Question

Which of the following statements is correct regarding Kalamkari?

1. It is an ancient style of hand painting done on cotton or silk fabric with a tamarind pen.

2. It uses both natural and artificial colours.

3. It constitutes two styles, Srikalahasti style and Machilipatnam style

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : 1 and 3 only

The correct answer is 1 and 3 only.

• Kalamkari is an ancient style of hand painting done on cotton or silk fabric with a tamarind pen, using natural dyes. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• The word Kalamkari is derived from a Persian word where ‘kalam‘ meaning pen and ‘Kari‘ meaning craftsmanship.
• This art involves 23 tedious steps of dyeing, bleaching, hand painting, block-printing, searching, and cleaning.
• Motifs of flowers, peacocks, divine characters of Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana are drawn.
• Prime colours: indigo, mustard, rust, black, and green.
• Natural dyes are used to paint colours in Kalamkari art, extracted from natural sources with no use of chemicals and artificial ingredients. Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect.
• There are two styles of Kalamkari art in India: the Srikalahasti style and the Machilipatnam style. Hence, Statement 3 is correct.
• In the Machilipatnam style of Kalamkari, motifs are essentially printed with hand-carved traditional blocks with intricate detailing painted by hands.
• The Srikalahasti style of painting draws inspiration from the Hindu mythology describing scenes from the epics and folklore.
  • It has its origin in the temples.
• The quality of the water, air, and sunshine are all-important in the process of art-making of this nature.