Chapter – 3

DIFFERENT ARTS & CRAFTS (A SELECT STUDY) AND THEIR

TECHNIQUES OF MANUFACTURING – COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY

I. METALWARE:

1. Bidri Art Ware

2. Dokra Metal Castings

3. Sheet Metal Art Ware

(Pemberthy, Budhiti & Kodimiyal)

4. Silver Filigree

II. CARVINGS:

5. Wooden (Red Sanders Wooden Toys)

6. Stone

III. TOYS AND DOLLS:

7. Nirmal Toys

8. Ettikoppaka Toys

9. Kondapally Toys

IV. TRADITIONAL PAINTINGS:

10. Kalamkari Paintings

11. Nirmal Paintings

12. Cheriyal Scroll Paintings

V 13 LEATHER PUPPETS

VI 14 TIE AND DYE

VII 15 CARPET WEAVING

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I. METALWARE

1. Bidri Art Ware

“Bidri Ware” or „Bidari Ware‟ is a term derived from “Bidar” „Bidari‟ ware

which means the wear that is prepared at Bidar1. Bidar was part of erstwhile the

Hyderabad State and after 1956 it has become part of Karnataka State bordering the

Andhra Pradesh, it is 83 miles from Hyderabad.

Bidri ware is as old as a few centuries dating back to Kakatiya time. Bidri ware is

also known as “Damascene” probably derived from the word „Damascus‟, the original

place of the Bidri craft.

Bidri craft is mainly an art of inlaying of a metal on a different matter.

Damascening and encrustation both denote the surface ornamentation of one metal by the

application of others. In damascening (Koftgari) iron or steel is usually ornamented with

gold or silver wire. In the various forms of encrusted work, the ground metal is rarely

steel and the applied metals into two main classes according as the applied metal is raised

above or left below the surface. Tanjore ware is representative of the first class, and Bidri

of the second, though in some forms of bidri the applied metal is mainly above the

surface much as in Tanjoreware. The art of damascening appears to have originated with

the ornamentation of swords and other weapons but in modern India it is also applied to

the adornment of articles for domestic use. The chief damascening centers are Sailkot,

Gujarat, and Lahore in Punjab, Jaipur, Alwar and Siroli in Rajputana, Datia in Central

48
India, Hyderabad and Travancore2. Bidri is also a type of damascening year, however

metal plate of an alloy of zinc, copper, tin, lead is used but zinc is bulk forms the base3.

However the exact history of Bidri ware and its continuation is difficult to locate.

It is said that a few centuries back it was brought from Iraq / Iran. As the case of the

other arts, this art was also excelled in the state of Rajasthan, it is said that a noble man

by name Khaja Mohinuddin was the person who was an expert in this art came down to

Bijapur, and settled there. He use to prepare the so called bidri ware now and then selling

articles for his livelihood; subsequently a person by name Shivanna who is a carpenter

learnt this art and he is the first known artist in this field around 600 years ago. Shivanna

and his family used to prepare bidri art crafts for the presentation to Nawab and other

royal persons4.

During early 1500 C. AD, Allauddin II was very much impressed with the

presents he received in the form of Bidriware and asked the Bidriware artists to come and

stay with him in Bidar and gradually the art was learnt by many craftsmen and they use to

prepare different art items under this category for the royal and noble families5.

The craft was encouraged and developed under the patronage of Bahamani kings

and during “Baridshahi” dynasty rule, it was the peak period for the development of this

art6. It gained such popularity that the art traveled to Bengal, UP, Bihar ad other places.

However, during the later part of 19th century the art has come down and its importance

was reduced to minimal level.

49
 During the end of the19th century the original Bidri artists have become very few,

there were two artists by name Ramanna and Irasangu, who were the experts in

engraving. The then Nizam Government took keen interest to see that this art survived.

They took steps and a school was organized to propagate this dying art. Ramanna and

Irasangu were appointed as teachers of this art school. Master craftsmen like

Veerabhadra, Imamuddin, Faizuddin, Abdul Razaq, Hussain Saheb, Shaik Vazir, and

Mohiuddin Khan were produced, under the guidance of this school7. The design is drawn

with free hand on the surface then engraved with a sharp chisel in varying depths as

demanded by the design8.

Manufacturing Technqiue:

In the production of Bidri artware, there are different steps like mould making,

inlay work and polishing. The raw materials that are used are mainly a mixture of zinc

and copper mixed in the proportions of 16: 1, the other raw materials include red clay,

resin, castor oil, sangjeera (white stone powder), coal, bees wax, copper sulphate, silver,

gold, sand paper, clay of an old fort or a ruins (having salt petre), lead, salammonia, tin,

ground nut oil and charcoal9.

The first stage of this art comprises the mould making, and casting, for this - zinc,

copper, red clay resin, castor oil, Sangjeera, coal and bee wax are used. The second stage

50
includes engraving, inlaying and finishing by polish. For this copper sulphate, silver,

gold, sand paper, clay of old fort or ruins, lead, tin, ground nut oil and charcoal are used.

Tools and implements used in this craft are files - round and flat of various sizes, -

drill, scraper, hammer, blower, teapoy or small stool and small hammer, vice, grinder,

saw, scissors, pliers, wire drawing scale, tongs, balance, scales, crucible, brush, polish

brush and chisels10.

Coming to the actual production technique, as said above it is divided into 1)

mould making and casting 2) engraving and inlaying and 3) polishing and finishing11.

The first process is the mould making. In mould making, the required article that

is to be made (Hukka base, vase, etc.) is first prepared in clay, then in the last wax

process the zinc and copper mixed vessel is prepared, then it is smoothened with hand

polishing12. However, in the present day modern technology lathe machines are used for

making the surface smooth. After making this vessel or product, the design or pattern that

is to be appeared is engraved carefully. This engraving will be of a millimeter‟s depth

depending on the thickness of the silver wire used to embed in the fine groove that is

made. Sangjeera powder is dusted all over. Now with a fine cloth the product is wiped,

this makes the actual design on the product appears in a clear manner. The next step is

silver wire filling in the grooves this filling of silver wire into the groove is called

„bithana”13. The wire that is fitted into groove is slightly hammered so that the wire will

tightly fit in the groove and will not be let loose in or over the object.

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 If there are any projections or depressions they are leveled with fine files. At this

point the object is more or less finished except the polishing and finishing. The final stage

includes blackening the base material with salt peter containing clay and salammoniac are

mixed in sufficient water in the ratio of 30:5 and the solution is boiled in an open iron

vessel on a charcoal hearth. The finished article is now given a dip in this hot solution.

The effect is magical. The zinc alloy turns permanently into jet black while the silver

retains its brilliance. The effect becomes very charming with white shining pieces on a

black surface. This is the climax of the bidri process14.

There are a variety of hukka basis, bell shaped furnisher legs, elongated spiral designed

legs for beds all with rich silvery praceries on them, tender cooking betel boxes with

diagonal lines, powder boxes in octagonal shaped with a peacock with its fethers spread

all over ; coconet shaped lamps; mirror frames with creepers crawling round the frame ;

spoons; paper cutters, buttons, fish shaped ash trays, lotus shaped goblets covered with

refined designs15 .

Now the product is ready for finishing by polishing. For this purpose, a paste of

fine charcoal and groundnut oil is prepared, it is applied in the small quantity on the

finished article. Now using a fine cotton clothe the product is glazed, the product takes

more polish on more rubbing16. And the products are stored in dust proof dry weather for

store or sale.

52
 Few art metal ware can compare with Bidriware in its wide range of variety,

orginolity of designs and the heights of aesthetic imagination to wahich it has risen17.

2. Dokra Metal Castings

The brass and bell metals images, known as Dokra work produced in the tribal

areas of eastern and central India, are hollow – cast votive images reflecting the

archetypal dynamism of pre-historic tradition18.

Dokra metal castings as the name suggests is a casting techniques by which

different types of objects and items are produced mainly in Brass and Copper. This art is

found mainly in Adilabad and Srikakulum Districts of Andhra Pradesh and confined to

purely Tribal areas.

In these two districts also only Adilabad District tops with four of its villages –

Ushagaon, Jaynogoan, Chintal Bari, and Cinnedari which are famous for the products of

the Dokra Metal Crafts.

The name of this art is derived from the “Dokra Damar” tribes of West Bengal

who are experts in this art. Although this art is extended amongst the tribes of

Dandakaranya from Bihar to Andhra Pradesh, the art has retained its name as “Dokra”

53
metal casting due to its origin in Dokra tribe of West Bengal. Presently this art has been

extended even to the Southern India states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Metal workers in this craft are two types – those resident in or near tribal areas, an

itinerant castes called „Dokras‟ who move from village to village in bullock carts and set

up roadside foundaries where they produce their wares19.

In Andhra Pradesh although it is called Dokra metal casting the actual tribe

involved in this art are Gonds and the other local tribes involved in this art are the

Mulias,Dhuruvas and other lesser known tribes that lived in the deep forest.

Unlike other arts, Dokra metal casting displays a clear cut tribal appearance in what ever

subject that is choosen. One can easily identify this art from metal cast figures because of

its different technique of manufacturing .The most popular products of this art include the

hanging peacock lamps, lamps with different ornamentation, animals like horse,deer,

elephants, tribal goddess Danteshwari,Gond Couples, Drummers and Dancers etc.

Manufacturing Technique

The manufacturing technique of these art objects is basically casting type which is

nothing but the lost wax method. The cire perdue, or lost wax process of casting has been
20
developed into a fine art in India . It involves four steps in the process. Themodel in

54
clay is made first. Then the model is covered with the strips of bees‟ wax. This wax,

coated model is then coated with multiple layers of clay and casting the figure by pouring

the molten metal. A small model (normally Dokra metal casting figures are small in

natures not beyond 6 or 7 inches in height &width) in clay is made of the required figure.

This is not a finished model in clay but a basic structure with probable shape. Over this

basic clay model a series of thin bees‟ wax strings are attached as if it is made out of the

bees wax strips, attaching these wax strings is a very developed art on the basic structure

of the desired figure. To make this wax non-sticky a small amount of oil with little

quantity of resin is mixed. With the winding of these wax strings the final shape and the

details of the figure are obtained.

This model is dried under shade for one day, once the model is dried, it is coated

with multiple layers of clay without disturbing the wax on the model, while coating with

clay one or two outlet channels are left on the clay coating. These channels are for

removing the air inside and to pour the molten metal in to the mould. Now this whole

piece of clay coated and mould is slightly heated by which process the inside bees wax is

melted leaving the space of desired object to be filled with molten metal, now molten

metal is carefully poured in to one of the outlets. The molten metal occupies the place

inside the mould, vacated by the molten bees‟ wax.

The excess metal after filling the inside mould will be drained through another

outlet, the whole mould with the liquid metal inside will be allowed to cool and setting.

55
Once the metal is solidified, it gets the beautiful shape of the original bees wax

preparation.

Now the outer clay covering is broken with small hammer and to expose actual

figure casted in metal.

The Dokra metal cast figures are of two types one with the basic clay figure inside

the metal casting and the other is only with the Skelton works of metal figure.

For obtaining the first type the outer clay mould is broken with a small hammer

exposing the metal figure with solid clay inside, if a skelton figure that is the second type

is desired, the whole thing is dipped in water after breaking the outer clay coat so that the

inside clay will become either soft or dissolved leaving only the metal cast like a filigree

design

3. Sheet Metal Art Ware

This craft is a also as Kakatiyan dynasty which ruled the region about 1300 years

ago. The unique brass work of Pembarti reflects the art forms of the nearby Lepakshi,
21
Oragallu and Ramappa temples . Pembarti is a small village on the Warangal -

Hyderabad highway in Andhra Pradesh. Right from the Kakatiyan period, Pembarti is

famous for metal handi crafts22. These metal crafts show a high degree of proficiency of

56
the artisans of Pembarti. Budhiti is in Srikakulam District and Kodimiyal is in

Karimnagar District of Andhra Pradesh.

Pembarti metal crafts are famous for two types of art. One is three dimensional

religious idols and the other one is of sheet metal type. Pembarti metal crafts are famous

like Tanjore bronzes and from Pembarti only brass, bronze and copper or Panchaloha

idols for different temples in Andhradesa were supplied. Not only the idols but also the

architectural and iconographical elements like Kirti Mukhas and Prabhavalis of temples

were supplied from Pembarti.

