Kalamkari is a popular and one of the oldest hand-painted textile artwork from South India. Only natural dyes are used in Kalamkari, which is an ancient style of hand painting done on cotton or silk fabric with a tamarind pen. It is incredible that a 3000-year-old craft of pen Kalamkari still survives, unaltered and majestic in its simplicity.
Kalamkari was first used to portray scenes from sacred texts such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavatam. These paintings were often used as decorative backdrops in temples, depicting the stories of deities. Today, these subjects are still common in Kalamkari and other spiritual and ancient symbols.
1. This product has been woven by hand and may have slight irregularities that are a natural outcome of human involvement in the process.
2. Screen and digitally printed ones look perfect whereas authentic hand-painted Kalamkari has irregularities and minor stains as they are being hand-painted by artisans. It is the irregularity and imperfection that add more beauty to authentic Kalamkari.
3. The smell of milk is the other prominent factor as it is involved in the process of making Kalamkari sarees, dupattas & fabrics.
4. As the fabrics are being washed multiple times during the process, they are rustic, raw & earthy.
5. Kalamkari uses natural dyes which do not carry a brighter look like the artificial dyes and the natural ones might fade a little over a period of time without losing their hand-painted elegance.
