Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

Handicrafts workshop begins

Special Correpondent

Artists, artisans from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the Nilgiris come together

EXQUISITE CREATIONS: Artisans at a workshop, `South Indian Art and Craft' in M. Palada near Udhagamandalam on Sunday. - Photo: D. Radhakrishnan

Udhagamandalam: The natural beauty of this hill station and the ambience of the Tribal Research Centre (TRC) at M.Palada have brought out the best in us, said artists and artisans from different parts of south India.

They were participants at a weeklong workshop, `South Indian Art and Craft', organised at M. Palada near here, by the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind), Bhopal in association with the TRC. The workshop is scheduled to end on June 21.

With thirty artists and artisans from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the Nilgiris participating, the objectives of the workshop were to promote exchange of ideas among the artisans of various States, and bring about a fusion of tribal and non-tribal art forms.

Dexterity

The participants showcased their dexterity in producing paintings such as Tanjore, mural, chitara and folk, chowki, scroll and Mysore, and other fields of art such as embroidery.

While the talented Toda artisans displayed their skill in embroidery, the Kotas showed that they were still adept in pottery. Experts in Mysore paintings, Bhawani Nataraja and Vijayalakshmi said that while they normally enjoyed creating pieces of art, producing a few piece s at workshop organised in Udhagamandalam had given them special satisfaction.

Expressing the confidence that the art of making pots will always be kept alive among the Kotas, a senior Kota artisan, Babyammal, lamented that help in the form of tools was not forthcoming from the authorities concerned, despite repeated representations.

The Director, TRC, Jakka Parthasarathy, said that funds had been sought from the Hill Area Development Programme (HADP) to buy an anvil for the Kotas.

First of its kind

Vijayamohan of the National Museum of Mankind said that the workshop was the first of its kind organised in Tamil Nadu by the Museum. Stating that it was the 15th in a series of such workshops, he said that the 16th would be held in Bangalore. The items produced during the current workshop would be handed over to the museum.

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