The popular metal crafts from Pembarti include Mayura lamps, hanging lamps,

Dasavatara and Astalakshmi panels in oblong and round shapes both in the three

dimensional forms as well as circular and square sheet forms. There are also the panels of

Mahabharata and Ramayana, Ustava vigrahas and different types and shapes of temple

lamps23. With the advent of Muslim kingodm after defeating Kakatiyan rule, the artisans

also forced to change their subject matters from Hindu religious items to the Muslim

house hold items. The Muslim rulers also partronized the metal crafts from Pembarti.

During the Muslim rule the new versions of muslim rulers‟ liking included Pandans,

Nagardans, Attar pots, Shangridans and other household decorative items are being

continued even to date. One can see the decorative metal crafts of Pembarti even today in

the old Nizam palaces, Darbar halls of Salarjung Museum, High Court building etc.

57
 The religious items of the Pembarti metalcrafts still can be seen at temples like

Tuljabhavani in Maharashtra and other temples of Yadgir, Kolanupaka and Jeedikkan in

the Telengana region. The Samsthans of Gadwal and Wanparti are also partronised the

Pembarti Metal craft as can be seen from the decorative items still being used by the

sucessors of these Samsthanas.

However, with the downfall of the Nizam‟s rule, the Pembarti metal craft has also

suffered a major set back. It took long time for the Pembarti metal craft to regain their

last popularity to some extent.

Manufacturing Techniques

The Pembarti metal crafts are of two types and follow two different methods. The

first method i.e. lost wax method is followed for making mainly the religious idols, lamp

stands and other three dimensional forms. The second method, is sheet metal carving or

embossing In the sheet metal type, circular, square and rectangular plates, trays etc. of

different sizes with the floral, geometrical designs along with the figures like

Astalakshmi, Navgrahas, Purnakumbhas etc. are prepared. Another important technique

of sheet metal which has been perfected in India is the deep repousse work24.

58
The Lost Wax Method

The lost wax method is used for making mainly the religious items, lamps, bells

etc. It is an age old practice mastered by Tanjore artisans, subsequently followed by the

artisans from different parts of India. This method includes several steps like model

making, mould making, wax coating, pouring of metal, releasing the mould, finishing and

polishing.

In short, a model of the required figure is made either in clay or in plaster, this model is

then coated with a fine layer of liquid soap over this a series of plaster or clay are coated

in thick layers. If there are curvatures in the original model the coating is done with inter

locking parts so that the mould of the model can be arranged or dismantled casing. Now

the negative outer mould is prepared. The inside of the mould is coated with a series of

layers of wax. This wax-coated model is then packed with hard clay leaving an outlet and

an inlet for pouring the molten metal and removing the air. The molten metal is poured

carefully, the molten metal occupies the space after melting waxcoat the excess metal and

air are escaped through the outlets, now the outer coat of the clay is removed by breaking

and the inner idol form taken out and finished by filing and polishing.

Embossing Method

Decorative plates, trays etc. are prepared in the embossing method; in the first

instance a wooden model is carved to a fine degree of a required design then to make

multiple replicas of these designs, thin brass are copper sheet of required thickness is

59
placed over this wooden replica and slightly hammered so as to get an embossed effect

on the obverse of the plate and engraved effect on the reverse of the plate will be

obtained. Then the plate is cut into the required shape like circular, rectangular, oblong

shapes and finished by filing and polishing. Although the techniques of casting these art,

utility and religious objects are same at Pembarti, Budhiti and Kodimiyal the stylistic

variations in the art are slightly different. The Budhiti crafts reflect the Orissan culture

and tradition being on the border of Orissa, while the Pembarti and Kodimiyal crafts

reflect the pure Telangana traditions. There are also other centres in Andhra Pradesh like

Vijaywada, Tenali, Tirupati and Chittoor but where this art is found the specimens are not

as famous as Pembarti, Bhuditi and Kodimiyal in metal castings.

A wide range of products are made to day by craftsmen who have devoted a life

time to mastering a different hand manufacturing techniques – shaping, casting, and

engraving. Enamelling and repousse work25.

4. Silver Filigree Art

The history of the Filigree Industry of Karimnagar can be traced back to about

300 years. Silver Filigree is a style which forms a category by itself26. One Shri Kadarla

Ramaiah of Elgandal and one Shri Sriramajo Venkataramiah of Manakondur both of

them from traditional goldsmith community of Kamsali (goldsmith) appear to have

originated this industry. Elgandal and Manakondur are villages lying within a distance of

about 12 Kms. from Karimnagar. Elgandal was the district headquarters of the then

60
existing administration. Judged by some of the old designs of the products of this

industry, it would seem that the art and design had been borrowed from foreign countries

of the Middle East. There is no recorded history, however, of this industry. The present

workers who are the direct descendants of the founders of the industry state that their

ancestors used to tour foreign countries and it was quite likely that they had picked up the

technique and the designs from those countries and with their own dexterity developed it

here27. How far this is true is a matter of doubt. There are centres like Cuttak in Orissa

and Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh which produce pure silver high qulity Filigree28.

The industry appears to have been patronized mainly by the Jagirdars and the

ruling nizams and the type of articles produced were purely of silver and the designs were

Individualistic and expensive and one intended to serve the individual need and tastes of

the well-to-do, which apparently resulted in the concentration of this industry at one

center and with only a few craftsmen‟s families taking to it. Thus it was not broad based

and did not depend on popular demand from the ordinary classes. However, the products

of this industry enjoy a great reputation for quality, strength and delicacy of

workmanship29.

The industry seems to have faced a period of adversity perhaps due to the

disturbed fortunes of the ruling Nizams and royal families. About a century ago the

Nizam‟s Government appears to have taken some interest to improve condition of these

workmen and invited them to shift themselves to Karinagar, the new district

61
headquarters, where they were offered some house sites free of cost to build their houses

and establish themselves there.

The Craftsmen families and master craftsmen:

According to the census of 1960s‟ by the Dept of Handicrafts, Govt. of Andhra

Pradesh there are now about 35 families in Karimnagar town, all of them of Kamsali

community (goldsmiths and silversmiths) who are now engaged in this industry. The

following are the „house names‟ or surnames of these traditional families30:

(1) Kadarla

(2) Sriramoj(Bommakanth)

(3) Katnepalle

(4) Gadde

(5) Kannoju

(6) Tipparti

(7) Erroji

(8) Katta

(9) Ravala

(10) Vangala

The following were some of the master craftsmen according to census31:

(1) Kadarla Narayana

(2) Katnepalle Sudersanam

62
 (3) Sriramoj Chandraiah

(4) Gadde Nagabushanam

(5) Gadde Venkatadri

(6) Katnepalle Rajamani

(7) Sriramoj Kanakaiah

(8) Kadarla Haumaiah

(9) Tipparti Ramakrishnaiah

(10) Sriramoj Jagannadham

The workers, about 80 in number, have organized themselves into a Co-operative

Society called Tarkashan Co-operative Society which practically holds a monopoly of the

craft. Tarkashan in Urdu means drawing of wire.

Technique of Manufacturing

Raw materials:

The uniqueness of the Karimnagar Filigree products is that they are made of pure

silver without any mixture. In other parts of the country where filigree work is practiced

cheaper alloys are being used. The Karimnagar Filigree workers claim that the utilization

of pure silver gives their articles strength and intrinsic value32.

The main raw material needed for the Karimnagar Filigree work is therefore pure

silver. A very small quantity of copper and brass is needed to make up the soldering

63
material for joining the filigree pieces. The other articles utilized in the manufacturing

process are bee wax, nawasagar, gumchiesl, bhoonsa, sulphuric acid and coal33.

The manufacturing processes is in five stages34:

Stage I:

Pure silver ingots are put through a wire drawing machine and round wire is

drawn down to 14 gauge. Before the invention of the machine, the silver ingots were

beaten on an anvil and elongated into some sort of rought wire and then it was heated and

put through a steel plate wire gauge called jantharpatti or Kambechchu which had

apertures of different gauges. One end of the wire is passed through the kambechchu

round and round the pillar by levering it with some strong iron implement so that as the

wire is drawn through the hole of a particular gauge in the Kabechchu it was reduced to

that gauge. The wire was passed down from one gauge to the next smaller gauge and

redrawn till the required gauge is obatined. This is both a laborious and time consuming

process. The hand-operated drawing machine has undoubtedly facilitated the easy

drawing of the wire. Even then the indigenous Kambechchu cannot be dispensed with

altogether. The drawing machine can reduce the silver ingots to a wire of 14 gauge only,

but it is necessary to draw the wire into much thinner gauge down to 36 gauge for the

various types of designs that have to be executed. Therefore, the 14 gauge wire has to be

drawn manually through the different size Kambechchu to obtain wire of thinner gauges.

There are also circular discs called ravva billa with an aperture at the centre which are

also used for drawing wire particularly for smaller gauges.

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Stage II :

The next stage consists of the twisting of the thin silver wire and flattening it. This

is perhaps the most important stage of preparation before the designs themselves are

executed35.

Two strands of the silver wire of 36 gauge prepared under the previous process

are now wound together using a charkha. Before winding the wire it is heated in a

charcoal furnace. The strands have to be wound and rewound thrice over till ultimately a

fine pleated string of silver is obtained. Finally the wound wire is rolled and put in a

furnace (which is no more than an earthen pot broken into half and kept in an inverted

position with burning coal in it) for 2 to 3 minutes. The pleated wire is cut into pieces of

about 2.25' long. Each piece is then flattened very carefully on an anvil by beating

lightly with hammer. The flat strip that comes out will be about 36 gauge with granular

edges or pleats on either side.

The preparation of these thin flat silver strips out of the twisted wire with fine

granular edges is the sole secret of the filigree work. These flat pieces are later bent into

different shapes and fixed vertically into spaces within a frame depending on the actual

product giving the final piece a most attractive and delicate appearance.

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Stage III:

Any article to be produced will be made up of a number of component parts that

are pieced together. Each of these parts will be made into a block with an outer frame

within which the required design is worked out and the finer details filled in. For

example, a Pandan or the box to carry betel leaves and nuts, etc., will be made up by five

rectangular blocks, namely, the four sides, and the lid being joined together and fixed on

to a silver plated bottom36.

Silver wire of 14 gauge is used for working up the outer frame. The 14 gauge

round wire that is drawn from the machine is beaten into the shape of a square wire and

pieces of this 14 gauge square wire is cut, shaped and joined together to form the outer

frame of a given design. This frame is fixed flat on a wooden board which is smeared

with bee wax to hold the silver frame as also to keep in position the pieces that are filled

later to make up the inner design. An extra quantity of bee wax is applied at a few places

around the outer thick frame to keep it firm37.

The next step is to fill the space within the frame with the main ribs of the design.

These main ribs are usually the creeper stems, leaves, flowers etc. and these may

themselves form into small frames in the shape of a heart, circle, flower petals, leaves,

etc., which have to be further filled with finer details. These ribs are made up by circular

silver wire of 18 to 20 gauge. This flat wire is cut to convenient sizes and bent to form the

required shape. These are fixed vertically within the outer frame on the wooden board.

66
The main ribs of the design are formed by the vertical face of the flat wire and not the

broad side38.

The dexterous hands of the craftsman neatly shape the flat wire into delicate

designs with the help of a pair of small pliers or pincers. After a design is finalized the

craftsman makes a number of pieces of these inner frames of standard shapes such as

hearts, circles or leaves and fixes them in proper places within the outer frame on the

waxed wooden board39.

Stage IV:

The next step is to fill in the whole interspaces within the design with delicate

tendrils or circular pieces which gives the entire product its character of filigree. It is

these fillings that give the filigree work its distinct delicate appearance of a mosquito

curtain finish. It is here that the plaited silver wire flattened to 36 gauge with granular

edges comes in which is described earlier. This flat wire strip is corrugated or rolled into

different shapes and is used for filling all the interspaces of the main design. A pair of

pincers and an instrument called the patkar pulla which is no more than a bent wire

attached to the end of an iron rod to form an eye are used for giving the flat wire a regular

corrugated shape. The flattened wire which is passed through the eye of the patkar pulla

is bent very dexterously in to a wavy design by turning the patkar pulla in alternate

directions with the trained finger of the filigree expert. The bent wire is fed into a pair of

pincers. This delicate operation is executed beautifully and with considerable speed by

the expert artisan40.

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 The workman proceeds to fill the interspaces within the frame work, the

preparation of which has been described under Stage III. The corrugated continuous wire

strip is used for filling in the space along the border, the concentric circles within the

spaces of circular inner frame, the elliptical pieces in the inter-space of leaves or oblong

flower petals and all other interspaces are filled with the small or double circles. These

pieces are also fixed vertically so that only the granular edges of the flat wire show up41.

The fillings have to be closely packed together uniformly so that the ultimate net

work may have the strength and a uniformity of texture. The waxy surface of the wooden

board helps to keep all the fillings in position.

