Special issue with the Sunday Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU

WOVEN ART : June 20, 1999

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Hues from Nature

Kausalya Santhanam

Consider these contrasts. Natural products obtained from what Nature no longer needs - peels, shells, barks, twigs, flowers and leaves. Artificial substances that harm and exploit the environment. Subdued colours and smooth fabrics that lie gently on the skin in a tropical climate. Stark colours and synthetic textiles that reflect the mood of another culture and lifestyle.

When we can surround ourselves with beautiful hues from Nature's garden and clothe ourselves in natural fibres, why do we go in for blistering synthetics? When we can sink ourselves in soft tones of dusty pink, muted brown and pale yellow, why do we turn instead to unrelieved black and navy blue? When we can nestle among patterns that reflect the lushness of our landscape - blooms, buds, creepers, tendrils, and singing birds - why do we choose plain drab cloth? When we have such an astonishing range of handmade material and such a rich tradition of weaves, prints and dyes, why do we opt instead for impersonal mill-made material? Why do we turn our backs on such beauty and block our minds to the stories of skill, imagination and aesthetics that each handmade, vegetable dyed piece of fabric tells?

There seem to be few answers to these questions as we hurtle into a new age. Blinded by the Western influence we rush headlong into a McDonald and Yves St. Laurent culture, discarding a beautiful tradition that has endured for centuries.

Strange that a nation which once enjoyed the monopoly in textile trade and was renowned for its natural dyed fabrics now goes in for coal tar dyes discarded as harmful by the West.

For vegetable dyes are the colours of India. The deep red of the cherry, the yellow of the turmeric, the lovely green of the henna leaves and the deep blue of the indigo are among the hues that jostle for attention on this colour palette.

India's expertise in vegetable dyes dates back to ancient times. Using mordants to hold fast the dye or resists to selectively prevent them from touching the cloth, were printed bales of whisper-soft textiles. These were sought after in many countries of the world.

The remnants of madder dyed fabric, wrapped on a silver vase, found in Harappa tells us of the antiquity of the mordant process of dyeing in our country. The Arthashastra of Kautilya refers to dyes and their uses and the Ajanta paintings show evidence of printed costume. Even in the millenium before Christ, Indian textiles were known in Egypt. Block printed resist-dyed fabric from India dating back to the 8th century was discovered at Central Asia. From the 15th to the 19th centuries block printed resist-dyed textiles from Gujarat and the Deccan adorned Europeans and their homes. A flourishing trade in vegetable dyed textiles existed between the Golconda region and Qutb Shahi Persia for centuries. Though Persians too had knowledge of vegetable dyeing a great deal of Indian printed material was exported to the country. The Persian trade reciprocally widened the Indian colour card.

The discovery of synthetic dyes in the West in the 19th century dealt a massive blow to the Indian textile industry. When chemical blue displaced natural indigo, it destroyed an entire way of life. Villages of indigo growers starved and were wiped out of existence as the British stopped importing natural indigen. Gandhiji intervened to help them, leading to an important chapter of the Freedom Movement.

The process of making chemical dyes was less elaborate than that of vegetable dyes which was time consuming and depended on sunlight and huge amounts of water. Chemical dyes were also considered "more durable". This led to the decline of vegetable dyes. Once used widely all over the sub-continent, now there are only pockets where pure vegetable dyed fabrics are made and some areas where vegetable dyes are used in conjunction with chemical dyes.

Kalamkari, c. 1640, Madras region. (Natural dyes)

But there has been a revival of interest in vegetable dyes in recent times. The resurgence began when after Independence the Government of India through its handicrafts boards initiated training programmes for craftsmen. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay played a leading role in its revival. In recent times, there has been a fresh upsurge of interest. The "back to nature" movement has refocussed interest in vegetable dyes both in the West and within the country. Chemical dyes have led to environmental degradation, whole rivers have been polluted with clear life-giving waters turning toxic and murky.

Workers handling chemical dyes have been afflicted with respiratory problems. Chemical dyed clothes are harmful to the skin and can cause allergies.

Vegetable dyed fabrics are of three categories - yarn dyed in natural colours and woven; materials block printed with natural dyes and Kalamkari where the "Kalam" or pen is used to draw beautiful designs on the cloth. Today the most popular vegetable dyed fabrics are from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa.

While Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh is famous for Kalamkari, Machilipatnam is known for its fine vegetable dye block printed textiles. Bagh in Madhra Pradesh, Bagru and Sanganer in Rajasthan also make beautiful, block printed fabrics.

