Pedana Kalamkari: How Pitchuka Srinivasa is preserving Andhra’s 15th century craft with contemporary products bedsheets home decor linen 30 stades
Fabrics boil with pomegranate peels in copper cauldrons at a home-cum-workshop in Pedana, a small town near Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district. In another part of the unit, two artisans have spread cotton fabrics on big rectangular tables. They dip handmade wooden blocks into natural colours and press them firmly on the cloth. They continue the process with machine-like precision till the work is completed and the fabric is left for colours to dry.
Pitchuka Srinivasa, the owner of the unit, is the second generation artisan practising the traditional Pedana Kalamkari after the 15th-century craft was revived by handicraft connoisseur Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay post-Independence.
“We were traditionally weavers and my father Pitchuka Veera Subbaiah learned about the Pedana Kalamkari while travelling for work to Mumbai. Back in Machilipatnam, he searched for old handmade blocks. He continued research about the craft and learned about the traditional process, beginning his Kalamkari experiments in the 1970s,” says Srinivasa.
Hand blocks made from teakwood are used in Pedana Kalamkari. Pic: Les Indiennes
Soon, his father’s work became well known among wholesalers and retailers and Srinivasa followed in his footsteps.
History soaked in
natural colours
India is home to two Kalamkari traditions – Pedana and Srikalahasti, which is drawn using pen and is practised in Srikalahasti in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
Pedana
or Machilipatnam (also called Coromandel) Kalamkari dates back to the 15th
century when the Qutb Shahi dynasty ruled the area. Being an international
port, the art came in contact with Persians, the Dutch and the French, imbibing
their elements. Pedana Kalamkari was loved overseas and hundreds of families
engaged in the craft back then benefited from exports.
A 15th-century Machilipatnam natural-dyed hand block printed bed cover is still on display at Victoria Albert Museum of London.
Some 17th-century items are also showcased at Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad. Over the years, however, the craft went into decline due to duties levied on exports and competition from machine-made clothes dyed with chemical dyes.
Pitchuka Srinivasa (left) showing his work to Mandali Buddha Prasad, former Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh.Pic: through Pitchuka Srinivasa
It
was after the revival about half a century back that the craft regained its
lost glory. And though Pedana Kalamkari received a Geographical Indication (GI)
tag in 2007, its fight with chemical dyes continues.
“Many artisans find it convenient to use artificial colours as they are cheaper and cut short the process drastically,” says Srinivasa, who continues to make all vegetable dyes at his unit.
He follows the traditional block printing process under which the fabric is ready in 16 days beginning with natural bleaching using cow dung water and ending with soap wash.
“The
market is full of screen printed products that pass off as Pedana Kalamkari,”
says Srinivasa, who directly employs 30 artisans and works with 20 more
indirectly. Each artisan can block print about 30-metre fabric in a day.
The business of Pedana
Kalamkari
“The art is rich as we not only use the temple motifs and Persian motifs centuries ago but also keep adding newer designs to our repertoire based on client demand,” says Srinivasa.
His beautiful floral, vine and boteh jegheh (Persian motif commonly known as paisley) prints on white fabrics led to an overseas partnership with designer Mary Bergtold Mulcahy, who runs Les Indiennes store in Hudson, New York.
She had been searching for an artisan who could create naturally-dyed fabric with single colored motifs. And her search ended with Srinivasa. Mulcahy uses Kalamkari fabric for making pillow and cushion covers, bedding, table linens and other items of home décor.
What made her choose Srinivasa for partnership was the fact that the fabric does not cause pollution and is block printed using the traditional process.
Apart from being available across the USA, Les Indiennes Kalamkari products are also sold in Australia, Canada, UK, South Africa and some European countries.
“My father wanted to export his fabrics but passed away before realising his dream. I am happy I have been able to fulfil his wish,” says Srinivasa, who works only with cotton and linen fabrics.