The filling of the interspaces within the outer designs by these delicately bent

pieces that gives the filigree work its distinct character. The flat thicker surface of the

main ribs of a design shows as contrast against the granular delicate surface of the finer

fillings of outer spaces rendering the whole design very attractive42.

Stage V:

The next stage is to see that the entire design „along with the outer frame‟ is fixed

firmly together. The workman secures together the entire design as laid in position on the

wooden board by a gummy substance. For this purpose a solution of borax locally called

veligaram or sohaga is mixed and boiled in water. A fine paste is also prepared by

rubbing briskly guruginja (abrus precatorius – the seed used as grain in the measurement

68
of weight of gold) with its outer cover removed against a flat stone with a little water

spread on it. The veligaram solution and the guruginja paste are mixed together and

spread over the finished design on the wooden board43.

The entire block of design along with the outer frame is then carefully removed

from the wooden board by heating the block to melt the bee wax. The frame with the

design in it remains intact on account of the close packing and the spreading of the

gummy solution44.

The next step is to see that the entire design so delicately made up with several

individual pieces put together is firmly fixed. For this purpose the workman prepares

small square strips of 1/3” square cut out of a very thin sheet of an alloy of silver and

copper mixed in the proportion of 3:1. This is locally referred to as tankam. These

tankam pieces are spread on the design so as to completely cover it. The block with the

tankam pieces spread on it is placed on a charcoal furnace. After the block is heated

sufficiently, dry paddy husk is sprinkled on it which bursts into a flame helping to

completely melt the tankam spread on the design. This is very important. The workman

keeps testing by sprinkling the paddy husk to see if the block has been sufficiently heated

to enable the tankam to melt. The molten tankam apparently gets into the crevices and

helps to secure together all the silver pieces firmly and permanently. For 100 tolas of the

main silver work, 6 tolas of tankam are required. The block is then removed from the

furnace and cooled by dipping it in cold water45. The final stage is to clean the blocks,

polish them and join the component units to make the finished product. The block, after it

69
is removed from the furnace on completion of the tankam process is put in dilute

sulphuric acid or tamarind solution for about 5 minutes. It is then polished with a fine

wire brush which gives it the final gloss46.

The finished blocks are then attached together to make up the required articles.

Almost all the articles are fixed on to a plain bottom plate of silver. The bottom silver

plates are also prepared by workmen themselves by beating silver into thin plate and

cutting into shape. The joining of the component blocks is done by soldering them with

an alloy of silver and brass mixed in the proportion of 2:1, called ravva. It is estimated

that for an article of 100 grams of main work 1 gram of ravva will be needed47.

The filigree articles that are generally produced are trays and pandans, which are

very widely used particularly by the old Jagirdar families of Hyderabad. The pandans are

generally rectangular in shape. They are also produced in different shapes such as heart,

circular, oval and so on. Various other fancy articles such as kumkum containers, scent

holders, cigarette cases, matchbox holders etc. are also being produced in different shapes

such as aero plane, peacocks etc. Articles which are made in plain silver are also made in

filigree, like boxes, trays, bowls, and spoons etc48. At the basic mode of manufacture of

component parts and designs is the same. The different shapes are produced by the

ultimate joining together of the component units. The following is a complete list of the

type of the articles that are produced by the filigree workers49.

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 1. Attardans (scent containers) in the shape of lotus, peacock, flowers, aero planes,

birds, crane, fish, and lotus flowers with leaves.

2. Powder of Kumkum boxes in rectangular, octagonal, heart, over, round and mango

shapes.

3. Trays in different shapes–rectangular, heart, oval, round, octagonal, flowers with

grapevine leaves etc.

4. Flower stands, calendar stands, lamp stands, visiting cards etc.

5. Cigarette cases, ash trays, match box holders.

6. Buttons for sherwanis, coats and shirts.

7. Broaches with designs of leaf, bird, star, branch, butterfly, etc.

8. Ladies‟ ornaments such as bracelets, bangles, necklaces Lolacks, Jumkas, etc.

9. Pandans in different shapes.

The design:- The oldest original design is called the karimnagar design which

reflects most delicate and exquisite workmanship50. The present tendency is to have more

and more bolder designs with less a less fine work. The perfume containers of

Karimnagar are complex in shape and a speciality of the place51. Karimnagar however,

has its own designs and the more elaborate the item the more intricate the pattern.

The space and tools required for this industry are very simple indeed. The artisans

carry on the industry in their own homes or backyards of their homes normally. The

ordinary equipment of the gold or silversmiths appears quite adequate to carry on this

industry. Only a special skill has to be developed for the delicate technique involved.

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The equipment and implements used in this art are52:

1. A furnace blower and crucibles for smelting silver and the preparation of silver

ingots, tankam alloy and ravva.

2 Anvil and hammer, wire drawing equipment such as Kambechchus of different

gauges or wire drawing machines.

3 Charkha for twisting wire.

4 Wooden boards and bee wax.

5 Pincers (sravanam), patkar pulla, cutting pliers.

6 Simple charcoal furnaces (made out of broken pots with charcoal).

7 Polishing brush.

8 Other ancillary equipment such a vices, chisels, files, hack-saw, hand drills,

punches, tongs, etc.

II. CARVINGS

5. Wooden (Red Sanders, Wooden Toys)

The art industry of making toys and figures for past-time is as old as stoneage. In

Andhra Pradesh, Nirmal in Adilabad District, Kondapalli in Krishna District, Ettikoppaka

in Visakhapatnam District, Tirupati, Tiruchanur and Madhavamala in Chittoor District

are some of the places where beautiful toys in medium of wood are prepared of these, the

wooden toys of Tirupati, Tiruchanur and Madhavamala are special and are prepared with

redsanders wood53, while at other places the wood used for making toys is Poniki.

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 In the Tirupati area, Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh is red sanders known as

Raktachandanam literally blood coloured sandle wood for its rust red tint, red sanders

through hanrd is elastic, resist white ants and fire, two villages in this area Tiruchnur,

Madhavamala are noted for their products54.

The once famous red sanders toys industry of these places (Tirupati, Tiruchanur

and Mahdavamala) is now in crisis; for this crisis the main reason is shortage of red

sanders wood and trees have become scares and this wood is not being allowed by the

Forest Dept., to cut and use for commercial purposes. It is not exactly known how old is

this art of red sanders figures but it is atleast 2 to 3 centuries old as per local records.

The red sanders is a beautiful dark chocklet colour wood whose trees are found on

dry hilly and rocky grounds although the wood is hard it is easy to chisel and to make

toys55. Tiruchanur and Madhavamala villages are close to the vicinity of Tirupati and

produce even today beautiful toys and figures of red sanders56. These figures and toys

unlike the toys of other places like Kondapalli, Nirmal and Ettikoppaka etc. do not

require colouring. They are two types of products, religious mostly gods and goddesses

from the Hindu pantheon, the other dolls in a particular sytle. Equally known that

entirely different are the once known as Tirupati dolls made in Tiruchanur village near

Tirupati with red sanders wood. They have however a limited range. They consists

largely of reproducts of the religious figures, in the traditional classifical style seen in

sculptures, small sizes ice dolls, some folk figures are made in couples, with indications

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of clothing and ornaments on each other, each pair is called by special name 58. These

figures are made (carved) as a single piece without any joints. These toys and figures

require no polishing because the wood itself has fine polishing and beautiful chacolets

colour.

The raw materials and tools in these industry are also quite simple and few, red

sanders is the only raw material required and tools include hand saw, chisel, wooden

hammer, iron hammer and chisel with different blades for cutting different designs59.

The actual production of these figures and toys consists of three steps they are

cutting of the required sized wood, chiseling the wood into a desired figure and finally

finishing the product60. Once the block of wood is selected the required figure is carved

by the artisan till a perfect shape and size is obtained When the chiseling is completed the

figure is finished by rubbing it with sand paper of different grades. For obtaining a mirror

finishing some times wax mixed with honey is applied to the figure and polished with a

fine cloth, unlike the other woods red sanders is termite proof and lasts long.

The products that are prepared from these red sanders include of deities figures

like Lord Venkateswara, Ganesha, Shiva and Parvathi, Krishna, Dasavatara panels,

Kaliyamardana Krishna, standing male and female figures61. Apart from these, with the

changing trends the artists are trying to bring out contemporary subject like table lights,

paper weights, book stands etc. However, the original and ancient products like the deity

figures mentioned above are much in demand.

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6. Stone

This Stone, wheather cut or uncut, carved or just a roughly hewn shaped,

represents the human aspiration to visualize god. This aspiration, over the centuries has

inspired the Indian artist to create a tradition, singularly rich in artistic imagination62.

Stone carving is a popular art right from the earliest centuries of the Christian era.

Vijayanagara dynasty of 15th C was the last ruling dynasty which patronized the art of

sculpting. After the Vijayanagara dynasty with the advent of Muslim rulers, the Hindu art

of making sculptures is almost nonexistent. Stone carved monuments of the early times

reflects the Indian tradition of wood carvingl63. Once begun however the art of stone

carving was mastered rapidly64.

Now in the present days a few centres like Durgi (Guntur District), Allagadda

(Kurnool District), Ramadugu (Karimnagar District) and Tirupati (Chittoor) are the

known carving centres of stone which produce beautiful images of divinities and other

secular sculptures with the sizes ranging from 5 inches to 5 feet. These sculptures are

carved as per the Agama principles prescribed in different iconographic texts.

Raw-materials and Manufacturing Techniques

Raw materials: Stone, hammers big and small, chisels of different types, files of

different size and grade, emery paper, groundnut or coconut oil.

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 Manufacturing Technique: As per the required size of the proposed figure, stone

blocks are selected from locally available quarries. Depending on the area, the

availability of stone also differs. For example Durgi and Allagadda are famous for lime

and shale stones which are available in plenty. Similarly at Tirupati the carvings are done

on granite and dolerite. After the selection of the block of the stone, the figure to be

carved is drawn on the stone with chalk or ochre as per the iconographic principles. Now

a crude image out of drawing on the stone is carved which is nothing but a rough sketch

of the proposed figure. This rough sketching is smoothened with help of files and finer

chisels. Now over this figure finer details like folds of drapery and ornaments etc. are

carved. Once the figure is prepared in all respects it is polished with fine files and emery

paper of different grades.

As a final finish, the figure is quoted with either the groundnut oil or coconut oil

and rubbed with finest grade of emery paper, rough cloth and smooth cloth. With this the

figure gets both smoothness as well as the luster. The manufacturing technique is same

for different types of stones, however, the labour involved in carving different types of

stones differ from stone to stone. For example the soap stone, shale and lime stone are

easy to carve as their surface area is lesser while the carving of granite, dolerite stones are

difficult as their surface area is higher. The more the surface area of the stone the better

the appearance of the carved figure. Hence, even though it is difficult to carve, sculptors

prefer to carve on granite and dolerite. Though they are costly, both from manufacturing

and selling point of view, they prefer graniteand dolerite as the finished product is very

attractive compared to other forms of stone.

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 Apart from Durgi, Tirupati and Allagadda there are also references of artisans of

carving at other places like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Ramadugu etc.

III. TOYS & DOLLS

7. Nirmal Toys

Nirmal is a town in Adilabad Dist., of Andhra Pradesh. Nirmal is famous both for

paintings, toys and figures bearing the name. Althought there are similarities between

Kondapally and Nirmal toys, the regional variations can be clearly seen. As in

Kondapally the artisans at Nirmal also were the migrants from Rajasthan centuries ago.

When the subject matter comes, Kondapally and Nirmal differ very much. Kondapally

toys totally reflects the village life and culture. While thae Nirmal toys range in a variety

of subjects like animals, vegetables, birds, fruits etc. Compared to Kondapally toys the

finish of Nirmal toys is much superior in quality and appearance because of clear vanish

coat. Where as those from NIrmal as closely imitative of natural forms as possible65.

These toys are prepared from the lightwood called “white poniki” which is locally

available66.

Manufracturing Technique

Manufracturing techniques for Kondapally toys and Nirmal toys is more or less

the same. First the wood is cut to the required sizes and seasoned. The sizes and forms

77
differ from square to rectangular forms depending on the figure that is to be made, then

with the help of badisha the wood is chiseled into a rough shape of the product. For the

convinience of the working, different parts of the final products are separately made and

either glued or nailed67. For example if the figure of the elephant is to be made, it is

prepared into the body portion, legs, head and trunk and all are glued or nailed together to

get the rough shape of the elephant. In this process the wood is also saved without much

wastage. On this rough shaped figure the paste of tamarid seeds, natural glue and sawdust

are applied to get a near perfect shaped figure, this paste also helps to conceal the joints

as well. This is dried under shade so that the paste gets hardened. As a last step in the

finishing, the figure is carefully filed and smoothened with the help of different grades of

files and sand paper. Now the figure in its totality is prepared waiting for its colouring.

