కలంకారి (Kalamkari)
Kalamkari (Persian: kalam = pen; kari = work) is a hand-drawn and naturally dyed textile painting tradition practiced in two distinct centers in Andhra Pradesh: Srikalahasti (pen tradition) and Machilipatnam (block-print tradition). This record documents the Srikalahasti pen tradition — arguably the more technically demanding of the two — in which the entire design is drawn freehand onto cloth using a bamboo or palm pen (kalam) dipped in a fermented iron liquor mordant, then developed through a multi-stage sequence of natural dye immersions (myrobalan, alum, madder, indigo) and mordant washes, each building a specific color on specific zones of the cloth. The subject matter is overwhelmingly Hindu devotional: the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Dashavatara, and temple chariot canopies. The Srikalahasti tradition is associated with the Shiva temple at Srikalahasti, where large kalamkari panels were historically hung as temple hangings. The entire color palette is developed through the chemical interaction of natural mordants and dyes — no pigment is applied directly to the cloth. This dye-chemistry knowledge, combined with the freehand pen drawing skill, makes Srikalahasti Kalamkari one of the most technically complex textile traditions in the database.
Risk level: Endangered · Not inscribed; GI registered (Srikalahasti Kalamkari, 2007)
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