Weaving jamdani wonders

Sabita Radhakrishna

 

Communities of the weavers of Jamdani saris flourished with Mughal patronage in Varanasi. KAMALA, a festival organised by the Crafts Council of India, will showcase exquisite creations of Jamdani at the Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai, next month.

 

Apart from being the seat of culture with its poets, philosophers, musicians and textiles, what is prominent in Varanasi is the rich brocades, the soft jamdani and the versatile draw loom. The jamdani is a great technical achievement of Indian weavers and it means “loom-embroidered,” truly one of the most exquisite products of Indian handloom fabrics. The word jamdani is of Persian origin – ‘jam' means flower, and ‘dani' means vase or container...

 

THE HINDU, 2011, To read the rest of this article.

 

 

Reviving a heritage craft

Sabita Radhakrishna

 

We, as the self-appointed guardians of heritage, zealously try to protect the vestiges of heritage in whatever forms – buildings, monuments, craft or textiles – which speak volumes of history, each a learning lesson for generations to come. Alas, most Indians do not share this passion. Take Chennai. Where do we have museums which showcase our rich tapestry of history? For instance, when we visited the museum in Pondicherry, I was pained to see the famed Arikamedu coins lying in a dusty glass case. So too were some old valuable paintings. This was a few years ago, and I hope things have improved. Why has the Museum in Chennai not given enough funding to showcase some of the finest craft and heritage textiles that we have? Yes, we have the finest of bronzes, but how are they showcased?

 

Most of the museums I have visited in the world showcase their heritage in a manner that just grabs the eyeballs. In Dubai, its history is so expressly recorded in its little museum that it is a joy to revisit it. Mercifully, however, some of us craft activists, while deploring the state of heritage consciousness – or the lack of it – in our country, are passionate about revival and resuscitating languished craft and textiles. Some of us work with leading craft NGOs like the Crafts Council of India, which today is a powerful apex body run by a group of dedicated, committed women.

 

Madras Musings, 2011, To read the rest of the article.

 

 

Death knell for handlooms?

Sabita Radhakrishna

 

Changing lifestyles and market structures mean that weaving is not a viable profession anymore. What’s the way out?

 

Hand-woven fabric is the product of Indian tradition, the inspiration of the cultural ethos of the weavers. With its strong product identity, handlooms represent the diversity of each State and proclaim the artistry of the weaver. It is not thread al one but the weaver’s imagery, faith and dream that create heritage fabrics which have undoubtedly placed India on the world map. Handlooms rank second only to agriculture as an industry. The handloom sector boasts of 3.4 million weavers according to a census conducted by The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in the year 1995-96 whereas in 1987-88 it was 4.3 million and the drop of nearly a million is all too significant and in the present scenario rather bleak.

 

The Kancheepuram sari with its korvai designs may become a museum piece sooner than we think, so also the cotton korvai saris, with the weavers disinterested in weaving them. A cotton sari fetches the weaver Rs. 270 persari as against Rs. 2,500 for a silk sari. A master weaver in Kancheepuram quotes the example of an MNC which sends buses to pick up young adults who are the children of the weavers. Even if it is an unskilled labourer’s job, he can pick up around Rs. 250-300 a day and what’s more, there is “prestige” attached to a factory job! What’s worse is that our Southern traditional weaves are being pirated through importing weavers from Tamil Nadu. For most handloom weavers it means sitting at a loom for 12 hours at a stretch and even longer if it is festival or wedding season. Many of those interviewed swear that they will not subject their children to work in a profession which drains them. Most of them develop orthopaedic problems and then it is too late to move to other professions when they are past the prime of life.

 

THE HINDU, 2007, To read the rest of this article click here

 

 

Theatre is her life

Sabita Radhakrishna

 

The Museum Theatre is packed. There's not an empty seat in sight. Outside, there is a hysterical clamour for tickets. End of play and the applause is deafening. The play is Five Point Someone, scripted and directed by 26-year-old Nikhila Kesavan, and based on the bestseller of the same name by Chetan Bhagat. Five Point Someone broke all records when it ran to full house during all 1l shows in Chennai and in the ten shows staged in Bangalore, Kolkatta, Hyderabad and else were. The play brought out powerfully the emotions and frustrations of student life in IIT, as seen through the eyes of three young student. This was Nikila's first major directorial venture of a full-scale production.

 

"Am I really a playwright?" She looks incredulous. "I don't write my own script...I read a story and if it is interesting enough and workable, I draft it into a play. I am a director, yes, but playwright?" she asks with a refreshing air of condour and modesty. Her directorial debut began with A Temporary Matter from Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize winning book Interpreter of Maladies.

 

It was NATAK, a theatre programme conceptualised by Krishna Kumar, a theatre personality, which put young Nikila in the spotlight. NATAK was an inter-cllegiate theatre festival that provided a platform for students to showcase their theatrical talents. The entire infrastructure was provided by NATAK, on condition that each student group presented its play in its entirety, including design of sets, lighting and sound. "It was a creative effort and we were given this fantastic opportunity. It was a phenoneal experiment which gave us tremendous exposure to the general public. Every aspect of the play was explored and we were responsible for the complete staging of the play without having to spend money. NATAK arranged for a panel of prominent theatre personalities in Chennai to judge the plays." says Nikila.

 

EvesTouch, 2008.

 

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