Different strokes
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
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Kalamkari has got a new lease of life by adapting to modern market conditions while remaining true to the essence of tradition.
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Kalamkari's international face today is revealed when award-winning craftsman Krishna Reddy's daughter Manjula shows you pictures of garments designed by Rohit Bal.
CHANGING WITH THE TIMES: A traditional Kalamkari narrative.
Vegetable dyeing and printing is an art form that goes back to ancient times as the discovery of dyed cloth at Harappa reveals. But it owed its efflorescence in the South to the patronage of the Vijayanagar emperors in the 15th century. The beautifully painted scenes from the epics and puranas were used as backdrop for deities in the temples and to narrate stories. The Persian influence brought in the glorious design vocabulary of the Tree of Life, and motifs of pomegranates and blooms in the 17th century. The Kalamkari of Machilipatanam combines block printing with painting by hand. "Chintz" became hugely popular as dress material and furnishings in England , France and Holland . The art, which thrived in this country before the Industrial Revolution, suffered a terrible blow when machine-made cloth was imported by the English. The efforts of Kamaladevi Chattopadyay, who brought about a resurgence of crafts in India, led to a revival of Kalamkari. -- K.S.
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"KALAHASTI is Kalamkari and Kalamkari is Kalahasti," veteran craftsman Puroshottam intones in the manner of a political campaigner. Painstakingly drawn with the kalam, or pen, fashioned out of burnt tamarind twigs, and depicting a gallery of mythological figures, Kalamkar — done entirely by hand — is an art/ craft unique today to Srikalahasti. Like an alchemist, the Swarnamukhi river, for centuries, appeared to transform the vegetable dyed, painted cloths dipped in its waters into glittering treasures. Vratapani, as it is called in Telugu, is an elaborate process that involves repeated soaking, boiling, washing, drying and colouring of the textiles. Despite Puroshottam's statement, not many visitors to this town, famous for its temple to Lord Siva, are aware that in the crowded agraharam live hundreds whose free hand strokes seem to miraculously conjure up scenes of the Gods and intricate floral patterns.
Different direction
The Swarnamukhi is now a vast dry expanse and many of the artists wash their painted creations in the huge cement tank constructed for the purpose in Casa Gardens, the former palace grounds. The art is going through a revival thanks to product diversification and by uniting the artists into a collective. Conscious attempts are being made to impart the skill to youngsters and those who are not traditional practitioners. The mood is upbeat among the craftsmen.
At the helm of the revival efforts is DWARAKA (Development of Weavers and Rural Artisans in Kalamkari Art), founded in Sri Kalahasti by the Ramanarpanam Trust of the industrialist Dwaraknath Reddy with his daughter Anita Reddy's initiative and commitment. DWARAKA is chiefly aimed at making women self-reliant. It came into being 16 years ago when Kalamkari was going through such a slump that its practitioners would walk the streets of big cities offering their pieces at throwaway prices, and a craftsman knocked on the Reddys' door in Bangalore. Traditionally, Kalamkari has been practised by men though women help in the colouring. But at this cooperative unit, you see scores of women bent over their work, adapting it to modern times in the form of aesthetically designed wraparound skirts, cushion covers, bordered mirrors, photo frames and tens of other articles for daily use which are exhibited by the organisation at its outlet in Bangalore.
"DWARAKA supports more than 300 artists and the profits go to a community development fund ", says Anita Reddy, Project Director. Sarasabai, Vijayalakshmi and Kanchana are among those who tell you how the trust has helped change their lives by providing loans for the education of their children and for medical and marriage expenses.
Extensive network
One of its modern adaptations.
The KARUNA (Kalamkari Artisans Revival and Upsurge for National Acclaim ) federation was also facilitated by Anita to ensure that the craftsmen benefit fully from the State government training programmes and other resources. KARUNA has six training centres in Kalahasti where the artists and their teachers receive stipends for the courses in skill development. Many of them impart the skill to their children. "One never knows when it will come in useful", they say.
Tirupati Balaji, who belongs to a weavers' family and is an expert in miniature painting, describes how he has been able to successfully combine his pursuit of Kalamkari with a career as a scientist in a government organisation. He has recently provided beautiful illustrations in Kalamkari for a children's book . "It is important to adapt the art to modern times but one should not let go of tradition," he feels strongly. "Miniature painting and intricate work are still sought after but few have the expertise to do it."
J. Niranjan, secretary of KARUNA, exemplifies the meeting of art and education. He is a creative artist and a savvy entrepreneur. His small office is equipped with a computer. "Want to see the process? I have it in a three-minute CD here," he says and points out that "there is a demand for work of good quality." He gets orders from the U.K., Japan and France and is engaged in an India-Canada Environment Facility venture for propagating the use of vegetable dyes.
National award-winning master craftsman Gurappa Chetty, Niranjan's father, and the high priest of Kalamkari, is a clear case of what talent, passionate pride in the art and marketing skills can achieve. He is analytical about what needs to be done to promote the art and enumerates the lacunae in the government's approach to the revival. "The Handicrafts Board is not adhering to Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay's ideas. She felt that a period of apprenticeship is needed after training to provide both work and income to the artists. It is also important to select people who are educated in the sense they should know to read the epics. It is not enough to be familiar with the basic stories; the details are essential as they help provide a variety of themes. Often, the fashion designers engaged by the Government lack an in-depth knowledge of our epics. Why look to the West for designs when our temples are art universities? When it comes to design inputs, we have to involve individuals — from organisations such as Dastkar and Crafts Council of India — who have worked with crafts persons, as they are conversant with the idiom. And should not managers of emporia be involved in the process of formulating marketing strategies as they are the men on the spot?"
Going places
Kalamkari's international face today is revealed when award-winning craftsman Krishna Reddy's daughter Manjula, a beneficiary of DWARAKA, shows you pictures of garments designed by Rohit Bal. She and her family members have executed the Kalamkari — exquisite peacocks and the Tree of Life adorn the sheaths and jackets patterned in deep rusts, crimsons, beiges and blacks.
But in the shops around the temple that are frequented by tourists, Kalamkari is nowhere to be seen among the usual assortment of devotional cassettes, nylon bags and cheap trinkets.
"We are planning to set up stalls in the temple complex so that people know that Kalahasti is synonymous with Kalamkari, and buy the products," says Sriramulu of KARUNA. For, as Gita Ram of the CCI puts it succinctly: "It is finally only through commerce that the art can survive".
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