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Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP Jaya Jaitly and Leela Samson

“It’s Chennai chandai,” said Jaya Jaitly, whose Dastkari Haat Samiti (DHS) has brought the craft bazaar to the Kalakshetra campus. “It’s creating excellence where it melts into the background. I would like the Government to take note of how it should be done.”

For 22 years, DHS has provided designs, organised training, linked craftsmen with buyers and exporters, increased markets and market spaces. Downsides like non-standardisation and low productivity have been turned into strengths.

“Performing arts and craft are not separate entities,” said Leela Samson, Director, Kalakshetra. In a lot of ways Kalakshetra is the perfect setting for the mela. “Leela brings her sensibilities, shaped by guru Rukmini Devi Arundale’s vision. I bring Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay’s holistic view of life. You see art, craft, creativity, and dedication coming together. It’s a spiritual offering.” It helps that Leela and Jaya have known each other for long.

Students benefit immensely. “It satisfies their need to understand the connection between art and craft,” said Leela. “They help visitors, decorate and prepare spaces.” How did she find the space for the stalls? “I wanted the mela to be held in the heart of the campus, where the students are. I got the bushes cleared in that area. For Kalakshetra, it’s a big opening up of spaces for people. For Chennai it’s a spread of knowledge of Indian craft. Kalakshetra is being enjoyed at another level.” Leela has asked the students to study the craft maps. “They are excellent educational tools. We don’t realise we have all this.”

Art is education, it is also commerce, said Jaya. “Why should contemporary art sell for lakhs and traditional forms for a pittance on the footpath? They live in the now, so how is it not contemporary? What is considered very old can be very modern and useful.”

Both are pleased with the response. “The crafts people have been transformed by their stay in Kalakshetra,” said Jaya. “They say they’ve never seen such beauty, comfort and hospitality. Customers point to something and buy without fuss. Our effort has been worthwhile. I’m ready to come back.”

Leela is delighted to be the facilitator. “My students are enjoying this extension of their curriculum.” She is also sure Rukmini Arundale, Kalakshetra’s founder, would have been happy. “Athai loved interacting with people. People come in, buy craft and watch things being created. Jaya has a film on Khadi and the students want to do a small dance item for it.”

Jaya sees this sangamam as something bigger than the institutions they nurture. For Leela it is the need of the people since “crafts and arts bring peace, smooth out the rough edges of life, make antagonisms vanish. We cannot separate culture from everyday living.” Yes, said Jaya. “Promoting local arts is not doing a favour to artisans. Craftsmen have an identity that does not translate into vested interest. They feel they belong to everyone. We can teach this philosophy to the world.”

Last word? “Try and replace standardised machine-made items with handmade stuff. Why should all this beauty come out of poverty and squalor? Encourage craftspeople to look at themselves with dignity.”

Leela believes it’s the logical end to what Kalakshetra was meant to do. “Beauty comes in many forms: nature, dance, lecture, art… Craft is represented in stone, paper, reed, silver and textiles. It is integration of all this with people.”

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