Which state is famous for Kalamkari painting?

You may have seen this traditional painting technique several times on garments, and might have even worn one of them. This laborious form of painting from Andhra Pradesh, which was once influenced by Persian art, usually has textile as its base. Traditionally, it has religious motifs and only organic dyes are used. It has two main approaches – the Srikalahasti style and Machilipatnam style.

In ancient times, groups of singers, musicians and painters, called chitrakattis, moved village to village to tell the village dwellers, the great stories of Hindu mythology. They illustrated their accounts using large bolts of canvas painted on the spot with simple means and dyes extracted from plants. In the same way, one found in the Hindu temples large panels of kalamkari depicting the episodes of Indian mythology, similar to the stained glasses of the Christian cathedrals.

As an art form it found its peak in the wealthy Golconda sultanate, Hyderabad, in the Middle Ages. The Mughals who patronized this craft in the Coromandel and Golconda province called the practitioners of this craft “qualamkars”, from which the term “kalamkari” evolved.

Kalamkari art has been practiced by many families in Andhra Pradesh and over the generations has constituted their livelihood. Kalamkari had a certain decline, then it was revived in India and abroad for its craftsmanship. Since the 18th century the British liked the decorative element for clothing.

Credit : Unnati Skills

Picture Credit : Google

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