Tradition in tatters: Kalamkari colours fading in A.P.’s Pedana Premium

Discover the rich history of Kalamkari art in Pedana, a town known for its handloom sarees and textile tradition.

It was in 1981 that M. Durga Malleswara Rao, one of the few artisans in Pedana, launched the business of selling block-printed Kalamkari clothes. Until then, he, like many in the town even to this day, was involved in the production of handloom sarees.

Located 15 km from Machilipatnam, Pedana is known both for its handloom sarees and the famed Kalamkari art form and textile tradition.

As his business expanded, there was a time when he employed 300-odd workers at his unit, Hemalatha Kalamkari Fabrics, to produce Kalamkari cloth. More than 70% of his production is supplied to renowned apparel brands in the country, including FabIndia and Aurelia. Today, however, Malleswara Rao, along with block makers and other proprietors, faces a shortage of workers and artisans due to various factors.

The rise of power looms, which produce similar sarees in a shorter duration and at a lower cost, increased raw material prices, declining wages, and the migration of educated youth to bigger cities for better opportunities have all contributed to the decline of handlooms.

The situation was not always like this. Machilipatnam, of which Pedana was once a part, has a rich history of thriving textile and spice trade. Kalamkari designs were popular worldwide. In ‘A Manual of the Kistna District in the Presidency of Madras’, Gordon Mackenzie writes that Masulipatnam was a place of great traffic where most of their commodities were sold at a good rate. He writes: “The trade of Masulipatnam (in 18th century) had been very extensive in chintzes and colored cloths. It is said that goods to the value of 50 lakhs were exported to the Persian Gulf alone.”

Salma Ahmed Farooqui, professor at the H.K. Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies at Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad, says: “Kalamkari came up as a textile tradition during the reign of Qutb Shahis at Golconda in 16-17th century, when spices and textiles were two major commodities for trade between India and other countries.”

The art form originated in Tilang, the region between what is present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “The word ‘Kalam’ meant pen, while ‘Kari’ meant craftsmanship. While Pedana was the birthplace of block-printing style of the art, Srikalahasti’s style was about using a traditional pen with a brush to draw the designs. Flora and fauna became the motifs of Pedana’s style of art, while mythological figures became the theme of the art that originated in the temple town,” she explains.