Suitable colours are applied to get a life like figure. As in Kondapally figures, earlier

these figures are coloured with natural mineral colours and vegetable colours. But with

the advent of readymade synthetic enamel colours, the artisans shifted to these colours

from natural colours which are time consuming in their preparation. While the original

articles made were for traditional household use, they were brilliantly tinted and designs

painted on them with the technique and flavor of classical miniature that gave them a rare

distinction68.

In the actual Nirmal technique to get the luster for which the Nirmal toys and

paintings are famous, the finished object is coated with a thin layer of putti, coloured and

then given a transparent coat of clear warnish. This makes the Nirmal toys or paintings a

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unique brand of its own. The tools required for this art are similar to that of the

kondapally toys.

8. Etikopakka Toys

Etikoppaka a village in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh is known for its

lacquered toys69. Etikoppaka, which means huts located on the banks of river; is a village

on the east coast of India, 80 kms away from Visakhapatnam. In this village artisans are

involved in transforming pieces of dry Ankudu Wood (Rightia tincotovia) into beautiful

functional products70. In Etikoppaka, fine turned toys are finished with colour lacquered

and toys are also made in teak and other woods in a natural finish71.

The toys of Etikoppaka are not only meant for children but cater to the day to day

needs as well. From candle stands to vermilion boxes and bangles stands, these toys came

in a variety of shapes and sizes. Today they are the part of rural tradition. Toys made at

Etikoppaka reveal some little – known cultural practise of the region and display creative

skills of its artisans. Many household articles are produced in toys, sizes including

complete sets of toy, cooking vessels and furniture. The specialities here are in facy and

carts72.

As per censes of 1960s, one C.V. Padamanabha Raju introduced the lacquer

technique73. Till 1992, mineral dyes were used for colouring due to which the toys did

79
not get the attention they deserved, subsequently synthetic enamel colours are being

used74.

Manufacturing Technique

Raw material and tools:

The raw material and tools used are Ankudu wood, synthetic adhesive, (Fevicol)

colour powdered vegetable dyes and chemical dyes. The tools used are mostly carpenter

tools like different kinds of saw, chisel, hammer, power driven small lathes, sand paper

and grinding wheel.

Method

The wood is procured from the market which is available freely. The cost of the

wood depends on the thickness of the wood. After the wood is procured it is turned into

the desired size as per the product specification. Lacquering is done on the lathe itself and

desired colours are used. Earlier instead of lathe it was on a hand drawn machine the

sizing and lacquering work done by the artisans. For boxes, first the wood is made hollow

and then lacquered. The Lacquer is pressed against the wooden ware on lathe to be

lacquered. As lacquer keeps revolving, the heat from the friction softens the lac, enabling

the colour to stick. Thin lines of colour are applied on the wood by pressing the lac

against the piece on lathe. Final finishing is done on the lathe by smoothing the product

by „pendanus‟ leaf and soft polishing cloth.

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 Product ranges include toys, utility products and ornaments. The toys include

tictactoe, rabbits, caterpillars moving on wheels, tops, train, rattiles, catch ball, cars,

phones, milk van, birds, ganesha etc…

The range in utility products includes boxes of different sizes, spice jars, key

rings, egg cups, hooks etc The Ornaments include hair sticks, ear rings, bangles, etc.

9. Kondapally Toys

Kondapally is small village 10 km away from Vijayawada on the Hyderabad

National high way. This place is famous for toys and dolls, themed on village and village

life. Kondapally is by the side of a hill range where Poniki, the wood that is used for

making Kondapally toys is plently available. This same wood is also used for making the

Nirmal toys. Poniki wood is light and soft to mould and chisel, the wood is also light

brown in colour75.

Manufacturing Technique

The manufacturing technique of both Kondapally and Nirmal toys is more or less

the same. The rawmaterials for the making of Kondapally toys one „Poniki‟ wood,

powder of tamarind seeds, gum, vegetable colours, gold powder, chemical dyes and

enamel paints etc. The tools used for carving the wood are simple carpentary items like

81
bahdar, hexsaw blades, basuda, hammers of different sizes, Palapu chekka made out of

buffallo horns used for gum coating, different sizes of brushes and different grades of

sand paper. Before taking the actual chiseling work the Poniki wood is cut and seasoned

for two months for easy handling. Mostly the figure is made into different parts and

joined together with glue; for example if a human body or animal figure is to be prepared

the head, the body portion and the limbs are prepared separately and joined together to

make a full form76. To fill up the gaps, cuts and uneven joints, tamarid paste mixed with

glue and saw dust are used. Nowadays in place of glue, synthetic resins like Fevicol are

also used. The final perfection and shaping of figures are obtained by coating the figure

with tamarind seed powder and saw dust paste and filing with different grades of sand

paper. Once the final shape is obtained the figure is coated with fine chalk powder paste

or multani mitti, after this, it is coated with fine paste of zinc oxide which will give the

figure a very smooth surface. Now the figure is ready to be given the required colour

coat. In earlier days the colours used were of natural, mineral, vegetable and organic in

nature. But now synthetic colours are available with a variety of range, hence synthetic

colours are only being used. Normally every individual work will be handled by

different family members. Getting the Poniki wood from the forest cutting them into

required sizes and seasing them will be the work of men-folk in the family. Even

preparing the basic figures is also done by the men folk in the family, preparing the paste

of tamarind seeds, saw dust, glue etc. and applying them on the figure will be taken care

by the women folk of the family. However, filling, filing and polishing of a figure for

final shape will be done by the men in the family. Giving right colours to the final shaped

figure is the job of the women in the family. Once the colors are given the figures are

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dried in shade. The important and famous figures in the Kondapally toys include different

working classes of a village like goldsmith, toddy tapper, washermen, potter etc; apart

from these toddy trees, decorated elephants, dasavataras of Vishnu, bullock cart are also

famous.

The making of Kondapally toys is a family business and all the members of the

family contribute their share in making of these toys77. No outside labour or machinery

are engaged in making of these toys.

Like Nirmal artisans, the Kondapally artisans are also the migrants from

Rajasthan several decades ago, when it was struck by a great famine. As Kondapally toys

were also patronized by rulers and public, the migrants from Rajasthan settled

permanently at Kondapally but in the course of time the patronage by the native people

has decreased to a large extent and now it is in a state of shambles being patronized

mostly by the foreigners and art lovers from other parts of the country.

IV. TRADITIONAL PAINTINGS

10. Kalamkari Paintings

Kalamkari is the name derived from Urdu work `Kalam‟ and “Kari” which means

the art by pen. In Andhra Pradesh there are two famous centers for this art one is at

Kalahasti and the other is at Machilipatnam.

83
 Machilipatnam is located 40 miles from Vijayawada and Kalahasti is near Nellore

(42 miles). The Kalamkari art of Machilipatnam is of domestic type depicting florals,

geometrics and other textile designs while the Kalahasti art is purely of religious themes.

Both at Kalahasti and Machilipatam, the art of Kalamkari was patronized by the

local nobles and Jamindars. The art is at least of 200 years old. However, in last few

decades the art is totally neglected by the society. The Machilipatnam kalamkari is print

based i.e. wooden blocks of different designs are made and printed on the “Kora” cloth

making different designed textiles used in domestic needs of a house like bed sheets,

curtains etc. The Kalahasti art is totally individual hand-made artistic work drawn by the

artists. Compared to Machilipatnam kalamkari art, the Kalahasti art is laborious and time

taking. For Kalahasti kalamkari art a seasoned artists has to work for several days to

complete the work, whereas the Machilipatnam art is done by semi-skilled workers which

involves printing of designs from already prepared wooden block and the colors used in

both the places are mainly black, red and yellow made out of natural herbs and minerals

along with some organic materials78.

Kalahasti town

Kalahasti is a town, is a Municipality, in Chittoor District at the southern corner

of Andhra Pradesh State. It can be reached conveniently by road by branching off due

west from the Grant Trunk Road at Nayudpet, 68 miles to the North of Madras or 42

miles to the South of Nellore. Kalahasti lies 17 miles to the West of Nayudupet on the

84
Nayudupet-Tirupati road. It is picturesquely situated on the bank of river Swarnamukhi.

Kalahasti town is also a great pilgrim‟s center where a very imposing and fine temple

devoted to Lord Siva (Kalahasteeswara) is located.

A Brief history of the Kalamkari craft

There is no information about how and when the industry originated. It is said that

one of the Kalamakari master workmen from Nellore who was addicted to drinking

happened to visit Kalahasti about a hundred years ago. He was made to drink heavily and

under its influence he revealed all the secrets of the techniques of Kalamakari work. The

Kalahasti workmen thus came to learn the art and developed it here. This would suggest

that perhaps of Kalamakari printers of Masulipatnam, who had specialized in Kalamkari

printing for centuries, might have passed on their knowledge to the Kalahasti workmen

who developed their own designs to suit the local demand and specialized in temple cloth

printing79. Kalahsti and its surroundings were under the control of Zamindaris.The

religious importance of the place and the patronage of the Zamindars must have

undoubtedly proved propitious for the development of industry here. The industry,

however, appears to have been concentrated only in the hands of a few families. The

craftsmen were not traditional weavers, but Balijas a sect in society. The Balijas do not

represent any definite professional community. They were mostly labourers. They are

also known to take certain professions such as bangle making. To the knowledge of the

local people, the following persons of the community who resided in Kalahasti town are

known to have practiced the craft of Temple cloth painting.

85
 Arni Changayya, father of Arni Kalappa is reputed to have produced some temple

cloth fabrics of outstanding beauty and was also recipient of medals for his fine

workmanship at the Exhibition of Indian Arts Manufacturers held in Delhi in 1902-03.

His sons Arni Kalappa and Chengalvarayan continued the craft after the demise of their

father80. They were not attending to it whole time, but were also engaged in cultivation. It

is strange that both the brothers remained unmarried. Kalappa died at the age of 55 and

Chengalvarayan also passed away at the age of 60. There is none in the family who

attends to this craft now.

The craft appears to have almost completely disappeared in the last century itself

to a major exent. It survived till then mainly due to the patronage of the local Zamindars

and the agency of Kishanchand Chellarams, a leading textile firm of Madras City who

used to place orders with the Kalahasti artisans and market the products81. The institution

of Zamindaris disappeared and Chellarams also stopped placing orders. Temple cloth

painting is not the type of craft which can be mass produced. The craft depend on the

individual demand of temples and similar institutions and the patronage of the

Zamindars. The production of each piece involves considerable labour and obviously it is

very expensive. In those days itself, a square yard of Kalmkari cloth used to cost Rs.27,

which is now multifold82. The craft is such that it cannot possibly provide continuous

employment to any large section of workers. It is more of an individualistic art requiring

great artistic skill in drawing human figures, the intricate designs etc., on the part of the

craftsmen. The individual, specialized craftsmen, apparently excelled in his own art and

86
certainly met the limited demands as and when received from the temples or other select

patrons. No need arose for mass production and the craftsmanship was mostly broad-

based. It is no wonder that the craft died out almost completely about 50 years ago. The

few remaining craftsmen took to alternative avenues of livelihood. It looked as though

the craftsmen were aware that they could not depend solely on this industry and so had

prepared themselves for alternative occupations. For example, Jonnalagadda Lakshmaiah

who was an expert in the art, was a secondary grade trained teacher. He has taken to the

teaching profession. His own son, one Gurappa Setty, though trained in the Kalamkari

art, was a secondary grade trained teacher83. Jonnalagadda Lakshmaiah‟s brother,

Ramaiah, took to shop accountancy and his son Gajendran, though trained in the

Kalamkari art, became a lorry driver by profession. One feels sad at the lot of these

people who were the matters of one of the most exquisite crafts but had abandon it and

take to some alternative occupations, some of which (i.e lorry driving) can hardly go

hand in hand with such a spiritually dedicated and artistic calling as temple cloth printing

and painting.

