Why is A.P's Kalamkari art form struggling for survival? | The Hindu

This is the traditional woodblock-printed #Kalamkari textile art of #AndhraPradesh. Artists use natural ingredients like jaggery, indigo cake, and pomegranate peel to bring these colours to life. But this century-old art form is struggling to survive. And the trade of black jaggery, the prime ingredient used, is to blame. In Kalamkari art, black is considered the ‘mother of all natural dyes’. In the past few months, a number of black jaggery merchants have been arrested. They are accused of selling the black jaggery to the manufacturers of illicitly distilled liquor. In May, merchants in Andhra Pradesh’s Pedana and Machilipatnam towns declared that they would not sell black jaggery anymore. This has affected the Kalamkari #artists. Video: T Appala Naidu Voiceover: Kanishkaa Balachandiran Production: Shibu Narayan Script: Kivleen Kaur Sahni Thank you for watching our video! You can subscribe to our channel here: https://bit.ly/3c8Adi6 Visit https://www.thehindu.com/ for the latest updates, analysis, opinions, and more. You can also download our apps: Android: https://bit.ly/3nboBEi iOs: https://apple.co/3EDCwt4 The Hindu is committed to keeping you up-to-date with information on the developments in India and the world. We promise to deliver quality journalism that stays away from vested interest and political propaganda. You can support us by subscribing to our digital offerings here: https://bit.ly/3emywiz Follow us: Twitter:   / the_hindu   Instagram:   / the_hindu