Kalamkari

The word Kalamkari comes from the Persian ‘Kalam’- ‘kari’ meaning ‘drawing with a pen.’ While the technique probably existed since centuries, the style as we know it today emerged from the craft schools that sprang up under the patronage of the Mughal emperors about three centuries ago.

Kalamkari was adopted by the printing communities on the Coramandel coast of south east India and most of the production is now hand block printed by a number of small families in and around the old fishing port of Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The intricate designs, elaborate borders and understanding of balanced composition has given Kalamkari its well deserved place as a popular idiom and one of the most widely imitated styles of Indian printing. Real Kalamkari, however, with its delicate floral, geometric motifs and vegetable dyes, is far more subtle.