While there is similarity in the coloring process of the Kalamkari printed cotton

fabrics of Machilipatnam and the temple cloth painting of Kalahasti, in so far as only

pure dyes are used by both and they are applied by means of a kalam, the two processes

vary fundamentally in one regard namely, that the designs on the Machilipatnam

specimens are firstly block printed and then the colours are painted with Kalam. Whereas

, in case of Kalahasti product the entire work is Kalamkari i.e. even the designs which

consists of mythological human figures, flowers, borders designs etc. are all drawn free

87
hand with a kalam, as will be described in succeeding paragraphs. Thus the Kalahasti

processed cloth appears to be more truly a kalamakari84. The Machilipatnam variety can

to a certain extent be mass-produced and can cater to different needs. The Machilipatnam

products consist of table clothes, curtains, bed covers, sarees, skirt pieces etc. printed by

the yard. In the Machilipatnam variety, when once the outlines of the designs of the

printed with blocks, the application of the molten wax and coloring can be undertaken

even by semi skilled workers, mostly women85. Whereas the designs of the temple cloth

of Kalahasti are wholly dependent upon individual skills of both the hand and the

imagination. They can be drawn only by the expert artists and this requires considerable

patients and great competency in draughtsman ship. The Kalahasti craftsmen specializes

only in the designs needed for temple cloth which consists of panels depicting the stories

from the epics. No wax processing is involved in the Kalahasti technique86. The colored

pictures at the beginning of this monograph depicts a typical a temple cloth panel of

kalahasti.

Raw Materials and Equipment / Tools

Raw materials and equipment needed

1. Gadha or Kora cloth (cloth woven with unbleached yarn) of about 25 counts,

being the kind preferred. Khaddar and Silk are not useful for the process involved.

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 2. The following materials are needed for the preparation of different dyes.

Dye: Material from which made

Black: Iron fillings, sugarcane and palmyrah jaggery solution.

Red: Pobbaku (a kind of water weed resembling casuarin as leaf)

Surudu root bark (Sassafras albidum)

Manjishtha root or madder root (Rubia tginctorum)

Yellow: Myrobalan flower (mixed with mango bark and alum solution)

Blue: Indigo and alum solution

3. Alum

4. Dried tender myrobalans (Terminalia Chebula)

5. Buffalo milk

6. Charcoal made of tamarind twigs

7. Kalams or pends made of split bamboo with felt tied round

8. Mugs

9. Low wooden bench

10. Wooden blankets

11. Large vessels – copper, brass or earthen 3

12. Flowing water

13. Sheep dung

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Process of Production:

Process I: Preparation of cloth for taking the outline

Thick Gadha or Kora cotton cloth of about 25 counts of the required size is taken.

Khaddar or silk is not useful. Gadha cloth is preferred by the Kalamkari workers of

Kalahasti.

The cloth is washed well in flowing water to remove the starch. The Swarnamukhi river

that skirts Kalahasti town is obviously this purpose. No soap and other washing powder

is applied.

The cloth is then soaked in myrobalan solution which is prepared as follows:

Dried tender myrobalans are soaked in water and ground into a fine paste. A

solution is prepared by mixture of 3 tolas of myrobalan paste in 2 gallons of water for

soaking in one yard cloth. The cloth is generally soaked twice and then dried. Some

times buffalo milk is also added to the solution. It is said to prevent the spreading or

clotting of colour when applied later to the mordanted cloth.

These immersions in the myrobalan solution is necessary in order to enable the

block dye to become permanently fixed in the fibres of the cloth. The cloth dipped in the

myrobalan solution as a yellow appearance and is ready to take the black dye.

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Process II: Drawing of outline designs in black

The cloth is spread on a long low wooden bench to enable the artist to squat down

with the bench in front him at a convenient height. The Kalamkari artist then proceeds to

draw on the cloth the outlines of the figures and designs with charcoal sticks made up of

tamarind twigs. He some times copies the design from other pieces of finished designs

are draws on paper and copies it on to the cloth. He draws the figures sometimes merely

from memory. Over this the artists draws the final lines with a black solution called

kasam. (How the kasam is made will be explained in the next paragraph). The artist

makes use of an ingeniously made pen or kalam in drawing the outlines. This kalam

consists of a bamboo sticks about 6” to 8 “long with an end sharpened in to a point with a

pen- knife.

A little way up from the pointed a thick padding of felt or wool is made and tied

round the stick with a string. When the pen is dipped in the black colour solution, the felt

sponge absorbs and retains it. The artist draws the line making use of the pointed end of

the kalam as a pen point and by exerting a slight pressure on the sponge the point is kept

supplied with the required quantity of the dye. The expert artist sometime does not even

care to draw the initial designs with the charcoal twigs. He draws the picture free hand

straightway with the kalam. All the intricate figures and designs have been drawn by in

free hand. The artists is able to maintain correct proportions of the body and limbs of the

figures and also depicts their expressions and action beautifully. By constant practice the

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artist develops a knack of drawing the figures with a great cares, accuracy and aesthetic

perceptivity.

The kasam or block dye is prepared as follows: Sugar jaggery (molasses) and

Palmyrah jaggery are mixed in proportion of 1:2 and a solution made by dissolving the

jaggery mixture in water. Iron fillings are put in the solution and allowed to ferment for

15 days. The resultant liquid is called kasam. When the solution is applied on a cloth

soaked in myrobalan applied on a plain cloth without the myrobalan base, the black

coloring does not take effect.

The above process is almost similar to the one adopted by the Kalamkari cloth

printing industry at Machilipatnam, except that in respect of Machilipatnam work

outlines printing in black with ;the kasam is done by means of engraved wooden blacks

and not by the free hand drawing. In the preparation of the Machilipatnam Kasam gum

is also added to it so that it can be used in a paste consistency for block – printing on

cloth.

Process III: Red colour dyeing

After the outlines of the panels and the designs are drawn first in charcoal & then

with the kasam the craftsman proceeds to give the cloth its background colour, namely,

red. The general background of almost all the temple clothes produced here is red.

Besides the general background, some of the figures themselves may also have to be

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given a red or pink colour. Wherever red colour is need on the cloth, the workman paints

over those areas with alum solutions which is prepared to the following proportions: One

Lb. Of alum to be dissolved in 6 mugs of water, the capacity of each mug being about 5

Ozs. The solution is kept in an enamel mug and the cloth is spread over a woolen blanket

and the craftsman applied the solution to the cloth with the help of another type of kalam

which is no more than a bamboo stick about 6” long with felt or wool tied round the

middle. The brush end of the stick is formed by striking it with stone against a hard

surface. .

This kalam is dipped in the alum solution and the felt body of the pen absorbs it.

The workman applied a gentle pressure on the soaked felt which makes the solution run

down the pen on to the brush end and is thus applied to the areas of the cloth wherever

needed. The absorbent felt body on the kalam comes useful also to blot up any excess

solution that might run on to the cloth.

The cloth is then washed in flowing water and dried in the sun preparatory to its

being dyed red.

The process of red colour dyeing is interesting. Pure vegetable colours are used

for the red dye. The material used are:-

1. Pobbaku: a thin leaf, resembling casuarinas leaf, secured from the river margin

near Nayudupet.

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 2. Surudu root back: Said to be available in all forest areas, and

3. Manjishtha root: also said to be available in the forests.

These substances are powered and mixed in equal quantities. About 1.5 Lbs. Of

this mixture will be needed for dyeing 6 yards of cloth. The mixture is put in water in a

big copper, brass or pottery vessel along with the cloth and boiled for 1 or 2 hours.

Process IV: Bleaching

After process III, even though the red dye will penetrate the fibres of the cloth

only in those areas where the alum solution has been applied as a result of the boiling, the

general red colouring effect is bound to leave a stain on the other areas not covered by the

alum solution, such as over the human figures etc. It is necessary that these areas should

once again be restored to white so as to take the other colours which are meant to be

applied over them. Therefore, after process III, the cloth undergoes an interesting

bleaching process developed by native ingenuity. A solution of sheep‟s dung is prepared

and the cloth is soaked in it overnight for 12 hours the cloth is rinsed in flowing water in

the morning and then spread on the moist river bed called javuku surface and water is

sprinkled on it consistently. This bleaching process goes on for a week continuously –

soaking in the sheep dung solution at night and drying on the river bed during the day, at

the end of which activity the cloth will retain the red colour only where planned i.e. , in

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those areas originally covered by the alum solution, whilst the rest are rendered pure

white.

Process V: Colouring the figures

After process IV, the figures on the design are ready to take other colours that are

needed. The colours adopted are generally yellow, blue and green (green being obtained

by painting blue over areas coloured yellow), while some figures are left without any

colouring at all. Though there is no definite convention about what particular colours the

different figures should have, the colour scheme generally is as follows: female figures

are usually yellow, Devatas are depicted in blue; rakshasas in red and green, and some

figures are left uncoloured altogether.

After the bleaching process, the cloth is dipped in a milk solution. This helps in

applying the colour only to the areas required, that is to say, it prevents the running of

one dye colour into other already dyed areas of colour. About 1.5 allocks (1/4 of a seer)

of buffalo milk is required for 1 yard of cloth.

After the bleaching process, the first colour to be applied is yellow. The yellow

dye is produced by powdering dried myrobalan flowers and boiling them in water. About

6 flowers are boiled in 1 Lb. Of water. This dye is applied with the bamboo kalam. The

yellow colour is applied to depict the jewellery on the figures and also for the bodies of

some of the human figures. Especially the female figures are generally dyed yellow. In

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order to fix this yellow colour, the areas requiring it are first painted over with alum

solution in which mango bark is soaked. The solution is prepared with a strength of ¼ Lb.

Of alum to 6 mugs of water.

The cloth is then washed in flowing water and dried.

The application of blue or green colour is then undertaken. After the yellow

colouring process and the washing and drying are completed, the cloth is once again

soaked in the milk solution and is ready for the next colouring process. The blue colour is

prepared with a solution of indigo mixed with a little alum. This is applied with the banoo

kalam wherever blue colour is needed. In those areas, where green is required the yellow

dye colour will have been applied before hand and over this blue is then applied, thus

changing the yellow colour into a beautiful soft green.

The cloth is finally washed in flowing water and then dried. The final product is

ready

Designs

Design themes

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 Kalahasti Kalamkari work specializes in producing temple cloths used as canopies

over the idols during festive celebrations or as panels to hang on the walls to provide a

background for religious functions. Quite obviously, the themes adopted for the designs

are from the epics and the Puranas. The following are some of them.

1. Dhruva Vijayam

2. Daksha Yagnam

3. Dasavataram

4. Sitarama Kalyanam

5. Sampoorna Raayanam

6. Mahabharata – Virataparvam

7. Venkateswara Charitam

Border designs

The panels usually have attractive, purely decorative borders within which the

scenes are contained. The court scenes and marriage pandals in particular are

embellished with beautiful line drawings in the borders.

11. Nirmal Paintings

In Nirmal town, Adilabad town there is a concentration of craftsmen known as

naqash, whose traditional art is painting seems from the Ramayana and

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Mahabharata87.Nirmal in Adilabad district is famous for its figures and toys. Equally

famous are Nirmal paintings which are one of their kind, the popular subjects that cover a

Nirmal paintings are Mughal and Indian Schools of paintings. In the Indian School the

most popular scenes are from Ramayana and Mahabharata, other than Mughal and

religious figures, floral designs, frescos from Ajanta and Ellora and Indian miniatures of

Mughal School are famous. These paintings are not only confined to wall hangings, but

also spread to the famous Nirmal furniture.

Although it is said that the Nirmal art is as old as Kakatiyan times, majority

believe that Nirmal art is post-medieval in nature.

Raw material

Raw material requied for Nirmal paitings are wooden boards (ply wood, teak

wood, hard board etc.) primers, puttis, sand paper, synthetic colours, brushes, spray guns

etc.

Manufacturing technique

First the required size of the wooden board is selected. On the reverse side of this

board half inch wooden beeding is nailed. Now the wooden board and beeding of the

reverse are applied with wooden primer, after a coat of this primer it is rubbed with sand

paper of different grades. Synthetic putty (lappam) is applied on the board evenly and

also on beeding to fillup any gaps. After drying these putty coating is also polished with a

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fine grade sand paper so that a very fine, smooth and even surface is prepared ready for

painting. This even and smooth surface is coated with black paint with the help of spray

gun. Two coats of black colour are given. Once the paint is dried the sketch of the

required figure is drawn either in white or in gold chalk, now the synthetic paints are

applied with fine brushes to complete the paiting in all respects. Once the painting is

completed it is given a simple one or two line border or a complicated designed border

depending on the subject of the painting. With this the actual part of the painting work is

completed. Once this paint has dried up, the entire board on the painting side is given

coat of clear warmish with the help of a spray gun which gives the lacquer finish to the

painting. Getting the lacquer finish to the paiting is the specialized technique of painters

and artisans of Nirmal88.

