From Bamboo Pens To Ramayana On Cloth: Inside the Timeless World Of Andhra Pradesh's Kalamkari

 

 

Walking through the bustling halls of Bharat Mandapam during Bharat Tex 2026, amid cutting-edge textile technologies and modern fashion displays, one exhibit quietly drew attention. A large piece of fabric depicting the entire Ramayana, painstakingly painted by hand, stood out from the crowd.

 

At first glance, it looked like an intricately illustrated scroll. But a closer look revealed something even more remarkable. A woman sat patiently, bent over the fabric, carefully adding fine details, not with a paintbrush, but with a sharpened bamboo pen. The earthy shades of black, maroon, yellow and blue appeared soft yet vibrant. Even more surprising was that every colour came from natural ingredients, without a trace of synthetic chemicals.

The artwork belonged to Andhra Pradesh's centuries-old Kalamkari tradition, one of India's oldest forms of hand-painted textile art that continues to survive through the dedication of artisans.

 

Kanchana, an artisan from Andhra Pradesh told ETV Bharat, “We practice the traditional hand-painted Kalamkari art from Andhra Pradesh using only natural vegetable dyes. Every piece is created by hand with a bamboo pen that we shape ourselves. Different bamboo pens are used for outlining and filling colours, depending on the design.”

She explained that every shade is prepared through age-old natural methods. Maroon is produced using alum and plant-based materials such as manjistha (Indian madder), while black takes nearly three weeks to prepare.