Kalamkari Painting

The cotton is first washed and treated with myrobalan and milk so the dyes bind and do not spread. Outlines are drawn freehand with a bamboo pen tipped with cloth, using a black dye made from fermented iron filings and jaggery. Colours are then applied one at a time, with the fabric washed and dried between each stage.

A large narrative panel requires many rounds of dyeing and washing over several weeks, and the colours are entirely natural — indigo for blue, madder and alizarin for red, pomegranate for yellow.

Kalamkari developed as a temple art, producing painted cloths that told stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas to congregations. Sickinaickenpet in Nagapattinam district has sustained the Tamil Nadu tradition, distinct from the Andhra centres at Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam. Temple chariot cloths and canopy hangings remain part of the craft's working output.

Artisan units at Sickinaickenpet, near Kumbakonam and Nagapattinam, produce and sell directly. Poompuhar emporiums stock kalamkari textiles, and museums in Chennai and Thanjavur hold historic temple cloths. Some temples still display painted canopies during festivals.