This is the technique uniformly used both for paitings of wall hangings and

wooden furniture of Nirmal. Multiple colours are used to get the natural appearance of

the subject. If a single colour is used it is obviously the gold colour. In any way gold

colour is extremely used in Nirmal paitings. Apart from black background the other

colours used as background for paintings are maroon or brown89.

12. Cheriyal Scroll Paintings

Cheriyal is a village situated in the Wanragal District of Andhra Pradesh. The

paintings are named after the village where they were manufactured. Cheriyal paintings

have the parallels like Pahad paintings of Rajasthan, Chitrakathi paintings of

Maharashtra, the Patachitra of Orissa and Pattas of Bengal90. These Cheriyal paintings are

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also known as Telangana Scrolls as they have become a part of the sociological and

cultural life and aspect of Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

The subject matter of these scroll paintings vary a lot. They include the origin of a

particular caste, heroic deeds, the legendary heroes, and mythological themes of Maha

Bharata, Ramayana, folk stories and every day life of village. As per the records this art

is surviving right from the early 17th century A D. The earliest legend of these scroll

paintings is the legend of Markandeya and Bhavana Rishi, the legendary originators of

Padmasalies. The earliest known from the Cheriyal scrolls were painted between the

1775 and 1900 and are in the collection of Shri Jagdish Mittal of Hyderabad91.

Some of these scrolls are having the names of the characters, owners and date.

The Cheriyal paintings have both Persian and Indian art influences particularly of

Vijayanagara art. The close resemblences of Vijayanagara and Nayaka paintings are

noteworthy.

The traits and parallels in style are discerned both in the scrolls of early date and

the sourthern schools of painting – the semi nude figures of agile standing on the base

lines with the feet and heads down in profile and directed to one side, leaving the chest

almost in frontal view. They show sensuous appreciation of value in their rounded

contours which are treated simply and clearly, and have powerful limbs and vehement

gestures which are accentuated by their gliding curves. Forehead and nose are in one

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peaked line and the eyes large without foreshortening in some figures a more sinous

profile, with part of the other eye also is seen92.

Interestingly in early scrolls also the pupils of the large eyes, following the

Vijayangara convention, are along the lower eyelids. The sweep of the striped garments

and the swing of fluttering girdles give an illusion of angular spiraling movement to the

figures which display a fondness for towering jeweled crowns and elaborately folded and

pleated draperies, with the flat curves of their design and patterns emphasized in different

colours. A heavy stress is laid on the many echoing curves of the flesh-folds of the neck,

of necklaces, armlets, anklets and the lavish use of jewelery on the heavenly beings.

The colour and disposition of draperies and ornaments have a purely formal

purpose and though the line cannot resist the urge to follow the swelling contours of the

figures thereby giving them scale and dignity, it is not allowed to disturb the rich two

dimensional texture of the painted surface.

With the changing times the subjects of art of Cheriyal paintings have also

changed. The disposition of draperies and ornaments changed according to the changes

in the society. Just like the Nirmal and Kondapally toys, the artisans who are basically

decented from Rajasthani folk The Cheriyal painters belonged to a clan called Soma

Kshatriya Kulam, their caste goddess is Nimishambika Devi. These artisans are also

known as “Nakashis”. The first Nakashi studio was esblished by one Shri Nakashi

Venkataramiah who used to live in Vemulawada in Karimnagar district93. Unlike other

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arts, the Nakashi works are done on different backgrounds like scroll painting, small

images, mobile temples, mosques etc. The Nakashi work can also be found in wood,

cloth, cement, mud, cow dung, papier machie etc. When it comes to paintings there are

panel paintings and scroll paintings. Unlike the other arts, there are specific

manufacturing techniques for these Nakashis; the clientale include Brahmin

householders, story tellers, street performers, established temples, local fairs etc.

However, the large clientale and the patterns the Nakashis used, did not prove

useful to a large extent for these artisans to have a comfortable life. Today very few

Cheriyal artisans are still working on these traditional art while most of the traditional

families of this art have shifted to other profitable professions like furniture making etc.

In Cheriyal village now one can see very few artisans of this art.

Manufacturing Technique:

An elaborate procedure is followed to prepare these paintings. A khadi cloth is

treated or coated with a mixture of starch (from rice), white clay, edible gum and

tamarind seed paste which gives it the required stiffness and also seals the pores,

facilitating colour retention.

Now this canvas is spread on an even surface and burnished with a polishing

stone. Panels are demarcated on the entire length of the canvas, the drawing lightly

sketched in Indian Red. Red colour of the background is applied next. After this, the

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colour of faces, costumes, trees and other outlines are filled in. Finishing of ornaments,

leaves and other smaller details are done in the end. Colours are bold and vibrant, adding

to the folk touch. The dominant background colour is invariably in bright shapes of red or

orange. There is liberal use of yellows, royal blue, light blue, green, white and black

colours. Earlier, all colours were natural vegetable dyes, but now synthetic colours are

also being used along with natural colours. Colours, costumes and characters are drawn

heavily from the local lifestyles, customs and traditions, depicting the present day society

and its culture.

Consecration ceremony:

Once the painting is ready the consecration ceremony is performed. The

performer pays the artist in cash and kind. The scroll is carried to a temple and left there

for three nights. A goat sacrifice is done, followed by a sumptuous dinner and merriment.

This ritual symbolizes a shift in the status of the painting from an aesthetic to a ritual

object.

Death of a scroll:

When the colours of a scroll are flaked, it is given to the artist to be re-painted94.

However, if the scroll is badly damaged, it is replaced and ritually consigned to the

waters. All the Hindu death ceremony rites are observed, followed by drinking wine and

eating meat.

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V 13. LEATHER PUPPETS

The art of Leather puppetry or Leather shadow puppetry play is called in Telugu

“Tholubommalata”. This is an art at least a few hundred years old although the exact date

of its origin is not known. The Arac Marathis, an immigrant tribe from Maratwada make

leather puppets and are adept puppteers95. This art is one of the most popular

entertainment before the advent of Movie films and Television. This art is as popular as

stage dramas in those days, as the main itself indicates these puppets are made out of the

sheep leather which is made so thin almost transparent and coloured. The puppets are

vigourously drawn on coloured and transferent leather then cut and shown against

flickering oil lamps after dark96.

When there was no electricity in the villages these shows were organized with the

help of Kerosine Petromax light to organize the show a group of singers and voice

dubbing artists along with simple musical instruments like Haromonium and Maddela

(Drums) are required. Four members are essential for the operation of instruments like

Mridangam, Harmonium, Dappu or empty tin97. These beautiful coloured puppets are

played against a white transfusion cloth which acts as a screen. The themes most are from

Epics. Even the tales were of social content or fairy tales98.

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 The most popular themes are “Ramayana” and Virata Parva of “Mahabharata”.

Even in the religious themes, animal, social characters like KETUGADU and

BANGARAKKA are invariably introduced to making the audience hilarious with their

comments; some times a bit of vulgarity is also included in the comments. Normally the

show starts around at 10.00 clock in the night and goes up to the dawn. The famous

centers of leather puppetry are D.C.Palley (Dharmaraja Chakra Palle) in Nellore District

and Nimmalakunta, Chakakarlapalle in Anantapur District. There are used to be several

families engaged in making and playing them. However with the advent of motion

pictures and television this art has gone into oblivion, a very few families of the older

generation, however, still they performing these leather puppets on special request by

Govt. and general public.

The technique of making of these leather puppets although a simple process it is

time taking and laborious. The basic raw material is wet skin of goat or deer99. The

process involves taking a goat or deer skin making it to a very thin sheet which becomes

quite and stiff as deer became a protected animal only goat or sheep skin is used. No

timing is done to the skin the skin is then cut into the required character after drawing the

sketch for smaller characters there of one animal is sufficient but main characters like

Ravana, Srirama etc. two or three skin s are needed to be jointed together; once the skin

is cut into characters shape in place of Jewellery punching of the holes is done so that the

holes against the back light appeared strikingly contrast, then the puppet is coloured and

made ready by fixing a bamboo stick handle at the rear of the figure, the figures will be

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made in such a way that the limbs and head fixed loosely to the main body so that the

movement of the figure and limbs in particular are made easy for puppet artists.

The present position of the leather puppetry and the puppet artists is very pitiable,

the art has almost faded away only to remain the once famous art; the Government once

in a way organizes these shows inviting the puppet artists by paying them expenses. Now

there are traditional artists or singers of these leather puppet shows..

The surviving few artists are making their livelihood by making and selling the

leather puppets to the rich house holders who are interested in displaying them in their

houses as wall hangings.

Technique

Manufacture of the puppet figures

The Tholubommalata performers themselves prepare almost all their equipment.

The main part of their equipment is of course the collection of leather puppet figures

itself. The leather figures are prepared as follows.

As the basic raw material is wet skin of a goat or deer. The wet skin is dipped in

warm water and cleaned with the help of a sharp knife to remove the hair and all sticky

matter100. No salt is applied and no process of tanning is involved. The skin is merely

made into a uniformly thin and clean membrane. This process takes about a day. The

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cleaned skin is then allowed to dry for a day. The dried skin looks lean, white, thin but

stiff about 1/32” in thickness and translucent. The skin will also be devoid of any smell.

The skin is now ready for being cut into the shape of the required figure101. Oftentimes

the skins are presented to the performers by the patrons. Normally, three skins are needed

to make a complete figure with moving parts, namely, the head, trunk and the limbs.

The traditional Tholubommalata performer is a consummate artist. He proceeds to

draw the outline of the figure he has to cut on the dried skin. Sometimes the figure is

merely traced from older figures. The cleaned and dried skin which is almost transparent

is placed over an old figure and the main lines are traced either by pencil or charcoal &

sometimes by a sharp instrument which when run on the skin marks a groove. When old

figures are not available or some original type of figure is contemplated, then the outline

of the figure is merely drawn free hand on the skin. The inner design of the figure to

represent the jewellery and clothing is then marked in delicate outline by means of a

sharp instrument. The figure is then cut out along the outer line of the drawing with an

ordinary pair of scissors.

The sizes of these puppet figures vary from about 3‟ – 6” to 5‟ – 6”. They are

generally made to conform to the actual size of human beings, if possible. Much smaller

figures as also larger sized figures are not unknown102.

The next operation is he punching of holes in the skin in accordance with the

designs represent jewellery. This is a delicate operation done very deftly by cutting out

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holes of different shapes according to a set design. Some holes are round, some oblong,

some triangular and some in the shape of a cross103.

These holes are made with the help of a circular punch and small sharp and

delicate chisels. The chains or the patterns of holes when finished present a striking

appearance particularly when the figures are silhouetted against a lighted screen, as they

are intended to be done, giving the illusion of shining jewellery that these holes represent.

The next step is to colour the leather figures. Chemical dyes are used for the

purpose. Different colours are used to give the picture a colourful appearance. The older

pictures had only two or three colours, mostly red and black. With the availability of

larger variety of dyes and apparently in order to make the pictures more attractive to the

audience, the artists started using various colours such as red, blue, green, violet, pink,

yellow, black and white104. Aesthetically, the modern figures with the larger flast of

colours look gaudy, though they are perhaps more popular with the rural folk. The older

pictures richer in workmanship (designs of jewellery and clothing) and the few colours

were blended more naturally rendering the picture more dignified. The colours are mixed

in water and spread on the skin as per the design with a piece of rag rolled into a lump.

The colours are applied on both sides of the skin. No definite sequence of application of

dyes is observed. However, a general convention of applying particular colours to

particular characters is followed. For example, the picture depicting Krishna or Rama is

generally coloured blue, and Anjaneya green. The female figures are generally dyed

orange or yellow. But this convention is not strictly observed. These dyes are not

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indelible and the performers have to be particularly careful during the rainy season to see

that the figures do not get wet. The figures are periodically smeared with coconut oil and

polished by rubbing with a piece of cloth. This preserves the colours and renders the

figures more shiny and attractive on the eve of the show.

The normal size of the human puppet figure is about 6‟ from head to toe. There

are figures much larger in size as also much smaller. The head portion is prepared on a

separate piece of skin, the trunk on a separate piece and the limbs in separate pieces. In

some figures the head and body together are made on a single piece. E ach leg is made of

one piece. The hands are, however, made into three different portions namely, the palm,

fore-arm and the upper arm. The entire figure is made up of these different portions being

hinged together by means of a strong string so that the portions can easily be moved

about. The head portion is, however, attached to the body by means of bamboo stick

which is secured to the body through loops so that it may be possible to rotate the stick

and change the direction of the face from one side to the other.

