SEEMA....with no boundaries.

Seema unlike her name is limitless; her talents know no boundaries and her gurgles of laughter cannot be contained.  Some, seven years back at a lounge in Pune, the only thing that could be heard above  loud “house” music was Seema’s gurgling laugh. I couldn’t help exclaim “That is loud! Who is that?!” and I was introduced to Seema who was still laughing with her friends over some drinks. That was not the last time we met. Over the days and months that went by in Pune we met regularly for short trips, outings and parties and gradually Seema, the person was revealed.  Seema turned out to be a gift hidden under layers and layers of beautiful wrapping papers. What a storehouse of talent?!

Just like our chance meeting , I was shocked when I entered her house and found myself surrounded by a platoon of murals and Ganeshas and his tiny mice. “Whoa!” I declared…still a little confused as to what these things were doing in her house. Then in one quiet corner was Pankaj religiously at work trying to get the shape of the mouse right. I quickly jumped over and congratulated him on his special talent and looked at Seema respectfully thinking what a lady to have let this dear man work in her apartment. He sheepishy smiled and credited Seema for honing his talents. I gasped unbelievingly! Seema?! My friend Seema, good ol’ Seema? Then out came the truth from behind the gurgles of laughter. She modestly whispered that she was a muralist, a painter and a sculptor and runs her business from home. That was some news! After that I started launching questions at her…how? When? Where?.... What else?. That is when I learnt that she was self taught. She never took any formal training. It is only after she was married and like most Indian brides, a homemaker that she decided to utilize her time effectively. She started observing artists in Nagpur and there on, she cultivated an interest in art. She requested permission from painters and muralists to sit beside them and just observe. Later she would go home and paint and express herself and bring it back to those artists for approval. That is how she honed her skills. Wait a minute! Did she just mention “married”? And I thought I was a good friend! I searched the house for pictures and expected those usual signs of a family to suddenly appear on walls or tables or shelves…some pictures perhaps, but they didn’t. Seema guessed what I was thinking and she said that she is a single mother and she is estranged from her husband for over 20 years. This was a lot of information and I was lost. I couldn’t believe what she was saying …she still looked so fit and young and beautiful. She then said she had a daughter a few years younger to me and that she had been raising her daughter on her own and trying to eke out a living with Pankaj’s help through these years. She walked out on her marriage for very painful reasons and has never looked back and has never taken her husband’s help. With a gulp, I digested this information and my respect for Seema grew tenfold. Never could I imagine that a spirit like hers existed beyond all that loud gurgles of laughter and smiling eyes.

Some two or three years back when I spoke to Seema she was on a crossroad. She wanted to quit art because she couldn’t keep up with the rising expenses and take up some desk job. With the art market down due to depression and high inflation rates, her business had taken a serious hit. It tore her to pieces to leave something she loved the most. In her darkest hours she had her talents to see her through…like a family like someone she was connected to from an unknown past…it had been with her. But now she was driven to the point where she was left with no options. At 50 she didn’t have anyone to look after her. 

But I would like to tell everyone who is reading this post that Seema and her art and her expressions are still with her as she is with them. She surpassed the time once again. Her devotional love for her expressions and her resilience is almost spiritual as is evident in her works. What is spirituality if not devotion, harmony and love and that undying single minded connection that one has with nature or with oneself?!

 So, we decided to do our bit for Seema, a great friend and an exceedingly talented individual. Here, we are with her products on display and for sale.

http://kriyakalash.blogspot.in/2012/01/3d-buddha.html
http://kriyakalash.blogspot.in/2012/02/indian-man-and-woman-vases.html
http://kriyakalash.blogspot.in/2012/01/meditate.html
http://kriyakalash.blogspot.in/2012/01/ganesha-clocks.html
http://kriyakalash.blogspot.in/2012/01/ganesha.html

Reflections on Meitei's fading art

                                                Manipuri Dance (Pung Cholom)

As an army officer’s daughter, I got to travel a lot. It wasn’t  a touristy way of seeing places cause most of the time I was riding in heavily armored vehicles and had an entourage of security personnel following me as I explored aptly termed ‘disturbed states’. Last year, I chanced upon an opportunity to travel to Manipur along with my father and I jumped at it.  My first impression of Manipur as I got out of the airport was how bad the roads were. Security was tight due to constant threat by militant groups and there were road blocks after every two minutes. Years of political unrest and military rule had not washed away the beauty of the landscape. The place was almost virginal, untouched by city life but it would have been serenely beautiful had it not been for constant political strife in Manipur.  Imphal, the city capital seemed like a battleground captured with all the security that one could see on the roads. As I peered out of the car to look at a woman police officer directing traffic all I could do was sigh.

