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| May 29, 2000 | ||
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| KIZHA AMBUR,
TAMIL NADU Old and Beautiful Reviving traditional art and craft is a sadhu's spiritual passion By M.G.Radhakrishnan
Papanaasam Swamy is a sadhu with a
difference. "I am not too religious," says the founder of the
Papanaasam Kudisai Learning Centre for Arts and Crafts. "The
resurrection of our ancient arts and crafts is my spiritual mission."
His efforts to train The ashram's creation is a tent titled Earth Banquet, which represents earth of the five elements; the others-air, water, fire and space-will be represented by creations from Russia, Iran, Thailand and Australia. The tent is vibrantly coloured and houses a banquet table, chairs, a screen, cutlery and metal flowers as lamp shades. The items have been designed by British fashion expert Zandra Rhodes. "Zandra was impressed by the skills of our artisans and sent us her designs," beams Swamy. When Swamy started the ashram 10 years ago on a 70-acre plot of land with the support of a patron from Chennai, he just had a handful of pupils. He travelled all over the country to learn more about traditional arts and crafts. He found out, for instance, that "traditional artisans never used tools with handles as a handle is a hurdle between the mind and the tool". So at his ashram too no tools with handles are used. Today, more than 80 pupils from Kerala and Tamil Nadu are pursuing various craft courses at the ashram: wood, stone and metal carving, sculpting, painting, sheet- metal work and traditional carpentry. The ashram is run on the lines of a traditional gurukul with free boarding and food for students. Each student starts with a monthly stipend of Rs 250, and once he becomes a worker, starts earning daily wages. On completing the one-year course, many stay on in the ashram's workshop, creating objects like ornamental doors and carved stone pillars. "Most of the ashram's monthly expenses of Rs 3 lakh are met from donations," says Swamy. The ashram is nearly self-reliant in food with its vegetable farms and a milk dairy. But losses have mounted to around Rs 14 lakh till date, mainly because commercial marketing of the products has not yet begun in earnest. "Our work puts us in communion with the guru and also the cosmic mind," says an inmate-a spirit in line with the gurukul tradition where the guru is paramount and creations deliberately shorn of individual authorship. "More than an individual or the ashram, the tradition which has given birth to these artistic skills should be promoted," explains Swamy, who refuses to be photographed. Orders are slowly picking up. "Our latest is for wooden furniture, doors and windows for four houses in Hyderabad," says Swamy. There is no compromise on the price as these skills do not come cheap-an ornamental teak door costs Rs 6 lakh. A speciality of the ashram is accurate reproduction of works of great painters like Rembrandt. The ashram is now set to go hi-tech with the assistance of NetSynergy Information Technology Ltd, a company that takes small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs' products to the global market through the Internet. Its president G. Vijayaraghavan says, "We will get the best out of modern processes for the ashram's artisans without affecting their traditional values." With the ashram's website about to come up, Swamy is full of plans for the future, like a self-reliant commune for artists and artisans. The humble ashram certainly looks set for bigger things. |
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 © Living Media India Ltd |
The
drive to Kizha Ambur village in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu takes
you through miles of parched land dotted with boulders and oil palms. As
you near the village the road narrows, and a pair of beautifully carved
metal gates appear. Ahead of you is a large mansion. Inside, young men and
women squat on the floor, engrossed in working on metal or carving statues
out of wood and stone. A sadhu with a flowing beard in a white dhoti walks
around supervising things, stopping occasionally to assist someone.
young men and women in the traditional crafts and get their products
accepted by the world finally appears to have been recognised. The work of
the ashram's artisans will be showcased at Expo 2000 during the
prestigious Hannover Fair in Germany that starts on June 1.