This unusual, printed textile is called 'kalamkari'. The textile depicts deities from the Shiva pantheon. Images of Shiva and Parvati seated on Nandi with a male devotee, Kartikeya and his two consorts seated on his peacock vahana, and Ganesha standing on his mouse vahana can be seen at the main painting. The centre motif is a full bloom lotus surrounded by a group of peafowl at its circumference. Kalamkari originated in Andhra Pradesh during the Deccan Sultanate. Stylistically, they are linked to an older and more refined cloth painting tradition from Golconda in Deccan and Pulicat on the Coromandel Coast. This textile was ‘painted’ with a pen, then stencilled and dyed. Decorated textile like this piece was probably used as temple backcloths. The kalamkari art has been revived and saved from going into oblivion during the 20th century.