That evening however, things changed for the better. As I sat among “lady wives” listening to conversations of how exorbitant food prices were in Manipur and how people were struggling to purchase basic amenities, a painting on the wall caught my attention. It depicted a strong white turbaned man holding onto the reins of a stallion ridden by a beautiful princess. I wanted to know more and walked over to Colonel Rajbir Singh, who was busy enjoying scotch and smoking his cigar in a corner. The colonel was delighted to answer  my questions and thus the night proceeded with him narrating Meitei myths and legends, among them the famous tragic  love story of ‘khamba and thoibi’ (characters in the painting). Manipur then transformed into a land of brave warriors battling elephant and tigers and beautiful princesses sacrificing  all for love.

(Now, the Meitei (s) history can be traced back to the Stone Age, from being nature worshippers, they later converted to Hinduism. The Meitei Hindus arguably belong to the Kshatriyas (the warrior clan) and consider themselves to be descendents of Prince Arjuna (from Mahabharata-the great Indian epic). Being devotees of Lord Krishna they sport large Chandan (sandalwood) tilaks from their nose to foreheads. The men are excellent horsemen and women gifted weavers, making the finest embroidered cotton fabrics. Most of their art reflects religious and mythical motifs and with such rich history and culture, Manipuris have mastered all forms of art whether its dance, paintings, artifacts or the martial arts)

My Manipuri sojourn did not end with an evening listening to Colonel Singh’s narration. Army life has its privileges even in most hostile environment, and my need to learn more about Meitei art was fulfilled with opportunities to visit museums and galleries there. From watching khamba-thoibi , pung cholom, Ras Lila dance forms to visiting handicraft cottages, I did it all. What I realized through the course of my visit was that although the government was doing its bit to promote these artists still a lot is left to be done.

 A trip to Moirang, another city in Manipur, exposed me to artists specializing in wood work. Due to the political climate, there were no tourists visiting this old cultural village. Most of these craftsmen were abandoning art to accommodate occupations that would bring in very little money for food and clean water. Samples of woodworks in Burmese teak were collected from various houses and I was told that I could choose and order the pieces I like. I was saddened by the state of affairs and decided then that something had to be done to keep this art form alive and thriving. Artists needed to get back to their craft and more people needed to know about Meitei art and culture.

(An example of Manipur Woodwork can be seen on of our previous blog posts. Here is the link : http://kriyakalash.blogspot.in/2012/01/manipuri-woodwork.html)

Fast forwarding to a year later, back in Kolkata, a friend and I decided to do our bit in reviving and promoting artisans and their artifacts. Manipur and its Meitei art form is a priority for us. Keeping our hopes and dreams alive we are pushing forward this cause inspired by words of Manipuri poet and social activist Irom Sharmila...

“I’ll spread the fragrance of peace

From kanglei, my birthplace

In the ages to come

It will spread all over the world.”

An ostiary's story

पोथी पढ़ पढ़ मुआ,पंडित भयो न कोए

ढाई आखर प्रेम के,जो  पढ़े सो पंडित होए ….. 

Reading books everyone died, none became very wise.

One who reads the words of love, only becomes wise….

                    (doha or couplets by sant kabir)

A couplet taught to most school children came to mind when we decided to write about an exceptional man from Kolkata. A working man of  no education, he is currently earning a living as a chowkidaar(gatekeeper). A chance meeting at a friend’s place lead to the discovery of Manohar ‘kaku’ and his love for making wire figurines. This is how it all came about……

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and after a meal of ‘panta bhaat’, ‘maacher jhol’ and ‘alu shiddho’ (mouth watering Bengali food) at Anurag’s place we sat chatting over ‘masala chai’ and like many in Bengal, the topic of discussion was a need for some quality art. I argued with my friend Anurag, declaring my displeasure about how art is degenerating into mediocrity. The need for perfection has surely been lost. I would not delve into the irrelevance of that argument anymore for my perception was reversed when I met Manohar ‘kaku’. Anurag took the two of us downstairs to a small little musty room at the outhouse.  There stood ‘kaku’ looking quite comical in his dirty ‘khakhis’ with few odd strands of greys shyly standing on his bare head, gay eyes and a toothless beetel nut smeared smile. While Anurag and my friend were happily interacting with ‘kaku’ I wasn't amused. I looked at Anurag in disbelief, wondering if he is going to pull an all poor emotional angle to prove his point. Oh come on! I am a little uptight I agree but only for the right reason.

