Lacquer ware of Andhra Pradesh: Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Lacquer ware of Andhra Pradesh

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Published in AP Times on 19^th October 1996

The human desire and passion for possession of artefacts has always been a status symbol especially among the different classes. Their patronage had exerted large influence on the growth of crafts. Lacquer-ware craft has been no exception. The rich and harmonious surface decoration, the perfection in design and above all the comparative low price has given an edge to lacquer-ware craft over many other sister crafts.

The term ‘lacquer’ takes its origin from the Sanskrit word Lakcha meaning a protective varnish, a coating which was being given in the past to household articles. The base of this material is resin Lac, the gummy deposit of the insect Techadria Lacca.

The Lacquer-ware craft in Andhra Pradesh has been around for over eight decades. It is being practised as a cottage industry and is concentrated in Etikoppaka and Yelimanchilly in Vizag district; Gummidadala and Bhontapally in Medak district; and Tirupati and Karlapudi in Chittoor district. Around 300 artisans are said to be engaged in this craft producing annually about Rs. 25-45 Lakh worth of articles.

The craft which began modestly with the use of hand lathes later is also practised on power operated lathes. The limitation in size and range of items turned out on hand lathes has compelled the use of power operated lathes which has distinct advantages in optimising production, reducing cost of production and thereby increasing the earnings and crafts persons.

A unique feature of lacquer craft practised in Andhra Pradesh is involvement of women to the extent of painting and lacquering only. The men concentrate on turning and shaping of wood on lathes.

In view of the elaborate production process, the craft necessitates the use of different varieties of raw material. Wood is the basic raw material. ‘Pala Kurcha’, ‘Odde Karra’, ‘Malagu’ and ‘Andagu’ are some of the local species of wood used by the crafts persons. These are basically closely grained and oil less wood which render them most suitable for the craft is taken out. Button Lac, Litho-phone powder, aniline and acremin group of dyes, Kevada leaves, sand paper, poster colours, enamel paints, turpentine and other hardware are some of the other important materials used.

The craft of late has become predominantly mechanised. While hand lathes and power operated lathes form the basic implements, saw, chisels, files and other cutting tools in varying sizes form the accessories. The preparation of coloured Lac sticks is one of the important processes in the craft. Shellac is first melted by holding it over a fire till it is plastic. Then a small amount of pigment (dyes) mixed in water or oil and a given proportion of litho-phone powder is strenuously added over the fire till it achieves homogeneity and consistency of a rubber. The Lac is then made into sticks of required sizes. The craftsmen at Etikoppaka are, off late, using natural dyes in the preparation of colour Lac sticks.

The wood which is cut to desired size is kept for partial seasoning. Later it is shaped on a hand or power operated lathe with the help of chisels and other hand tools. The surface is then smoothened by application of sand paper. The colour stick is then applied on the revolving wood wherein the Lac adheres on the surface due to friction. Thereafter, finer and smooth finishing is given on the surface by the Kevada leaf with small quantity of any sweet oil. For further decorations and designs, oil paints or water colours are used. Belans, toys, tops, birds and animals, kumkum and powder boxes etc., are some of the important items being presently manufactured.

Though the craft has become a viable proportion, it has its own problems. The requirement of good quality wood is becoming increasingly scarce and more expensive. In a haste to execute orders, the artisans use unseasoned wood which ultimately tells on the quality of the finished product. The crafts persons have not been adequately exposed to intermediary technology which has adversely affected production and profits.

However, sustained efforts from the Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation, District Rural Development Agency and Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh provide some relief to the crafts persons. A wood seasoning plant project sponsored by the United National Development Programme, which is in the offing, might also provide great relief to the craft persons in the near future.

On the critical assessment of the craft in Andhra Pradesh, it is observed that items turned out are conventional in designs, crude in finish and cater only to local markets. Design and technology go hand in hand. There is immense scope for introduction of new and innovative designs and appropriate intermediary technology. Regional Design and Technical Development Centre (RDTDC) Bangalore has evolved more than 1300 design prototypes in the craft. It has also evolved simple tools and equipment for the craft which have been systematically disseminated through the handicrafts departmental training centre at Tirupati.

The craft is making progress in design development, technology and market development. The craftsmen on their part are also developing an attitude of self reliance by being receptive to the changes as per the buyers’ tastes. They are even eager and ready to avidly adopt improvement in techniques and methods which are evolved as a result of research and development taking place all-round.

