Most of the arts in South India had originated from temple rituals and so is Kalamkari. The cloth paintings have existed since temple murals or as a backdrop hand painted curtains hanged behind the main idols. Cloth paintings with mythological themes from 17th century are witness to this tradition.
Similarly hand painted cloth tents or canopies are also described by French traveler Francois Bernier during his visit to Aurangazeb’s camp (Sethna10). However one needs to note that the themes and subject matter depicted in Machilipatnam and Sri Kalahasti Kalamkari are very different. Although both are called Kalamkari deriving from the Persian word kalam, the Machilipatnam strain is wood block printed rather than done with a handmade pen.
The motifs and themes are also influenced by the patronage. As the Machipatnam Kalamkari catered to Muslim rulers, the patterns followed a floral and non illustrative visual language whereas the Kalahasti school which flourished under the Hindu rulers catered to Hindu mythological themes like Ramayana and Mahabharata and are therefore figurative and narrative. The use of kalam is necessary to draw figures in mythical stories, where as block printing designs and motifs served the purpose of making utility products like carpets and curtains. Block printing also ensured both reproducible quality and quantity needed for Kalamkari to establish itself as an industry. On the contrary, the intricate craftsmanship of Sri Kalahasti fulfilled the need for exclusive temple collection and few private collectors.
The European patronage later on supported in development of both the schools. The first Kalamkari exhibition was held in 1886 during Colonial times where the cloth was used for various purposes like bed sheets, curtains and sometimes garments.
Motifs drawn in Kalamkari spans from flowers, peacock, paisleys to divine characters of Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Machilipatnam motifs included tree of life, animals and birds and were mainly floral in design perhaps due to the restrictions prescribed by Islamic religion on representation of life like figures in art. Hence geometric patterns and floral designs are used for decorative purposes similar to tiles on Mughal monuments. Symmetry of geometric shapes and tile patterns are seen in older kalamkari prints, where one can find architectural patterns like arches and niches in walls.
Although the fig-or almond-like form is of Persian origin, it is referred to as the Paisley or Paisley pattern is an ornamental design using the buta or boteh, a teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper end. It is also popular as mango design or mamidi pinde in Telugu. Its English name derives from the town of Paisley, in the West of Scotland, a centre for textiles where the designs were mass produced and became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, following imports of post-Mughal Empire versions of the design from India, especially in the form of Kashmiri shawls.
The motif of Cypress tree was especially popular among the block prints taken from Mihrab in Koran and Sufi writings (Sethna 13). The Cyprus or the tree of life represents immortality where as the flowering almond shows regeneration of earth during spring season. The depiction of garden full of flora and fauna is deeply rooted in the religion and culture of Islamic nations were water was a precious commodity and therefore garden of abundance is seen as Paradise, a gift that can be received afterlife. For example the peacock symbolizes divine protection, fish shows undying love, feathers or entwined birds mean conjugal love and so on (Ahmadi 63, 1997)
In the present day although the links with Persian market is broken, the motifs continue to be used with the meanings forgotten or juxtaposed with newer elements merely for their aesthetic appeal.
Sethna (12) also mentions about life size images of a few British and French officials depicted as motifs on hand painted Kalamkaris during Colonial rule and one particularly Chinese looking Kalamkari as well.
Coming to the borders, of the murals and textiles of Srikalahasti have stylistic similarities. Dallapiccola describes the composition of the borders found at Srikalahasti— “The external border displays a lotus, or a ‘cartwheel’ design, followed by a thin band pilli adugu, ‘cat’s footsteps’ (Dallapiccola 2010:250). The designs of the rich drapery of the figures have stylistic similarities with the textiles of Machilipatnam. While Rao remarks that the designs of creepers and diamond shaped lattices with floral motifs (Rao 2004:140) can only be achieved with block prints.
Historically speaking, the inspiration for various art forms is deeply rooted in the surroundings. There are stylistic similarities between the textiles traditions of Srikalahasti and the temple murals from the Vijayanagara period (Verghese, Dallapicola 2011). The murals at Srikalahasti are highly detailed and are made with bold black lines. This kind of style is also seen in the rendering of the murals at the Veerabhadraswamy temple built in 16th century A.D. at Lepakshi, Veerabhadraswamy, a Tamasik form of Lord Shiva, is the residing deity at this temple (Fig.4).The temple was built during the rule of Achuyta Deva Raya (1529–1542). It is believed that the temple derives its name from the literal meaning of the word ‘lepakshi’ which is ’embalmed or painted eye.’ A numbers of other legends claim that the temple was founded during the age of Ramayana on the name of wounded bird Jatayu, giving it an even greater antiquity (Sengupta, 2017).
Recent Changes in the Motifs
In the recent times, the revival of Kalamkari has brought in many latest motifs and design elements that are printed on fabric. Generally this fabric is used for garments, bedsheets or as cloth for making bags etc. Some new elements seen in the market are elephants, meditative mudras, Buddha, heads, dancing figures, musical instruments and so.
The Kalamkari in Andhra also borrows designs from forts, palaces, temples, along with motifs of animals and birds. While Kalamkari comin from the Gujarat, depict motifs of mythological characters like Krishna, Arjuna from Mahabharata, Lord Krishna and Radha , Lord Ganesha, Lord Buddha, Ras leela etc.
Change is inevitable, but to what extent these new motifs aesthetically add to the enhancement of the art on fabric is a question to be answered.
