Every fabric tells a story. A story of love, hope, freedom, labour, loss, of history, of pain. Fabric prints offer a glimpse into the culture of the people and a brief history of the place they come from. India being a culturally vast and diverse country, each region has a unique type of print which borrows heavily from folklore and tribal art forms specific to the area. Here’s a look at some of these fabric prints and textures.

Kalamkari

This hand-block print is said to have originated in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It uses only natural dyes and involves a laborious process of drawing intricate patterns using a pen (or ‘kalam’ as it is referred to in Hindi) and a mixture of jaggery and water into which the bamboo point (or the pen) is soaked to draw on the fabric. It is usually done on cotton fabrics using colour from vegetables and apparently involves more than fifteen steps from start to finish. The art form is passed on from generation to generation and families in many parts of Andhra Pradesh earn their livelihood through this craft. It is also widely used in clothing – kurtas, tunics, shirts, trousers, and so on.

Warli

Warli PaintingWarli art is essentially derived from wall paintings by the Warli tribe scattered across the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, to name a few. Rife with geometric patterns signifying various everyday things, the paintings are said to date back to about 2500 years. It is believed that the tribals used this ‘art form’ to communicate due to the lack of a verbal language. The individual elements might seem very simple and kiddish even – stick figures, sun, moon, square, triangles; but when you look at it as a whole, it’s not only eye-catching and beautiful, but also in a sense opens you to the culture and belief systems of the tribes – their respect for and understanding of nature and the universe, for instance. These paintings have of late been re-done on fabric and used as wall hangings, patterns in clothes, upholstery etc.

Madhubani

Madhubani PaintingWith a rich history dating back to the ancient kingdom of Mithila in what is today the state of Bihar in eastern India, Madhubani paintings add a dash of vibrancy to even the most mundane spaces. They were originally practiced by the womenfolk in the Madhubani district in Bihar and were painted using twigs or bamboo or sometimes even fingers on the walls of mud huts. Over the years, they have been adapted to canvas, fabrics and even hand-made paper. It’s widely considered an eco-friendly art form and usually consists of single-stroke drawings of gods and goddesses, animals, people and so on. It is known for the use of bright vibrant colours and elaborate patterns.

Ikat

Ikat is a versatile technique that has found its way into clothes (tunics, trousers, shirts and the like), rugs, curtains, bedsheets and even wall paper. It is a form of dyeing where multiple threads and weaves are bound together and dyed to form different patterns. It is done using cotton, silk or even woolen threads. Although it is believed to have originated in Indonesia, it is widely practiced across Central Asia and in India too. In the small town of Pochampally in Andhra Pradesh in India, a unique type of double ikat is woven and this has led to the popularity of the Pochampally saree that originated here.

Image Sources:

"A Warli painting by Jivya Soma Mashe, Thane district" by Jean-Pierre Dalb�ra from Paris, France - Jivya Soma Mashe (Mus�e du Quai Branly)Uploaded by Ekabhishek. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Warli_painting_by_Jivya_Soma_Mashe,_Thane_district.jpg#mediaviewer/File:A_Warli_painting_by_Jivya_Soma_Mashe,_Thane_district.jpg

"Madhubani painting" by Mohitkiran - अपना काम. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madhubani_painting.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Madhubani_painting.jpg