Paintings

In this Kalamkari painting King Dasarath is shown pleading before the fire god Agnideva. Here colour patterns are nicely used to give the painting an attractive look. Here King Dasarath of Ayuddhya, is seen pleading before Fire God Agnidevta. There is an interesting story behind this yagnya.
Desiring for sons to continue the lineage of Ikshwaku dynasty, once King Dasaratha performed a Puthra Kameshtiyaga yajna. King Dasaratha had three wives – Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He had one daughter named Santa through Kausalya earlier, whom he gave in adoption to his friend. She married Sage Rishyasringa. The yagna was conducted under the guidance of that couple. Finally, Agni Deva, the fire god emerged from the sacred homakunda with a vessel containing Payasam (sacred pudding) and gave it to Dasaratha to be distributed equally among his three queens. Kausalya and Kaikeyi received their share of the sacred pudding and took it to their puja rooms. Kausalya was the eldest queen and Kaikeyi’s father at the time of her marriage to Dasaratha had extracted a promise that the son to be born to her would be made the King of Ayodhya. Dasaratha cannot go back on his word, as per the tradition of Ikshwaku family.
However, Sumitra had no such desire. She carried her bowl to the terrace and placed it on the parapet wall, while drying her hair in the sun. She was in a pensive mood thinking that of no use it was to partake the pudding as her son to be born would have no claim to the throne like Kausalya and Kaikeyi.
While the queen was thus thinking about the future, an eagle swooped down and carried away the bowl containing the sacred pudding. She at once rushed downstairs and informed Kausalya and Kaikeyi about what had happened. They hugged Sumithra and consoled her, saying, “Sister why are you so much disturbed? We three are one and we will share our portion of the pudding with you”. So saying they brought their bowls and poured some quantity of pudding from each of their bowls into another bowl and offered it to Sumithra.
The queens took them to Sage Vasishta and obtained his blessings. Thereafter, they offered their pranams to King Dasaratha and happily partook the sacred pudding. All the three queens became pregnant.
In due course, Kausalya the eldest queen delivered a beautiful baby-boy who was named Rama. The Universal Atma embodied itself in the womb of Kausalya. He was named ‘Rama’, meaning he who makes one and all happy. Kaikeyi too gave birth to a son, who was named Bharata. Sumitra, however gave birth to two sons named Lakshmana and Satrughna. Lakshmana was born out of the share of pudding given by Kausalya and Satrughna from that given by Kaikeyi. Hence, Lakshmana always followed Rama while Satrughna followed Bharatha.
Sumitra’s two sons, Lakshmana and Satrughna, were crying all the time, day and night without even taking food. Sumitra could not bear the suffering of the infants. She went to sage Vasishta and explained to him of her predicament. Sage Vasishta closed his eyes and meditated for sometime. His yogic vision enabled him to realise the truth. He explained to Sumitra: “Since you partook of the sacred pudding given by Kausalya, you gave birth to Lakshmana who is an amsa (part) of Rama. Similarly, Satrughna is born out of the share of pudding given to you by Kaikeyi. So, he is a part of Bharata. Put Lakshmana by the side of Rama and Satrughna by the side of Bharata. Then, they will rest peacefully.” As soon as Sumitra acted accordingly, the babies became peaceful. As years passed, the four brothers grew up happily together.
Legends say that the eagle carried the bowl and dropped it at a place where Anjanadevi was in deep meditation. She picked up the bowl and happily ate the sacred pudding. As a result, she gave birth to the great hero of Ramayana, namely, Hanuman.

The beautiful Kalamkari painting of Goddess Durga is given a simple yet sober treatment. Here the goddess is seated on a lion and in her hands she is holding numerous weapons. Her face is painted blue and is wearing some nice drapery. Some beautiful colour patterns and floral designs make the painting a buyer's choice. The borders are also nicely marked. Goddess Durga is the repository of unified power of all the leading gods and goddesses and she was created to eliminate demon Mahishsur. All leading gods and goddesses also gave their power and weapons to her. Today she is worshipped widely across the country as a repository of power.

Here a number of birds are being beautifully depicted in the Kalamkari painting and the birds are playing in a tree. The trees are also being painted beautifully. Kalamkari is the art of painting cotton fabrics with a kalam i.e. pen. In this genre of painting a sharp pointed pierced bamboo regulates the flow of colour on the fabric. The popularity of this exquisite form of art crossed the borders of the country during the 17th and 18th centuries. Kalahasti and Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the nerve centres of this art continue to be beehives of Kalamkari activity. Kalamkari colours are made from vegetable dyes. The cotton gets its beauty from its immersion in milk and resin. Kalamkari paintings are the result of seventeen painstaking steps, using only natural dyes, with numerous washes. The motifs are essentially related to temple architecture and scenes from great epics.

