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In Karnataka, is in other parts of India, a very
thin line divides ‘art’ and ‘craft’. And this is
manifest in every home where even the common articles of daily use,
including an earthen pot for that matter, resemble a work of art.
The vast range of the
State’s arts and crafts that now embellish royal homes of the
past, elite bungalows and even ordinary hutments, bear testimony to
the skill, aesthetic sensibilities and sense of the craftsperson’s
decorative abilities. Many a craft tradition in Karnataka has been
handed down from father to son and this continuity has helped to
cradle a vast variety of handicrafts with their high degrees of
perfection.
The State’s
craftsmen received much patronage from the royalty in the past. But,
today, the government has set up many agencies and even design
centres towards encouraging craft families to continue to make
handicrafts and help to market their ware. This has helped keep many
craft traditions alive so that their practitioners can cater not only
to the local population but also to the many tourists who visit
Karnataka.
Karnataka has come to
occupy pride of place in the field of wood carving. The State’s
relatively good forest cover provides enough raw material for its
craftsmen who continue to employ age-old techniques to carve, inlay,
veneer, paint and lacquer articles in wood. Their skill is manifest
in the ancient temples where wood has been used extensively, as also
in the intricate fixtures they make for present-day needs in
architecture and furniture making. The lintels and doors of some old
homes in the hilly region and the temple cars in villages and towns
are literally overflowing with hundreds of intricately carved images
of gods and goddesses. Rosewood articles are a favourite with the
well-to-do buyers and no tourist leaves the State without carrying
with him or her a beautifully carved rosewood elephant, at least.
Craftsmen in the city of
Mysore have specialized in wood inlay work making exquisite articles
depicting landscapes, pastoral scenes, elephant herds, birds etc.
Some of the finest examples of the elaborate inlay work done by
master artisans can be seen in the Maharaja’s palace in Mysore
and in the mausoleum of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapattna.
Ivory carving was yet
another popular craft. In recent years, however because of the ban
imposed on the ivory trade, the craft has received a set back. But
you can still find articles carved very intricately without floral
tracery surrounding the figures, mostly of gods with Krishna being
featured in several aspects. Some of Mysore’s masterpieces in
ivory are now preserved in the Heritage Museum in Russia and in the
South Kensington Museum, London.
Metalware is yet another
craft that engages many families. Metalware in Karnataka has a rich
and ancient tradition and the objects serve both religious and
secular needs. The temple town of Udupi is famous for its small
images and ritual objects, while Karkala, an ancient Jain centre, is
well-known for its Jain icons. Mangalore in the west coast boasts of
domestic articles made of bell-metal while Nagamangala near Mysore is
celebrated as a centre for bronze casting. The bronze makers of
Nagamangala have, for centuries, displayed a climax of delicate and
graceful workmanship especially in delineating, in the most charming
manner, the anatomy of the human body.
And then there are the
stone carvers, shilpis, of Karnataka. Some of them have won
the master crafts man awards at the national level while others have
been commissioned to carve stone idols for Hindu temples abroad,
especially in the USA. Karnataka has a village called Shivarapattana
in the district of Kolar, where every fourth house is a sculptor’s
studio. The stone carvers are skilled craftsmen, and like the marble
fabricators of Jaipur in Rajasthan, have descended from generations
and feel proud that they belong to a long line of hereditary
sculptors.
The very mention of
Mysore spells the fragrance of sandalwood. This soft material is used
extensively to produce charming art pieces. The range of objects and
designs are varied and the gudigar families of Shimoga, Uttara Kannada and Mysore districts specialize in this craft. Sandalwood
lends itself to extremely delicate carving that is needed to
embellish the figures of gods and goddesses. Krishna images are very
popular among the devout, while many prefer to buy utility articles
made in sandalwood which include lamp shades, caskets, trays, jewel
boxes, combs and even walking sticks with rosewood handles.
Enter any Kannada home
and your eyes will focus on the innumerable dolls that are displayed
in a glass-covered shelf in the drawing room. Dolls are favourites
among women and children alike and every family has a large
collection. These are symmetrically arranged on wooden platforms,
decorated and displayed during the nine day Dusshera festival when
visitors are treated to delicious snacks and the celebrated Mysore
coffee. Kinnal and Gokak in north Karnataka and Channapatna on the
Bangalore/Mysore highway are important centres for doll-making. Most
of the dolls made are painted with vegetable dyes while the
Channapatna ones are lacquered.
