Kalamkari is a little-known art form today, but fabrics decorated with kalamkari were once used as currency-in place of gold-in the medieval spice trade. These fabrics were valued for their beautiful and intricate designs, which were applied to the cloth through a complex process.

The origins of kalamkari have been traced back to Persian-Indian trade in the 10th century. The art flourished in India in the 13th century when kalamkari panels decorated temples with depictions of stories from Hindu epics. Such scenes are still popular subjects for kalamkari today, along with floral and animal motifs.

Kalamkari is a medieval Persian word for "pen work." Artisans draw designs on cotton fabric with dye using a bamboo pen, called a kalam. Dyes used in kalamkari are extracted from roots, leaves and flowers. Mineral-based agents fix the color on the fabric. The process of making kalamkari involves about 17 different steps of drawing and dyeing, so it may take up to several weeks to create a single work.

Adding to the labor is the fact that the artist draws the design freehand onto the fabric, although occasionally some block printing may be used in addition. Because so much of the work is hand-drawn by an artist, each piece is one of a kind. Variations created by the use of natural dyes further set each work apart.

In spite of the unique nature of kalamkari, the market for these fabrics began to disappear with the slowing of the spice trade, followed by the growth of textile industries in Europe and elsewhere during the 18th century. By the early 20th century, the craft was almost nonexistent. It wasn't until the 1950s that kalamkari was revived, with a government-affiliated organization establishing a program to train craftspeople, and a handful of nonprofits following suit. The art form has since seen rising demand both in India and internationally.

Kalamkari now decorates a variety of clothing, furnishings and home accessories, as well as the wall panels for which it originally was known.