The enchanting Kalamkari painting depicts the Lord of Wisdom in a dancing posture. The four-hands of the Lord are painted in a playful manner. Here Chaturbhuj or the four-armed lord is enjoying his dance. The background of the work is also painted nicely. One of the most popular gods in Hinduism, the Lord is known by as many as 108 names. Thus he is called Avighna: The remover of obstacles, Balaganapati: Beloved child, Bhalchandra: One who is moon crested, Bheema: One who is gigantic, Bhupati: The lord of lords, Bhuvanpati: The lord of the heaven, Buddhinath: The God of wisdom, Buddhipriya: One who bestows of knowledge and intellect.

In this simple yet beautiful Kalamkari painting Lord Vishnu is taking rest in the serpentine coil even as other gods and goddesses are praying before him. Lord Vishnu is one of the Trinity Gods in Hinduism and is responsible for the preservation of Universe. The Lord is often seen with his consort Lakshmi. Kalamkari art is unique in its use of colour as a medium to portray mythological characters. Kalamkari is the art of painting cotton fabrics with a kalam i.e. pen, a sharp pointed pierced bamboo that controls the flow of colour on the fabric. The popularity of this exquisite form of art crossed the shores of the country during the 17th and 18th centuries. Kalahasti and Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the nerve centres of this art continue to be beehives of Kalamkari activity. Kalamkari colours are made from vegetable dyes.

Peacock, the national bird of India gets a fitting portrayal in this beautiful Kalamkari painting. Whereas the borders of the painting are marked grey, a happy tapestry of hand-made colours is nicely mixed to create a resplendent effect in the Kalamkari painting. The national bird is in full bloom as its wings and even the legs are prominently painted. Kalamkari is the art of painting cotton fabrics with a kalam i.e. pen. In this genre of painting a sharp pointed pierced bamboo regulates the flow of colour on the fabric. The popularity of this exquisite form of art crossed the borders of the country during the 17th and 18th centuries. Kalahasti and Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the nerve centres of this art continue to be beehives of Kalamkari activity. Kalamkari colours are made from vegetable dyes. The cotton gets its beauty from its immersion in milk and resin. Kalamkari paintings are the result of seventeen painstaking steps, using only natural dyes, with numerous washes. The motifs are essentially related to temple architecture and scenes from great epics.

The evergreen kalamkari painting depicts a tree where a number of birds are dancing. The borders are marked by lot of floral designs and natural colour pattersn are nicely made use of in this specatcular painting.

Kalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile. The word is derived from the Persian words kalam (pen) and kari (craftmanship), meaning drawing with a pen.

The Machilipatnam Kalamkari craft made at Pedana near by Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, evolved with patronage of the Mughals and the Golconda sultanate.

There are two styles of kalamkari painting in India - one, the Srikalahasti style and the other, the Machilipatnam style. The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, wherein the "kalam" or pen is used for free hand drawing of the subject and filling in the colours, is purely hand-worked. This style flourished around temples and so had an almost religious tinge - scrolls, temple hangings, chariot banners and the like, depicted deities and scenes taken from the great Hindu epics - Ramayana. Mahabarata, Puranas and the mythological classics. This style owes its present status to Smt. Only natural dyes are used in Kalamkari and it involves seventeen painstaking steps.

The cotton fabric gets its glossiness by immersing it for an hour in a mixture of Myrobalans and cow milk. Contours and reasons are then drawn with a point in bamboo soaked in a mixture of jagri fermented and water; one by one these are applied, then the vegetable dyes. After applying each color on to the motif, the Kalamkari fabric is washed after drying. Thus, each fabric can undergo up to 20 washes. Various effects are obtained by using cow dung, seeds, plants and crushed flowers to obtain natural dye.

Here triumphant child Krishna is painted dancing over the vanquished heads of Kalia, the nag. The snakes poisoned the waters of Yamuna and it was Lord Krishna who vanquished the snakes. As Krishan is dancing over the heads of the snake, his wives are pleading for mercy in front of the Lord. Here colour patterns are nicely used and even the borders of the Kalamkari painting are also beautifully used. One of the most popular genres of folk paintings in India, Kalamkari paintings flourished in Andhra Pradesh.

