Rooted in tribal ethos
PUSHPA CHARI
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It is admirable, how Bastar artisan Sonadhar Vishwakarma and Lambani embroiderer Devi Bai have made their art relevant today.
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Photos: K. Pichumani
Aesthetic: Viswakarma with his artefacts.
Tribal crafts in India have a unique place in our culture, with the artisans’ creativity often harking back to myth, motif and memories of distant homelands. However, today tribal crafts have a wider perspective, responding to contemporary lifestyle needs and market forces.
Two examples of this thrust seen at the All India Craft Sourcing Exhibition currently on now at Valluvar Kottam, are the Bastar iron craft and Lambani embroidery of Karnataka. Both have found new direction by fusing forms of contemporary relevance with their age-old craft tradition.
“Our craft belongs to the Stone Age,” says Sonadhar Vishwakarma, National and State Award winner of Bastar craft. “My ancestors ferreted out iron from stone formations. To this day, we craft iron tools and implements without using machinery, welding or chemicals. Our craft processes too have remained unchanged, from putting scraps of iron into small bhatties to beating them into sheets and cutting them into figures and forms with a cheni or a special iron tool.”
Earlier, Sonadhar’s ancestors used to make iron implements, lamps and figures of gods and goddesses. Over the past few decades, the typically angular two-dimensional magic of Bastar iron craft has embraced Krishnas and Ganeshas as well as decorative tribal figurines, furniture, trays, candle stands, masks and much else.
Sonadhar’s repertoire also includes photo frames and wall hangings, window frames, lamp and candle stands as well as sets of musicians and figurines depicting vignettes of Bastar life. He takes orders for chairs, tables and settees as well. His whole family, including teenage children, contribute artistically.
According to Sonadhar, other communities cannot do this specialised craft which is rooted in tribal ethos.
Elegance on cloth
Devi Bai weaving magic with her nimble fingers.
The Lambanis are believed to be descendents of the Roma gypsies of Europe, who migrated to the Deccan in the 14th century. Their distinctive embroidery includes a plethora of stitches such as button hole, chain, bhangera and jotia jaali work. The designs are mostly geometric with tiny floral motifs, embellished with cowrie shells, mirrors and buttons. Devi Bai, a Lambani embroiderer, has been practising her craft since the age of eight, skilfully embellishing ghagras, camel cloths, torans, wall hangings, children’s ceremonial dresses and so on. She works under the aegis of the Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra, which was set up in 1984 to revive and market Lambani crafts.
Devi Bai also works on cholis, handbags and carry bags, wall hangings, belts, saris and salwar sets. As she dexterously puts finishing touches to a dupatta border, she tells you how working with Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra has not only honed her skills but made her design-savvy and in tune with today’s trends. It has also given her financial stability, access to subsidised food grains as well as status among her people.
Her ghadri work (thick textured weave like embroidery) is exceptional, and as she sits embroidering a belt surrounded by her colour lehengas and skirts, you realise how much tribal art has evolved in our country.
Sonadhar Vishwakarma’s iron craft is on display at stall no 4 at the All India Sourcing Exhibition. Devi Bai can be seen at work at stall no. 103. The Sourcing Show is organised by Poompuhar and sponsored by the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The All India Sourcing Fair which also has a wide variety of handicrafts from all parts of India concludes on November 8.
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