Bidar in north Karnataka,
closer to Hyderabad than Bangalore, is a famous centre for
bidriware—a well-developed craft which include the use of
a metal plate of an alloy made of zinc, copper, tin and lead. This
craft had its origins during the rule of the Bahamani kings. Bidri
articles include articles like ornamental jugs, bowls, plates pen
holders, candle sticks and even paper knives.
Some of Karnataka’s
folk arts and age-old rituals have given rise to many traditional
handicrafts. The worship of spirits—the bhuta cult—in
the coastal districts has encouraged the making of huge wooden idols,
some of whom are kept outside villages as guardians of the
inhabitants. Some others adorn temples. Likewise, the art of puppetry
has encouraged many wood carvers and painters to produce a variety of
puppets. In addition to puppets made of wood, Karnataka also makes
leather puppets though the latter are more extensively used and made
in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
And the story of
Karnataka’s arts and crafts is never complete without a
reference to the traditional Mysore paintings. The art dates back to
the Ajanta times and to the reign of the Vijayanagar kings. It was a
ruler with an artistic vision—Mummadri Krishnaraja Wadiyar—who
revived the art of painting. The delicate lines, the graceful
delineation of figures nad the discreet use of bright vegetable
colours and lustrous gold leaf, make the traditional paintings of
Mysore very elegant and attractive. Many senior traditional painters
have now started schools to teach this art to the younger generation.
In fact Chitrakala Parishat in Bangalore, which has a fantastic
collection of old paintings, has also started a school headed by the
living doyen of traditional painting: Subramanya Raju.
SILKEN DREAMS
The very word silk has a
touch of class about it. Sensuous and romantic, it has fascinated man
for many centuries. In Karnataka, as in other parts of India where
silk is fancied, it is, in fact, a way of life. It has also become an
inseparable part of the Kannada culture and tradition. No ritual in
complete without the participants wearing silk in some form or
another.
‘Mysore silk’
is famous and Karnataka has contributed a great deal to the progress
of India’s silk industry. And it has helped the country to
overtake Japan after China in the production of mulberry silk. A
silent revolution is under way—thanks to a massive Rs. 555 core
National Sericulture Project. Aided by the World Bank and the Swiss
Development Corporation, the project is already four years old and
aims to increase silk production upto 15,500 tonnes per annum.
Karnataka’s 200-year-old silk industry owes its origin to Tipu
Sultan who ruled Mysore with his capital at Srirangapatana. Tipu
showed a very personal interest in sericulture and his letter of 27.
September, 1786 addressed to the Commander of Srirangapatana Fort
reveals this.
He informed him that
Burhanuddin and Kashturi Ranga who had been sent by him to Bengal
toobtain silk worms were expected to return home soon, and that after
their arrival, care should be taken rear the silk worms in his
kingdom. This concern was shown despite the fact that a that time
Tipu was in the midst of a war against the Marathas and the Nizam.
Tipu sultan established 21 centres in his dominions to rear the silk
worm and obtained these not only from Murshidabad in Bengal but also
from Muscat. He imported French canons by exporting Mysore’s
silk yarn and fabrics to France and by the turn of the 19th
century, the silk industry in Mysore was there to stay.
Silk’s strange links
with the battle field did not end with Tipu. The industry received
yet another boost during World War II when parachute manufacturers
needed large quantities of the fabric. As China, the largest
producer, was then under Japanese occupation where else could the
Allies go looking for silk except India and more especially Mysore?
Necessity compelled the British to encourage silk production not only
in the then Mysore State (now Karnataka) but also in the
nieighbouring regions. When the war ended the demand for silk fell
but, with the setting up of the Central Silk Board in 1949, the
industry made enormous progress, with Karnataka alone contributing 75
per cent of mulberry silk to the notion’s production. In the
days of yore, Karnataka’s silk weavers used vegetable dyes made
from a variety of tree barks. Crouching in front of their traditional
looms in their small homes in Bangalore’s Cubbonpet and in
Doddaballapur, Molakalmuru and Melkote and other places, they worked
from dawn to dusk, weaving with gay abandon. They never committed
their designs to paper but were guided only by instinct and memory.