Types of figures produced

The Bommalata troupe keeps a wide range of figures which will be needed for the

various types of plays it has to perform. In certain plays as many as 80 figures will be

needed. Sometimes the clever performer produces the effect of different figures by

interchanging the heads and the trunks. It may be realized that these figures are collected

in the family over generation and judged by the cost of the figures, it is obviously

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impossible for the poor performer to manufacture or collect the whole lot in one‟s own

life time.

The artist generally follows a traditional design for the human forms of the

Puranic figures. In respect of these human figures a great semblance is noticed between

them and the famous ceiling paintings of the historic Lepakshi temple which is located at

a distance of about 12 miles from Hindupur in Anantapur District105. The figure of

Veerabhadra which is famous central ceiling painting at Lepakshi. Even the colour

scheme of the old traditional leather figures resembles that of these paintings. Further

more, the painting of Narasimha avatar reproduced in gives us an indication of the source

which inspired the puppeteers to punch mark the leather puppets in order to simulate

ornaments. Hence, that the art of leather puppet shadow play should have developed

about the same time as the Lepakshi temple came into being, i.e., about 16th century A.D.

apparently under the patronage of the ruling Vijayanagar kings who were great patrons of

art.

The leather puppets include figures of animals, birds etc.. It is of interest to note

that the figures of three cows with head in different positions looking as though they have

a common body is found to have been adopted from a similar piece of sculpture at the

Lepakshi temple106.

These various figures are produced by each of the Bommalata pieces for its own

use and never for sale and they are bequeathed from generation to generation in the

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family. I could manage to get a few odd obsolete pieces from the parties with some

difficulty after offering them fairly attractive monetary reward.

The Art of Shadow Play

In the previous paragraphs the details of how the leather puppet figures are

prepared have been explained. The technique of performing the shadow play will now be

examined.

Animation

It is stated that the earliest models of the leather shadow play figures consisted of

a single piece with immovable limbs. The entire figure was made merely to bend down or

up or turn round during the course of the play. The ingenious performers soon discovered

a method of animating the figures by making the neck and joints of the limbs flexible by

joining independent pieces together loosely. The art of animation is simple but requires

great dexterity and practice107. As already explained, the head of the figures is secured by

means of a bamboo stick which is passed through two loops in the trunk portion thus

helping to keep the head and the trunk together, and at the same time by the manipulation

of this stick the entire body or the head can be bent or by twisting it the head can be

turned in the opposite direction. Two other bamboo sticks are attached one each to the

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center of the two palms of the figure by an arrangement of a loop and a cross stick. (See

the illustration below which helps the sticks to be easily attached or removed.)

These two sticks play a great part in imparting action and life to the picture. The

performer holds the centre stick or the head stick in one hand which helps to keep the

entire body of the figure in the required position and the face in the required direction.

The other two sticks are held together in the other hand by the performer. By the very

dexterous and trained movement and manipulation of the left hand by the performer, the

puppet figures are made to salute, fight or gesticulate, as required.

Projection on the screen

As explained in the introductory part, the technique of the leather puppet figure

shadow plays is quite different from what is popularly understood of the puppet doll

shows. The puppets are not directly shown to the audience. The audience sits in front of a

big white screen the same as in the ordinary cinema show. But the projection of pictures

is not done from behind the audience on to the screen as in the ordinary film shows. The

entire operation takes place on the other side of the screen. Behind the screen, at a

distance of 1 ½ to 2 feet from it, two lamps are hung. In the olden days these lamps

consisted of burning wicks fed with castor oil. They have gradually taken to the petromax

light, which is easily available in the rural areas and is found to be more convenient; but

it is believed that the old castor oil lamps produced a much better effect. The shadow play

performers take their position behind the screen taking care to see that their own shadows

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are not projected on the screen. The leather puppet figures are then brought forward and

held closely against the screen. The lights help to silhouette the translucent leather figures

against the white screen in all their splendour of colours. The effect produced on the other

side of the screen where the audience gathers is thrilling and beautiful. It looks as though

the figures come from nowhere, for, the moment they are taken beyond the range of the

rays of the light of the lamps falling on the screen the figures seem to disappear into

nothingness. The players take care to see that their own bodies or limbs do not come

between the lamps and the screen. The sticks attached to the puppet figures help the

players to keep their hands as far away as possible from the screen and the figures are

animated entirely by the manipulation of the sticks.

Composition of the Shadow Play Troupe

The Shadow Play troupe may consist of the following:

(1) Two to four figure operators-cum-articulators:

(2) Drummer

(3) Harmonium Player

(4) One to play on a small nagaswaram, a piped instrument, mukhaveni as it is called

The Shadow Play themes

Themes from the epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are adopted for depiction

through the shadow plays. The popular plays are:-

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 (1) Lakshmana Murcha or Lakshmana losing consciousness in battle with Indrajit,

son of Ravana.

(2) Pathala havanamu (or homamu) or Ravana‟s tapas.

(3) Mahiravana charitra or the story of Mahiravana.

(4) Draupadi vastrapaharanam or snatching away Draupadi‟s wearing apparel

(5) Keechaka vadha or slaying of Keechaka.

(6) Virata parva or the period when Pandavas were in the court of King Virata

For putting up the puppet shows generally a central and open space in the middle

of the village is selected. Sometimes it may even be the middle of a wide street within the

village. A temporary stage is erected with bamboo frame work and thatties to cover the

sides and the rear. The size of the stage is about 9‟ long 7‟ broad and 8‟ high108. The front

portion of the stage is covered by a white screen made up of sarees or dhotis pinned

together by crude babul (acaciaferrugi-nea) thorns. A foot or so behind the white screen a

couple of wooden planks are spread one over the other with some inter space created by

placing small cross sticks. When the performers walks and jump on these planks,

necessary sound effects are produced particularly when depicting scenes of fighting and

so on. Oil lamps or petromax lights are hung from the top about a couple of feet away

from screen behind it. The performers stand almost in line with the lights with the puppet

figures held against the screen and manipulated by the hands with the help of sticks

attached to the figures so that the light rays from the lamp fall on the screen through the

figures and the shadow of the performer himself is avoided. At one end of the stage the

required figures for the drama are kept in a basket container or on an open cot. The song

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accompaniers stand or sit at one end of the stage and perform their task. The shows

generally commence at about 9 or 10 PM. And last till 4 to 5 AM the next morning. The

performers generally commence the show by singing an invocation to Lord Vigneswara

and Goddess Saraswathi.

VI 14. Tie and Dye

Tradition of textiles in India is an ancient one and goes back to pre-historic times

when weaving and dyeing of cotton had been developed109. Cotton textiles seem to have

been prevalent in India from the earliest times. Once again the Indus Vallery excavations

reveal a well developed stage in woven and dyed fabrics110. The discovery of a dyed

cotton fabric dating back to the Indus Vallery Civilization shows that the art of dyeing

with the use mordants was well known to the dyers of 5000 years age111.

The tie and dye technique is known all over India in different names, this art is

famous both at Gujarath and Rajasthan, although this art is known all over India. Process

is same every where with a slight difference. In most of the Northern and Western states,

the process is called Bandini and in Andhra Pradesh it is called tie and dye or Ikkat.

Examples of tied and dyed fabrics found central Asia shows the bandini (tied and dyed

fabrics) technique112. In Andhra Pradesh Pochempally, Koyyalagudem, Mangalagiri in

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Guntur District, Chirala in Prakasham District are the well-known places, for this art. The

delicate and elaborate process in which individual warp and weft threads are tied and

dyed according to a pre arranged pattern, is practiced in Pochampally of Nalgonda

district, and Chirala of Guntur district113.The process of tie and dye is same but the

designs differ from place to place.

Technique

In the actual process the cloth is first dipped in the indigo dye it is then folded

twice lengthwise and breadthwise to reduce it to its quarter size, by the careful use of a

number of small dots and circles it is possible to produce a kind of free rendering of any

wanted design. The entire process involves tying, colouring and discharging of the

colours and again repeating the same process. The border is a special process and in this

the border is tied according to the desired design, while passing through thread from one

end to other, in lose stitch so as to bring the entire portion together by pulling the thread

from one end. The border portion then covered, normally the border and saree portions

are either in matching colours or in contrast colours.

In the tie and dye process the workers display their skill in composing the designs

with the minute details and multiple colour schemes. In the actual process the tying of the

cloth into knots is done by a pointed nail. First the entire cloth is dipped into light

coloured dye then the portions which are to retain the light colour are tied. Again this

cloth is dipped in a dark coloured shade, the cloth is again tied where this particular shade

116
is to be retained, this way several times the cloth is tied and dipped from lighter to dark

shades.This way different designs are produced in this process, the designs include

flowers, leaves, creepers, animals, birds, human figures etc. There are also square and

circular, geometrical designs.

In this technique different colours are used to denote the mood of the person or

community. The colours commonly used in tie and dye are red, a symbol of marriage,

saffron colour worn by Yogi who renounced the world, yellow which stands for spring,

and black / maroon used for mourning.

The raw materials used for tie and dye process are – muslin, handloom and silk

cloth, ordinary thread for tying, starch and colours for dying. Traditionally vegetable dyes

were used but today chemical dyes are becoming very popular. The tools required are

also very basic – wooden blocks for making designs and simple implements for dying.

Apart from Koyyalagudem, Pochempally, Mangalagiri and Chirala the other

places like Puttpaka, Choutuppal and surrounding villages of these places are also good

tie and dye centres.

VII 15. CARPET WEAVING

It is presumed that the pile carpet was introduced by the sarcens into India from

Persia114. Andhra Pradesh has two famous centers for carpet weaving for the last few

centuries, they are at Warangal and Eluru which are the respective headquarters of the

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namesake Districts, Warangal is around 150 Kms. from Hyderabad which is connected

both rail and road way.

Warangal was the capital of the famous Kakatiya dynasty during 12 – 14th

Centuries. The carpet weaving industry has obviously imported from Persia during the

rule of Nawabs. Though Sir George Bird Wood in the Industrial Art of India (1880)

believed that carpet manufactured existed here before the Moughals there is hardly any

evidence to show that it was an organized Industry115. The pile carpet story begins in the

sixteenth century around 1500 AD – When the Mughal emperor brought some Persian

Carpet Weavers to India and setup the Royal Workshop in his own place116. Indian

carpet weaver ties his nots with great skill and dexterity on upright wooden looms of

traditional design117.

Warangal & Eluru (Andhra Pradesh) are among the oldest centres in India where
118
carpet weaving was an extremely flourishing craft at one time . Though no exact

information is available about when this industry was introduced in to the present Andhra

Pradesh region.

The raw material for carpet industry i.e. wool is available in plenty at this place

and also for export to the other carpet manufacturing centers like Mirzapur in U.P.,

Panipat in Punjab and Eluru in Andhra Pradesh119.

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 The hand woven carpet industry was very much flourishing till 20th century,

however, it‟s suffered a setback with upcoming of synthetic wools and introduction of

machines for weaving the carpets.

The traditional designs of Warangal carpets are mostly of Persian and Moghal

designs120. Some of the popular designs named Hashim Khani, Delhi Khani, Teeranders

Khanil, Mahbub Khani and Thotti designs. The standard sizes are 6 x 3‟, 7 x 4‟, 8 x 5‟, 12

x 9‟ and 15 x 12‟ rarely a carpet of 18‟ is woven. The quality of the carpet depends on the

knots for square inch, the more the number of knots with the more quality of the carpet.

Raw material used for carpet manufacturing are wool, jute twine, cotton twine for

binding, cotton yarn, dyes, wax, looms, hand knives, combe betar and scissors. The

manufacturing process includes selection of design, dying the woolen yarn of the

required colours, tying the warp, weaving the carpet and finishing. The raw wool

obtained is dyed as per the colour design of the carpet. The raw wool is normally in four

colours they are black, white fauun and grey. Normally the white colour wool is dyed to

the required other dark colours, Dyeing of wool is a skilled technical process using dyes

and chemicals. The weaving process of carpet is more or less is similar to that of a saree

weaving, expecting the carpet weaving involves the knotting process, once the carpet is

woven it is groomed with scissors to a uniform thickness.

Eluru

Eluru is situated on the Grand Trunk Road from Chennai to Kolkata. It is around

65 Kms. From Vijayawada and connected by both rail and road routes. Like Warangal

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Eluru is also known for the carpet industry for the last few centuries. The manufacturing

technique, selection of raw materials for all similar to the Warangal industry of carpet

weaving. The difference is mainly in the variation of the design. In Eluru carpet industry

apart from Persian and Moghal designs one can find the native Indian designs like

geometrics and floral. The wool for carpet industry is imported from difference places

including Warangal

Apparently due to the inherent dislike of the Hindus to handle raw skins and

wool, the tanneries had become the monopoly of Muslims. The pile carpet industry was,

therefore, started by engaging workmen who were all Muslims.