Government efforts gave a fillip to the art of vegetable dyeing. It also received a boost as individuals and non-government organisations turned their attention to it.

"Much before it became a fashion, we began doing research in vegetable dyes," says Shakuntala Ramani, Chairperson of the Crafts Education and Research Centre of Kalakshetra. Recently the institution has opened a new sales unit. "There is not much demand within the country because awareness is lacking. It is sought after only by a sophisticated few. The others want maintenance free fabrics in bright colours. We are often asked: 'can't you make the same thing with chemical dyes'?"

But vegetable dyes are mellow and lovely, even the fading is a graceful and an even process. "The background runs and the colours show up; Westerners in the past actually thought it was magic as the colours got brighter with each wash."

The fabrics are not difficult to care for, says Shakuntala. They can be washed at home and dried in the sunlight. If detergents and dry cleaning are avoided, they will last for years.

Those involved in promoting the craft say Government initiates training programmes but does not follow it to its logical conclusion by providing marketing facilities. So craftsmen hawking their exquisite painstakingly made Kalamkari pieces from door to door for throwaway prices is still a heart rending scene in Chennai and other places.

The Crafts Council of India, Dastakar and the Madras Craft Foundation (MCF) are among the organisations that help artisans by providing design inputs and holding exhibitions. "The Kalamkari craftsmen are a heterogenous group, however, and do not come together to pool in expertise and share their experience," says Gita Ram of the MCF.

Among the individuals who have worked for the revival of vegetable dyes are K.V.Chandramouli and Toofan Rafai.

Ajay Lall

Toofan Rafai has devoted a lifetime to research of vegetable dyes and has expanded the range to 250 nuanced shades. He has simplified the methods of production eliminating the need for sunlight and huge water resources. The artist has popularised the technique and the use of vegetable dyes worldwide through lectures and demonstrations.

Under Rafai's guidance, Sheela Balaji who set up Soundarya in Chennai was able to use contemporary techniques and designs. "Instead of the old method of Kalamkari where the cloth is repeatedly dyed and washed, we were able to print it which led to clarity of colour and design," says Sheela.

Soundarya had a steady market for its products.

There are units like these all over the country helping to popularise vegetable dyed fabrics among which "Anokhi" of Jaipur is well known.

The late K. V. Chandramouli who was associated with the Kalakshetra for many years was a byword in the knowledge of vegetable dyes. He was the trustee of the Patriotic and People Oriented Science and Technology (PPST) group, an all India organisation which aims at using science and technology to serve the needs of Indian society and the people. A three-day workshop on vegetable dyes was conducted in 1995 at the Anna University in Chennai, where the voluntary organisation is located, to take stock and to plan for the future. One hundred persons - craftsmen, entrepreneurs, exporters, experts - from all over the country working in the field participated. "We have been trying to strengthen components of industry which will have sustainable development in this section," says L. Kannan of PPST. "The knowledge people possess regarding vegetable dyes was the individual property of the artisan group. We should give them back that knowledge." The wheel has turned full circle and people are going back to vegetable dyes. Since there is a danger of industrial houses overshadowing the artisan leading to his marginalisation, one's work should be oriented towards bringing him back into the picture. "We need to tread cautiously, for attempts to encourage the craft could be counter-productive. Several corporate companies are trying to make powder extracts to make the process easy. It will have an adverse impact on our ecology if certain dyes are produced in bulk as roots, barks and flowers have various uses in medicine and other fields."

The ideal solution is for promotion to be linked in a sustainable way with the community of artisans and ecology. Smaller scales of production using a wide variety of natural resources would be the answer, says Kannan.

A range of products was displayed at the exhibition following the workshop. Fresh applications included items such as socks and underclothes worn nearest the skin.

Boutiques and designers have played a significant role in creating appreciation for our traditional textiles including woven or vegetable dyed saris, cushion covers, bedspreads, table covers, salwar kameez sets and so on.

"Finding new application for our traditional textiles is the best way to ensure their future," says Bamini Narayanan of Shilpi boutique in Chennai. "We have designed skirts, waistcoats and tops for youngsters from Bagru and Kalamkari prints."

The future of these fabrics is in our hands, she avers. "During the Quit India Movement, we wore Swadeshi with pride. Now we are slavishly apeing the West. Buying a pair of jeans is like buying a tube of toothpaste whereas when you buy a product from the village, it tells a complete story having touched so many lives. The future for all our traditional textiles is for us to wear our 'Made in India' labels with pride."