They were attracted and influenced by the innumerable motifs of
animals and birds, trees and flowers that filled the environment in
which they lived. Today, their children and grandchildren use
chemical dyes and power looms, though many still prefer the use of
the handloom. Despite mechanization, efforts are now being made to
keep the art and craft of handloom weaving alive and to make the
weaver aware of the intrinsic value and grace of his own
craftsmanship and the imperative need to preserve it. Such efforts
have saved many weaving silks from dying.
Sericulture’s growth
in Karnataka has gone on paralled with the ‘green revolution’
and the progress achieved has transformed the lifestyle of many
farming families. Karnataka has six lakh families engaged in this
industry who, together, produced 7,147 tonnes of raw silk in
1992-1993. Mulberry is cultivated in 16 lakh hectares in the State
which prides itself in having 49 cocoon markets and five sericulture
exchanges protecting the interests of the silkworm rearers. The
cocoon market in Ramangaram near Bangalore is the biggest in Asia.
The Central Silk Board has taken several steps to provide adequate
research support to all those 4engaged in the silk industry. In
Mysore city, there is the Central Sericulture Research and Training
Institute for mulberry sericulture. In additon, the Central Silk
Technological Research Institute (CSTRI) has been established in
Bangalore to tackle the problem of silk reeling, processing and
finishing. Channapatna, an hour’s journey by road from
Bangalore, in well-known for its spun silk and has a large modern
mechanized plant. Channapatna silk is spun like cotton from the left
over waste after the silk yarn is reeled. It is used for weaving
furnishing fabrics and carpets. Most weavers in Karnataka belong to
the Devanga community and are believed to be descendents of the
weavers who flourished under the Vijayanagara kings. “The word
Devanga is significant—dev meaning god and anga
meaning body. Our ancestors wove angavastrams, the fabric used
to drape temple idols,” says Dasappa, a veteran weaver in
Bangalore. He bestows much praise on the skill of the weavers In
Banaras and Kancheepuram who depend entirely on Karnataka for their
raw material.
SHOPPING IN BANGALORE AND MYSORE
Famous over the years for
its fabulous silks, both handwoven and mill-made, sandalwood articles
and agarbattis, incense sticks, Karnataka also offers in the
two cities of Bangalore and Mysore innumerable other ware, especially
for the discerning tourist. These include excellent rosewood
articles, some of them inlaid in ivory and metal, in addition to the
intricately carved images of gods and goddesses, delicately carved
caskets and jewel box4es in sandalwood. Bangalore and Mysore are
synonymous with silk, as the centres producing this fabric, in a
variety of colours and designs, are located in areas close to these
cities. A mind-boggling variety of silk saris and fabrics are
available in the well-stocked shops on Kempedowda Road and Mahatma
Gandhi Road in Bangalore. Deepam Silks International and
Vijayalakshmi Silks and Saris, both on Mahatma Gandhi Road are very
popular. In addition, there is the Government Silk Emporium run by
the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation on Mahatma Gandhi Road. In
Mysore, these soft-as-a-sigh silk products are available in many
exclusive shops on Sayaji Road, Devaraj Urs Road and in the Sales
Emporium attached to the Government Silk Factory on Manatody Road.
In both Bangalore and
Mysore, one can go to the Kaveri handicrafts Emporium for an
handicrafts Emporium for an endless variety of handicrafts. The
Mysore outfit is not as well stocked as its counterpart in Bangalore,
but there are many private shops in the city to cater to the tourist.
Noted handicrafts establishments in Bangalore include, also, the
Cottage Industries Emporium on Mahatma Gandhi Road and Natesan’s
Antiques also on the same road. The latter has for sale some superb
works of Indian art and craftsmanship. Overseas visitors must make
sure that the antiques they buy are exportable.
Traditional jewellery,
both custom-made and ready-to-wear, are available in plenty in the
jewellery shops located on Avenue Road in Bangalore and on Devaraja
Urs and Ashoka Road in Mysore. For a staggering variety of
handicrafts, not only of Karnataka but from all other Indian States
as well, the place to go to in Mysore city in the Handicrafts Sales
Emporium in the Hotel Dashratha Complex located opposite the Mysore
Zoo. Those who are interested in the traditional Coorg jewellery
would do well to visit Sharada Jewellers on Devaraj Urs Road in
Mysore.
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