Kalamkari embraces the world of gods and was once used to decorate temples and chariots. Today, in India, it is the face of a dying craft of printing by hand. PHOTO: J Niranjan

If you happen to be around the Metropolitan Museum of Art (gallery 199 in specific) or have Internet hours in hand, the ongoing exhibition titled Sultans of Deccan India (1500-1700) is worth a dekko. A show of opulence enjoyed by kings of the Deccan region in India, the exhibition features 200 artifacts that explore poetic lyricism in paintings, exquisite metalwork, and a distinguished form of fabric production. Known as kalamkari, this cotton fabric is painstakingly dyed using natural vegetable colors and decorated with intricate and detailed paintings by hand. Practised and protected by a small community in the state of Andhra Pradesh today, the family craft faces the Herculean task of survival in the face of plagiarism, lack of government support, and the decreasing number of artisans.

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