Anurag cajoled ‘kaku’ into showing what he had made. ‘Kaku’ all shy giggling like a child showing off his toys came out with most curious little items made of wires. My jaw dropped! Regardless of propriety I took a step forward to take a peek inside his little dark room. As soon as my eyes could adjust to the light, I saw small little things made of wires lined against the wall- a cycle, Gandhi’s Charkha, a cobra, the snake charmer and so on.

Wires… ?! How did he come up with this idea? What was his inspiration? How could his mind possibly think of making such things? With a meager salary of INR 1500 per month and nothing but house pliers at his disposal he created these little things. A security guard of a high rise building in India is not a regular trained personnel but usually an individual from a village, who is hired to stay on guard all night and day, permitted to take short naps in between when no one is looking , and expected to be happy working on a meager salary. He should be ready to act as an electrician, a plumber, and coolie (Man Friday), be good company to catch up on neighbor’s gossip and also the one who takes care of your children while they are playing downstairs. Such multi-skills are a pre-requisite for such a job. But ‘kaku’ is exceptional. Yes, he might not be very skilled at wire-art but with whatever little he has at his disposal and a beautiful imagination at work he creates these curious items within minutes. I forgot all about mediocrity and felt ashamed at my vanity. There is perhaps no mediocrity in true art for it is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.

   

We at kriya kalash wish to help Manohar 'kaku' continue his craft and are displaying his works on this blog, if you want to buy any of these pieces kindly email us on kriyakalash@gmail.com Your contributions will be forwarded to him along with your best wishes.

Encounter with our 'pote' maker

                                         'Pote' maker

                                       Women in rural Nepal wearing 'pote' necklaces

Colorful पोते  necklaces with तिलहरी ,चवादी चोली with फरिया , nose and ears covered with huge gold jewelry and flowers in the hair…..quintessential Nepalese beauty n all her rustic charm.

'pote' (pronounced po-they) are colorful glass beaded necklaces of various colors and length that women in Nepal wear as one of the symbols of marriage,  like a wedding ring or red “sindoor” in the parting of your hair. Though not married, I love the elegance of these handmade beads and wanted pieces that I could wear occasionally. A trip to Nepal lead to the discovery of this wonderful artist who created these necklaces and bracelets using pote and colorful jute strings in his humble backyard. Although not so uncommon (as these beaded jewellery are very often worn by several Nepalese women) he was still at this trade and trying to eke a living out of this. I wondered why isn’t he farming anymore or occupying himself in a trade more lucrative as the competition is clearly stiff in these parts. To this he gave a broken smile as if to say ‘what would you city dwellers know?!'

No! A smile wasn’t good enough for me…I wanted to know. My curiosity getting the better of me I  enquired if I could buy some of the pieces there and pat came the reply with the brightest of smiles.  He thawed after my initial enquiries and was ready to answer most of my questions. The astronomical prices of things, the constant struggle to get his children better educated, the seasonal nature of his crops left him with no option and he says he enjoys his work in some ways. It makes him happy to see women like what he so painstakingly makes, every bead that he so carefully puts together in beautiful colored strings. This is what he has known all his life apart from farming. He can’t change his trade and start afresh. It is too risky he says. So, he prefers staying away from his family for months together, traveling from one city to another, trying to sell these just so that he is able to catch up with his family’s growing needs.

I thought to myself, these are just perfect for my dresses and they will go with my t-shirts alright so, I bought several of these pieces and brought them back to India and tried selling it to my friends. This way, I will not only help this man but also bring these amazing colorful jewellery to all those who want it. What started with one man and with some friends has gone up to a larger scale and now there are several men and women who supply these 'pote' to us and we bring them to a large network of people. 

Indian Man and Woman Vases

                                                       MEASUREMENTS-36'14'14

If you want to be like me, I will help u,knowing that we are alike.
If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind - Anonymous


Fiberglass pieces done by an artist located in Pune, India.


(Price on request) contact us on kriyakalash@gmail.com