The Regional Design and Technical Development Centre, Bangalore is one of the four such centres, along with the ones at Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi established in the year 1956 to carry out research work with a view to revive and revitalise age old traditional and hereditary crafts. The centre concentrates on the development of crafts like wood carvings, kinhal, stone carvings, Tanjore decorative work, pottery, inlay work, lacquer turning, costume jewellery with metal ware etc. Special surveys are also undertaken by this centre for the purpose of collecting information about the existing and languishing including tribal, folk and other crafts in the region. Survey of languishing crafts including the existing ones in the region are also being undertaken periodically by the technical staff. The centre also extends design and technical assistance to crafts-persons, cooperatives, craft industries, marketing agencies, exporters etc., in the region by providing prototypes of new designs produced at the centre. The centre also provides training facilities to craftsmen to improve their skills.

In order to give a further impetus to the efforts of Regional Design and Technical Development Centre of Bangalore and also to popularise the designs evolved, design workshops on lacquer-ware crafts of Andhra Pradesh were conducted frequently at the common facility centres like the one at Gummidadala of Narsapur taluk in Medak district. Workshop held in such remote places in order to disseminate the designs of as many crafts-persons as possible boost the confidence of artisans.

About 1300 and odd designs in lacquer-ware developed by the Regional Design and Technical Development Centre, Bangalore are on display at these workshops. The centre conducted such workshops at several places over a period. Crafts-persons from various crafts pockets of Andhra Pradesh participate in the workshops as and they are held besides exporters, designers and other developmental agencies to interact with the participating crafts-persons.

Cherial’s Scroll Paintings – Struggling to Survive: Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Cherial’s Scroll Paintings – Struggling to Survive

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Published in AP Times (Hyderabad Edition) on 28^th August 1996

With barely three artists now practicing the craft of painting on cloth, traditionally known as “Scroll paintings of Cherial”, the age old art of telling a story literally and figuratively, in typical folk style, would have vanished had the Development Commissioner for Handicrafts of the Government of India not sanctioned a training scheme to revive and revitalise the craft. But, the full credit for preserving the craft should go to D. Chandraiah Nakash and his brother D. Vaikuntam Nakash, the two descendants of folk artists, tirelessly engaged in the making of a number of scroll paintings at Cherial. Both brothers, besides painting scrolls in powder colours on handloom cloth also make wooden figures using “Puniki Wood” which is light in weight and also used for making Kondapalli, Nirmal and Etikoppaka toys. The traditional Scroll Paintings are used as visual aids for the story telling traditions.

Cherial is a village near Jangaon of Warangal District in the Telangana Region of Andhra Pradesh, where the art of painting on cloth is kept alive in its true and traditional form by these two families. Unlike several traditional handicrafts of Andhra Pradesh, or for that matter of India, this art form is not yet adulterated either in its designs or colour schemes and combinations.

Rajasthan has a rich tradition of folk paintings. Part of this heritage is the “Phada” a large painting on cloth, which commemorates the deeds of a hero from Rajasthan’s colourful past. The smaller version of this type is known as “Phadakye”. The stories of Phadas or Phadakye are chanted by the members of the “Bhopa” caste and are painted by members of the “Chippa” Caste called Joshis in Rajasthan.

“Chitra Deep”, a souvenir published as a tribute to the painters and artists of south India, by the Crafts Council of Andhra Pradesh reported that the scroll paintings of Cherial were used by the village bards describing verses from the epics and other Puranas. Describing them as “one of the best examples of audio visual aids”, it is said that “scrolls running into several metres were unrolled before a rapt audience under the “banyan tree” in the temple compound or even in the village square while the bard narrated, taking them into the pages of the story as the scroll unfolded its images to them”.

According to Jagdish Mittal of Jagdish and Kamal Mittal Museum of Indian Art in Hyderabad “the traditional pictorial expression in India manifested itself in many different forms and painted scrolls is one of them”. The scroll paintings depict both religious and secular themes and were used in the past to educate and entertain people”. He expressed the view that the “Telangana Scrolls narrate the origin of a particular caste and eulogise the daring exploits of their legendary hero”.

Traditional painting has always had something to do with religion. The great tradition of mythology and epics were conveyed in visual form through traditional painting. It was a collective expression, a pictorial conception of the total body of myth, ritual, magic and religion bequeathed by one generation to the next in a given social structure, according to Sankho Chaudhuri and Amit Mukhopadhyay.