Les Indiennes' Kalamkari products retail across the world. Pic: through Pitchuka Srinivasa
Back home, he has tied up with handicrafts and handloom e-tailer iTokri, to which he sells Kalamkari sarees, dupattas, running fabrics, paintings, bags, masks etc. “iTokri continued to buy from us even during the COVID lockdown, which was tough on artisans,” he points out.
His Kalamkari paintings like those depicting the Tree of Life are also much in demand both in India and overseas. Other products include towels, napkins, bed sheets, bags etc.
The dupattas retail at upwards of Rs 850, stoles and scarves at Rs 450 while sarees are priced at around Rs 2400. “I receive more orders than we can execute. That is because people are now becoming environment-conscious and avoid the use of products made using chemicals,” he says.
The
key to genuine Kalamkari is eco-friendly colours and blocks made from teakwood.
For block engraving, a design is cut in relief upon blocks of wood such that
the raised parts transfer the design to the fabric on being dipped in colour.
“Teak
wood is preferred because of its strength and fine grains,” explains Varun,
Srinivasa’s son and the third generation practitioner of the craft.
The
blocks are cleaned after use every day and sesame oil is applied on them. The
family has kept all the blocks since Srinivasa’s father began Pedana Kalamkari
in the 1970s.
The historic blocks are now part of the Pedana Kalamkari Museum at their residence.
How is Pedana
Kalamkari done?
The process of Kalamkari begins with cutting the pieces of cotton fabric into sizes of dupattas, sarees or as running fabrics depending on requirements and leaving 10 percent extra for shrinkage. The fabrics are soaked in cow dung mixed with water and kept in water tubs for three days. “We change the water every 24 hours,” explains Varun.
Pitchuka Srinvasa's son Varun is now the third generation practicing the craft.
The
next step involves treatment with myrobalan (gooseberry) seeds. The seeds are
powdered and left in water for a day. The next day this water is filtered
through a gunny cloth and the extract is applied to the bleached cloth pieces.
On drying, they are ready for printing.
Jaggery and iron pieces are boiled to get the black colour, indigo leaves give blue colour, gooseberry flower gives turmeric shade, madder plant is used for red and pomegranate peels are boiled to get yellow.
“Eco-friendly
dyes get rotten soon. So we have to act fast. Any delay in one step in the
process can cause loss,” explains Varun, who also practices organic farming of
Navara rice.
Fabric is tied with a rope while washing in the river. It is the fifth step in the seven-step process. Pic: Pitchuka Srinivasa
Dyes are used to hand block print on ready fabrics. After drying, printed fabric has to be washed in flowing water or in a big pond with fresh water. “While washing them in a canal, we tie the fabric with a rope. Otherwise, they can flow away with the water,” Srinivasa says.
Srinivasa explains that the water bodies around Pedana are rich in minerals, which improves the quality and colour of prints.
“But
due to washing by those who use chemical dyes, the water quality is
deteriorating. So I take my fabrics to Krishna river banks for washing,” he
adds.
An artisan using blocks for printing. Pic: through Srinivasa Pitchuka
The clothes are then dried under the sun. After a day’s gap, the dried cloth is boiled in copper vessels along with leaves, roots, barks, dry flowers etc to give different colours. Like pomegranate peels are added to the boiling water for yellow colour while madder is added to get red shade. “The temperature and duration of boiling depend on the shade required,” Srinivasa explains.
Now
the hand block printing is done again for secondary colours like yellow, pink,
green, and blue around existing motifs or borders etc. Up till this stage, all
colours on the fabric are temporary and can run on being washed. “Alum acts as
a mordant and helps to fix colours on the fabric. It also improves brightness,”
he points out.
The clothes are then washed with soap water, dried, ironed and ready for sale. “The process is long but is worth the effort. It is the originality and eco-friendly nature of the process that has made it popular across the world. I am happy that my son Varun is carrying forward my legacy,” Srinivasa says.
(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai-based journalist specialising in financial, business and socio-economic reporting)
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