Instant but lasting impression

WANT A portrait of your children or yourself drawn within 15 to 20 minutes ? Chennai has its own equivalent of street artists, though only temporary - at the festival of Crafts and Food being held at Gandhi Mandapam, Guindy.

Students from the Government College or Arts and Crafts, Kumbakonam, help visitors get an instant portrait, using pencil on paper, for Rs.50.

The response from visitors is encouraging, says a student doing his II year arts course. ``It helps us improve our skill and earn simultaneously. On an average 15 to 20 sketches are made by us everyday,'' he says.

Another attraction of the festival is the palm leaf painting done by craftsmen from Orissa. Mr. Sudam Charan Swain from Raghurajpur near Puri, says the images are first sketched on the leaves and etched with a sharp tool. Vegetable/leaf dyes and pigments are used to colour the images.

Finally, the leaves are arranged one below the other and stitched on a cloth so that the palm leaves can be folded. Collectors of such fascinating crafts can indulge themselves, for anything between Rs. 30 and Rs. 7,000. Leather dolls and products made of jute also come at none too expensive prices.

Lace, kalamkari and bidri work from Andhra Pradesh, wooden jewellery and sandal wood carvings from Karnataka, palm leaf and leather crafts from Pondicherry, semi-precious stones and silk paintings from Punjab, stone and wood carvings, terracotta from Uttar Pradesh, cotton sarees from West Bengal, coir products and `pattachitra' - water colour painting on cloth from Orissa, footwear and sandalwood toys from Rajasthan are some of the crafts which the festival has put on show, with the promise that the participants are ``genuine craftspersons.''

Food products manufactured by women entrepreneurs are a highlight. Apart from the icons, terracotta and stone images from Tamil Nadu, `Madurai sungudi' sarees are available.

While the pieces of ethnic craft beckon the visitors', it is the artists who help them leave with an indelible impression - the instant portrait.

The 15-day festival which began on December 23, 1999, is organised by the South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur.

(By V. Venkatasubramanian)

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