In their introduction to a booklet on “Traditional paintings: Old and New”, published by Lalit Kala Academi in 1989, they wrote that the scroll painters cater to the needs of story tellers who tour the village and country side and regale villagers showing visual images that are often set to music. Their experience has been that, they have known washermen, toddy tappers and weaves in Andhra Pradesh commissioning Nakashis to paint their own favourite themes and stories pertaining to their local and ethnic gods and goddesses.

Jadupata Paintings of Bihar, Phad Paintings of Rajasthan, the illustrated scrolls of the Garoda in Gujarat and Pata paintings of Orissa are some of the traditional paintings of our country besides scroll paintings of Cherial. Kalamkari paintings of Andhra Pradesh, the Tanjavore Paintings, Chitrakathi paintings of Maharashtra, Nathdwara paintings of Rajasthan, Kalighat Paintings of West Bengal, Gold Leaf paintings of Karnataka and Madras deserves to be mentioned. There are many more like Madhubani Paintings of Bihar and Kangra style painting of Himachal Pradesh.

The folk artists of scroll paintings of Cherial belong to Nakashis-meaning one who makes pictures-a community that might have migrated from Rajasthan about a couple of hundred years ago. The scrolls are usually vertical and may sometimes be 40 to 50 feet long. The work begins with preparation of cloth. Cora cloth, which is normally bought either in the nearby local market or at the district headquarters, Warangal is used. The cloth is treated with a paste of rice-starch, Tiruman Gum, white clay (Sudda) and water. Lime is also used to soften it. After the treatment with the paste of above mixture the cloth is dried in the sun.

The theme of the painting is drawn on the dry cloth with Jaju powder solution. The background is filled with red colour. The figure, their attire and ornaments are given different colours. The frequently used colours are green, blue, yellow, maroon etc. Black is used for the outline. Black dye is made by mixing soot from kerosene lamp with groundnut oil. Hair from the goat’s tail is used to make bristle of the brushes which are used to paint broad outlines and filling in work. Normally the women, wives of the artist do the outlines and other minor work. Though, earlier, colours were prepared from vegetable dyes, these days cakes of mineral and chemical colours are mixed with gum from Tiruman tree. The scrolls come alive with the vibrant figures that emerge.

The themes of the scroll paintings are usually episodes from the Mahabharata and other folklores. The oldest theme is the Markandeya Puranam which is 500 years old. Others are Madelu Puranam, Arjun Tapas, Arjun and Shiva with Parvati, Krishna, Radha and Gopika, Virataparvam, Daksha Yagnam, Parvati Kalyanam etc.

The communities of story tellers are categorised based on the themes they expose such as Ramayana as Arthapodu, Mahabharata as Kakipodika, Goudapuranam as Gowdachetty, Madelu Puranam as Chakalipata Naidu, Markandeya Puranam as Konapuli, Jambavanta story as Dokkota and Daksha Yagnam as Guruppa.

According to Jagdish Mittal, the earliest surviving scroll depicting the legend of Markandeya and Bhavanrishi dates back to 1625 and carries the date November in the year 1644 as the date of transfer of ownership. No other paintings of Indian scrolls have existed for so many years.

The Cherial scroll paintings are ideal wall hangings, some of them several meters long.

The art of scroll paintings was also practiced in Anupuram, a small village in Karimnagar district though only on a very small scale. Unfortunately, the artists of this area could not withstand the influence of calendar styles. There has been little folk or tradition in their rendering.

The rural based source of entertainment is sustained by the people’s belief that they attain “Punya” and go to heaven after death by listening to the stories from the epics. These programmes are arranged from January to April which is a lean reason for farmers. However, the patronage is dwindling.

Dhanalakota Chandraiah, who practiced the craft for several years, has a family of eight of which only four could be engaged in the craft. He won National Merit Award in 1979-80 and in 1983, besides winning district level awards in 1982 and 1983 and State Merit Award in 1986. Similarly Dhanalakota Vykuntham, who too used to practice, has a family of four with just two of them engaged in the craft. He is also engaged in training enthusiastic artisans to keep the art alive. He too won state level merit awards. It is high time that those concerned with the preservation of the rich tradition of Andhra arts and crafts take necessary steps to keep the craft alive and pass it on to future generations.

Post Script: According to AP handicrafts Development Corporation Officials, the consistent efforts put up by them helped the craft not only survive but also helped the artisans to market their product in a better manner.