treated with a solution of cow dung and
bleach. After keeping the fabric in this
solution for hours, the fabric gets a
uniform off-white color.
After this, the cotton fabric is immersed in
a mixture of buffalo milk and Myrobalans.
This avoids smudging of dyes in the fabric
when it is painted with natural dyes. Later,
the fabric is washed under running water
to get rid of the odor of buffalo milk.
The fabric likewise, is washed twenty
times and dried under the sun.
Once the fabric is ready for painting,
artists sketch motifs and designs on the
fabric. Post this, the Kalamkari
artists prepare dyes using natural sources
to fill colors within the drawings.
Incorporating minute details,
the Kalamkars use ‘tamarind twig’ as
pen, to sketch beautiful motifs of Krishna
Raas-Leela, Indian god and goddesses
like Parvati, Vishnu, Shri Jaganath;
designs of peacock, lotus; and scenes
from the Hindu epics like Mahabharata
and Ramayana.