Kalamkari is an ancient Indian textile art in which designs are fully hand- drawn or block printed using natural dyes. There are two main styles in kalamkari painting – one is the earlier fully hand painted styles, other style is the block – printed style. The major centre for hand painted kalamkari is the temple town of Srikalahasthi and that for block-printed style is the port-town of Masulipatnam, both these cities are in Andhra Pradesh. But the traditional kalamkari centers had disappearing and craftsmen who knew the ancient techniques were a mere handful is practicing for sustainability this art. It is in this context the present research is being taken up to understand the issues in production of kalamkari fabric and opportunities for marketing of Kalamkari handicrafts in the light of emerging trends in India retailing.