As in all other spheres, in vegetable dyes too we turn to our own only when the West looks longingly at it. It is not on a fickle export market that the potential of vegetable dyes rests but on a steady local demand which should come from all of us to sustain a tradition in which our nation has a millennia-old lead over most other nations of the world.

Nurturing a vibrant tradition Excuse me, madam, Kalamkari is both a craft and a textile tradition," he points out politely when you meet him for an interview. Sixty-two-year old J. Gurappa Chetty is not the usual craftsman who is uncomfortable outside his familiar setting. Articulate and confident, he has an excellent command of English facilitating interaction with elite buyers, foreign customers and promoters of his craft. Not to forget journalists. The National award winner of 1976 for his 20m Ramayana panel sits surrounded by the tools of his trade at the Dakshinachitra Museum, Chennai where he has come to participate in an exhibition-cum-demonstration of Kalamkari. Beautiful creations in the traditional style - Rama Pattabhishekam, Krishna's exploits, the Tree of Life - flank Gurappa Chetty as he sketches a complete picture of the art form and the problems artists face. Kalamkari is the art of using the kalam or pen to draw intricate free hand pictures with vegetable dyes. The craft is an ancient one and mythology is the main source of themes for the Kalamkari artist as these works were primarily intended for use as backcloths in temples. The work involves as many as 17 stages with the cloth being washed at every step. A variety of natural products such as buffalo's milk to make the cloth sturdy and dung for bleaching are used. "I belong to the third generation of Kalamkari artists in my family," says Gurappa Chetty "and my son J. Niranjan, who has produced some of these intricate pieces, is a skilled Kalamkari artist too." "In 1955 when Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay wanted to revive Kalamkari, officials found only two artists in Sri Kalahasti - one was my father J.Lakshmiah and the other was Kalappa, our relative. A pilot training centre was started in Sri Kalahasti by the All Indian Handicrafts Board. (The Central Government has since wound up the centre.) P.V. Jayan/Wilderfile "The craft has developed well," says Gurappa, "and now there are 150 artists practising it." The highest income earned by a craftsman is Rs. 7,000 a month and the lowest Rs. 1,500. There is demand but we are not able to meet it for an artist may not have the particular piece a customer is looking for at that point of time. Quality is sometimes affected when artists who depend on quick sales for their day-to-day needs produce too many pieces without devoting adequate time to the execution. The Central Government has many schemes to help the craftsmen. "The benefits however are not going to the craftsmen but to the middlemen," he says angrily, "as the former are preoccupied with their work and have no time for the marketing aspect." Although there are so many voluntary organisations, only 10 per cent of them are serving the craftsmen properly, he feels. Gurappa Chetty is appalled at the prevailing widespread corruption. Government officers act like brokers and demand a percentage of the sales even at exhibitions. Formerly there was less corruption in the Education and Handicrafts departments compared to other departments. "Now they too have become corrupt," he says sadly. "Money is also being made by guides who bring tourists to Kalamkari worksheds in Kalahasti. They are fleecing foreigners. I was once asked by a guide to quote Rs. 7,500 when the price of the item was only Rs. 4,500. Won't this bring a bad image to the craft and the country? I even have her name written down," he says, eagerly opening a small notebook and pointing to a neatly written address. Gurappa waxes eloquent about the virtues of vegetable dyes. "The whole process is a natural and scientific one. Many of the dyes are extracted from material that have medicinal properties. Myrobalan gives the cloth strength and protects our body. The red dye is obtained from barks which are used for treating rashes and abrasions; the yellow is from turmeric which shields the body from germs. Our ancients were wise for they perfected a technique that is beneficial to our health and does not pollute the environment. As in other fields, practice makes perfect in Kalamkari too, says Gurappa. "Our customers are our gods and we are open to fresh ideas and designs. 'Would you object to Christian themes?' a German once asked me. He sent me a Bible and I made panels with Christian subjects while retaining the Indian costumes and figures. I have tried out 'harmony themes' too - Hindus visiting mosques, Hindus and Muslims embracing each other and socialising. On Gita Ram's suggestion, I've recently tried out a shandy scene and also of the neem tree and its uses. Both pieces sold well. Kalamkari saris have a good market and the wall hangings do well too," says Gurappa. "Kalamkari artists have a bright future." "There are crores of engineers and doctors in the country but only 150 Kalamkari artists," Gurappa says with quiet pride. Such a sense of self-worth and the blend of the savvy and sincere is what reassures those concerned about the future of our craft traditions. If there are more craftspersons like Gurappa Chetty, Kalamkari is sure to flourish.