Picturesque works in hay
DUNSTAN S. MORRIS
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K. Babu, a practitioner of `hay art,' has won several awards.
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Thrikkadavur in Kollam district is perhaps the only place in the world where `hay art' is found, says K. Babu, master craftsman. A challenging statement by one who has been practising this craft that has been passed down through three generations.
Trained by Thrikkadavur Victor (founder and national award winner), Babu is the recipient of the national award in 1996, from the Handicrafts Development Commission, Government of India, Ministry of Textiles and the Entrepreneur Award for Excellence from the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries, in 2006, besides several state awards. A much sought after artist, he has participated in exhibitions in India and abroad.
Works
He has made portraits and sceneries, which adorn the walls of prestigious institutions. One of Babu's notable works is `Sree Rama Pattabhishekam,' a picture measuring four by three feet, which took three months to execute, and secured the 1996 national award for him.
Hay craft is a fascinating art. The type of hay used is known as `Cheraadi,' which, apart from the natural colour of the hay, has a deep golden colour obtained by dipping the hay in a powdered solution.
The strips of hay are split open by a knife and smoothed and polished with the blade of the knife. The polished blade of hay called `nalam' is dipped in Arabic gum, and pasted on a board.
The board, which has a black cloth stretched on it, has the outline of the design in pencil. Hay is also pasted on sketches on oilpaper, which are then cut out, and pasted on the board. The completed picture is put under a machine press for 24 hours, for merging the picture with the background.
UNIQUE CRAFT: K. Babu has won several awards for his works using hay.
A small workshop, which employs 10 skilled women workers, produces pictures in straw of different sizes, with speed. Lack of human resources is the problem facing this handicraft work, where demand exceeds supply.
Lacking attractive financial returns, existing workers are quitting the field for fresh pastures.
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