Two peacocks are taking rest under a beautifully decorated tree with lot of leaves and flowers. Green, red, yellow and a variety of natural colour patterns are smartly used in this nice Kalamkari painting that creates a dazzling effect for the onlookers. The artist follows a certain colour pattern while depicting the natural motifs. Kalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile. The word is derived from the Persian words kalam (pen) and kari (craftmanship), meaning drawing with a pen. The Machilipatnam Kalamkari craft made at Pedana near by Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh evolved with patronage of the Mughals and the Golconda sultanate. There are two styles of kalamkari painting in India - one, the Srikalahasti style and the other, the Machilipatnam style. The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, wherein the "kalam" or pen is used for free hand drawing of the subject and filling in the colours, is purely hand-worked. Only natural dyes are used in Kalamkari and it involves seventeen painstaking steps. The cotton fabric gets its glossiness by immersing it for an hour in a mixture of Myrobalans and cow milk.

The spectacular Kalamkari painting is a visual treat for any art lover. Birds are indeed in a veritable paradise as they are in jovial mode in this well decorated tree. Branches of the tree and leaves as well as flowers are painted using natural colour patterns. Kalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile. The word is derived from the Persian words kalam (pen) and kari (craftmanship), meaning drawing with a pen. The Machilipatnam Kalamkari craft made at Pedana near by Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, evolved with patronage of the Mughals and the Golconda sultanate. There are two styles of kalamkari painting in India - one, the Srikalahasti style and the other, the Machilipatnam style. The Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, wherein the "kalam" or pen is used for free hand drawing of the subject and filling in the colours, is purely hand-worked. This style flourished around temples and so had an almost religious tinge - scrolls, temple hangings, chariot banners and the like, depicted deities and scenes taken from the great Hindu epics – Ramayana and Mahabarata. Natural dyes are used in Kalamkari and it involves seventeen painstaking steps. The cotton fabric gets its glossiness by immersing it for an hour in a mixture of Myrobalans and cow milk. Contours and reasons are then drawn with a point in bamboo soaked in a mixture of jagri fermented and water; one by one these are applied, then the vegetable dyes.

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In this beautiful Pata painting, tussar silk is being used nicely to give a symmetrical impression. Here tree is being likened with a life. Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. So patachitra is a painting on canvas and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in character. The hub of this genre of artwork is in and around Puri, especially in the village of Raghurajpur. The tradition of pattachitra painting may be traced back to the time of construction of Lord Jagannath Temple. Chitrakaras are also called to execute colourful paintings on the three chariots for the annual Rath Yatra (Chariot festival). Raghurajpur is the hub for this unique art. Some other centres where this art form has flourished include Parlakhemundi, Champamal (Sonepur), Athgarh and Dinabandhupur (Dhenkanal). In local language the patta painters are known as chitrakars and the lane in which these painters or chitrakaras live is called Chitrakar Sahi.

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In this black pata painting, the painter has depicted the tree symbolising life in a most apt manner. Tusal silk is used to give the painting an appealing look. The leaves of the tree are most symmetrical and the overall painting is a real treat for eyes. Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. So patachitra is a painting on canvas and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in character. The hub of this genre of artwork is in and around Puri, especially in the village of Raghurajpur. The tradition of pattachitra painting may be traced back to the time of construction of Lord Jagannath Temple. Chitrakaras are also called to execute colourful paintings on the three chariots for the annual Rath Yatra (Chariot festival). Raghurajpur is the hub for this unique art. Some other centres where this art form has flourished include Parlakhemundi, Champamal (Sonepur), Athgarh and Dinabandhupur (Dhenkanal). In local language the patta painters are known as chitrakars and the lane in which these painters or chitrakaras live is called Chitrakar Sahi.

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In this spectacular Warli painting, a perfect setting of a Warli tribal village is painted. The painting is so vivid that it takes you close to the village, it acquaints you with the simplicity of the Warli people their lifestyle and way of life. Here natural dyes and water colours on handmade paper are nicely used to give a resplendent effect to the natural painting. One of the most ancient genres of Indian paintings, this type of tribal paintings shows the simple life style of the Warli tribes in Maharashtra. Major economic preoccupation of the tribal people, their celebration, wedding, rituals and births are the main motifs of this genre of painting. The Warli art has a special characteristic of representing the humble life of the Warli tribe. The hallmark of Warli paintings is the use of geometric designs such as triangles, circles, squares, dots and crooked lines are used to depict human figures, animal figures, houses, crops etc. Warli art is known for its monochromatic depictions reflecting the folk life of socio-religious customs, imaginations and beliefs. Predominately white colour is used on a red earthen background.

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