The Warangal pile carpets soon established a name for themselves. They were

able to secure even a good foreign market in the West. It is said that generally carpets of

size 7‟ x 4‟ were being exported to an extent of about 10000 pieces per month. This

industry had thriving business till about 30 years ago. Shanjir Pachan Fazal Seth, Nabi

Seth and Bhupati Veeraiah were the wholesale merchants who were dealing with these

carpets. The industry at its peak was providing employment to about 500 craftsmen121. It

so happened that the greed for quick profits made some capitalists to introduce some

inferior material in the manufacture of the carpet. The present workers say that the

manufacturers started using sagarmatta fibre instead of jute fibre as weft threads in order

to bring down the cost of the manufacture, but this particular fibre is not long lasting and

becomes brittle and breaks when the carpet is folded. The usage of this interior material

marked, the death-knell of the industry itself. The demand for the Warangal carpet in the

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foreign market died down. Several of the workers were thrown out of employment. They

took to alternative occupations as Tonga drivers, agricultural labourers, etc., to eke out

their livelihood. In the year 1930-31 a Government Carpet Factory was started to

rehabilitate these workers. The factory ran for about 15 or 16 years and then it too was

closed down122.

No specific reasons are revealed for the failure of the carpet factory. Some of the

old workers who had knowledge of its existence and working attribute the failure to

financial break down. But, one Sri C.Kodanda Rao, who had worked as Manager in the

factory for some years up to February 1947, gives out a different and more probable

version. The factory was started and financed from the Industrial Trust Fund of the

erstwhile Hyderabad state mainly on an experimental basis. The policy of the then

Government was not to run industrial concerns themselves but to encourage private

individuals to take up such undertaking successfully. The factory was not running on loss

but, on the other hand, it is claimed that it was making profit when Sri Kodanda Rao left

it at the time of communal disturbances. Negotiations were then afoot to sell away the

unit to Late Thayabjee. Later, Sri Thayabjee, a partner of the local Azamzahi Mills took

up the industry, but he also did not run it and the factory fell into disuse gradually123. It

appears the factory was not fond adequately profitable by Late Thayabjee owing to

certain hardships like shortage of supply of raw wool, woolen yarn, dye stuffs and

chemicals and also regarding disposal of stocks produced, and this caused him to

dismantle it.

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 There may not be more than 40-50 workers who have this industry as their source

of livelihood at present. One who works on carpet looms cannot generally go in for any

additional work and vice versa. It is, therefore, hardly possible to find any worker who

has this craft as a subsidiary source of livelihood.

Carpet Designs:

The old traditional designs of the Warangal carpets go by the following names:

1. Hashim Khani

2. Delhi Khani

3. Teerandas Khani

4. Mahbub Khani

5. Thotti designs

These are all Persian designs and said to consume a lot of labour. Originally

prayer carpet of size 4‟ x 2‟ with a special design of a rectangular figure with a dome at

the top called “Zehanawaj‟ was a popular carpet that was being produced124. Of late the

center has taken to the production of any modern design with floral or geometrical figures

in accordance with the order of the customers. The carpets produced are of the following

sizes.

6‟ x 3‟ 12‟ x 9‟

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 7‟ x 4‟ 15‟ x 12‟

8‟ x 5‟

The maximum width up to which a carpet can be made is 18‟. The carpets are

produced with 4 ½ knots of pile per inch, 5 knots or 6 knots. Even finer carpets with 8 or

10 knots per inch are also produced on special orders.

It has to be mentioned here that the designs are not standardized. Generally, the

designs which could be manufactured are too numerous, but they bear no individual

names as such. No particular care is bestowed at Warangal for naming the carpets by

their design. The design of the carpet is selected by the customer, from album of

photographs maintained with the maker.

Generally, hand-spun woolen yarn is used for these carpets. But, for the especially

fine carpets mill-spun yarn imported from Amritsar or Singapore is used. The cost of the

carpet is obviously governed by the quality and quantity of the yarn used, which forms

the chief raw material.

Raw Materials and Implements

The raw materials needed for woolen pile carpet manufacture are as follows125:

1. Wool

2. Jute twine and cotton twine for binding (weft)

3. Cotton yarn No.6x6 ply (for the warp)

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 4. Dyes – Chemical dyes obtainable in the bazaar. Only acid colours are required

as wool takes these colours only.

5. Dyeing vats for dyeing wool

6. Stillages for drying dyed woolen yarn

7. Loom – which will be described later

8. (a) A special knife

(b) Reed or comb beater

(c) Scissors

Process of Manufacturing

The manufacturing process of a pile carpet from the point of placing an order for

a carpet till it is produced will be described hereunder.

Design

The customer wanting to purchase a carpet indicates the design of the carpet.

There are a few traditional designs already named. The carpet production center does not

maintain a catalogue as such but it has an album showing a few designs. The carpet

manufacturers can produce the carpet of any given design. Therefore, the consumers with

individual tastes prefer to give their own design.

On a customer indicating his design, it is reduced on to a graph sheet to guide the

weaver. This is the work of an expert designer. There appears to be only one person,

Mohd. Khaja by name was well versed in designing. It is a sad feature that no other

124
person has been trained in expert designing as yet. While reducing the design on to a

graph sheet the colours are also noted.

Woolen yarn and dyeing process

By examining the design and the colour scheme, and taking into consideration the

size of the carpet and the texture, the quantity of woolen yarn needed and the colours into

which it should be dyed are determined. Generally, the manufacturer would be storing

adequate quantity of wool yarn dyed into different shades.

Dyeing

Raw wool is obtained in four colours, namely, white, black, fawn and grey. These

are spun into yarn. Hanks of white woolen yarn are used for obtaining all light colours by

dyeing. White wool is not used for being dyed into darker colours as te cost of the white

wool is much higher than the other three shades of natural wool. Fawn coloured wool is

used for being dyed into maroon, green, brown, red or blue colours Grey wool is used for

being dyed into very dark colours such as dark red, dark green, etc. Sometimes a mixture

of different shades of natural coloured wool, such as grey and white, is made and dyed to

produce certain intermediate colours.

The individual master craftsmen who dye the woolen yarn required for their needs

do not own any such built up vats for the purpose. Some use broad vessels (or pots also)

125
big or small according to the quantity of yarn to be dyed. Ordinary fuel is used for

heating126.

The dyeing of wool is also a specialized process. As has been stated in an earlier

paragraph, woolen yarn of certain basic natural colours is used for being dyed into certain

required colours. The dyeing is done as follows. In the vat water is heated up to 150oF.

About 6 Lbs. Of water is used for every 2 Lbs.of yarn to be dyed. To this added 1 Oz.of

common salt and 1 Oz.of ammonium sulphate. Then the required dye is added at the rate

of 2 tolas per 2 Lbs.of yarn. Only the chemical dyes available in the market obtained at

the rate of about Rs.13.00 per pound are used for this purpose. One ounce of sulphuric

acid is also added. The yarn is then pur inside the vat and the heat increased to 190oF.

This heat is maintained for about 2 ½ hours. Shivapane which is a balancing agent is

added at the rate of 2 tolas per hank of yarn and the vat is boiled again for about half-an-

hour to one hour to bring about uniformity of colour. The yarn is then taken out of the vat

and cleaned in cold water. The yarn is ultimately kept on stillages, which are cot-like

structures with loop steel strips on the top for about one to one and half hours so that all

the water may drain off from the wet yarn. The dyed yarn is then allowed to dry under the

sun for one day. The yarn is now ready for use. The dyed yarn is then stored away in a

room. Chemical dyes are preferred because it is felt that when once the yarn takes the

chemical dye it is free from moth attack. Even when hanks of woolen yarn in their natural

colours are to be used, they are boiled in the vat with common salt, ammonium sulphate

and sulphuric acid added without putting any dye, before it is used for the carpet

manufacture.

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Cotton and Jute Yarn

The other raw materials needed are cotton yarn for the warp, jute or hassen thread

for the purpose of weft.

The requirement of the woolen yarn, the warp yarn and the weft binding thread is

estimated as follows. One SqYard carpet of six knots would require the following

quantities of yarn, 5 Lbs. Woolen yarn. The juste weft thread is used as per requirements.

No definite scale has been laid.

Typing of the warp

After finalizing the design and securing the required quantity of woolen yarn of

the requisite colours as also the cotton yarn and the jute weft thread, the first stage of

manufacture consists of the typing of the required warp. For the purpose of the warp,

strong cotton thread is necessary.

Three pegs of about 3‟ height which may be ordinary iron crowbars are driven on

to the ground in line. The distance between the first and the third peg should be the length

of the carpet plus 6 feet. The cotton yarn is would round these three pegs by taking it

across the three pegs in an alternate fashion as indicated in the diagram below.

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 Soon after the knot is so made, the worker cuts the ends of the woolen yarn with

the special knife (chhuri) which he can conveniently handle in one hand even as he ties

the knot and can cut the ends of the yarn immediately the knot is made. The knotted

woolen yarn so cut forms the pile of the carpet. After the knotting of the yarn over the

entire row is completed, the binding thread which will form the weft is passed through

the warp. The warp threads are then leased by moving the bent wooden bits described

earlier just above the head of the worker. The binding jute yarn is once again passed

through the warp threads are again leased and then lastly the cotton binding thread called

bafa is passed and the warp leased for the third time127. The worker strikes down the pile

and binding threads together each time the binding weft is passed through the warp with a

comb-like instrument called the „reed‟ or panja or the „comb-beater‟. The pile ends are

then cut uniformly by the worker with a ordinary scissors to maintain a common level.

Thus a team of workers keep on weaving the carpet line by line by a process of knotting

the pile, binding, leasing, and securing the pile firmly by beating down with the reed and

finally cutting the pile till the entire length of the carpet is completed. As and when the

carpet piling keeps making progress the bottom roller of the loom is wound with the

woven carpet. It will be seen that the extra length of the 6‟ provided for the warp will be

necessary to enable the worker to knot the piles at the finishing end of the carpet and also

the long free ends of the warp are needed for the leasing process and also for winding

around the rollers. The edges of the carpet are then secured by weaving with the binding

weft over ½ “or so and the ends are tied up and the finished carpet dismounted from the

loom.

128
Finishing

After the weaving of the carpet on the loom is completed and is dismounted from

the loom, it is spread on the floor and the piles are given a final leveling up by shearing it

with finishing scissors. The ends of the carpet are knotted and the carpet given a general

brushing. The carpet is now ready for the market. It needs no mention that a carpet is not

washed at all, but only dry cleaned after use. A Sixteenth Century carpet, finely oven

with 400 knots to the square inch is today in the South Kensington Museum, London128.

129
 NOTES AND REFERENCES

01 Glimpses of the Nizams dominions – 1898, Hyderabad, p.146

02 Imperial Gazetter of India, Vol.III, p.240.
03 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Handicrafts of India – Indian council for Cultural relations
and New Age Publishers Ltd. New Delhi ,1995, p.83,
04 Directorate of Censes operation, Andhra Pradesh – Selected crafts of Andhra Pradesh –
Vol.iii, 1961, Hyderabad, P.11.
05 Ibid.p.11
06 Imperial Gazetter of India, op.cit.pp.169-170.
07 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.12.
08 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.83.
09 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.14.
10 Ibid.p.15
11 Ibid.p.17
12 Ibid.p.17
13 Ibid.p.29
14 Ibid.p.42
15 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.83
16 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.42.
17 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.83
18 D.N.Saraf, Indian Crafts – Development and Potential, Vikas Publishing House, New
Delhi, 1982- p.10
19 Ibid.p.10
20 Jasleen Dhamaja, Indian Folk Arts and Crafts, National Book Trust, India, New Delhi,
1970-p.63
21 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.43
22 Shanti Swaroop, The Arts and Crafts of India and Pakistan – p.42
23 News Time, Pretty – Pemberthy – Hyderabad, 26th February, 1988.
24 Jasleen Dhamaja, op.cit.p.60
25 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.10
26 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.85
27 Directorate of Censes operation, Andhra Pradesh – Selected crafts of Andhra Pradesh –
Vol.i, 1961, Hyderabad, P.13.
28 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.85
29 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.13.
30 Ibid.p.14
31 Ibid.p.14
32 Ibid.p.20

130
33 Ibid.p.20
34 Ibid.p.20
35 Ibid.p.20
36 Ibid.p.21
37 Ibid.p.21
38 Ibid.p.24
39 Ibid.p.24
40 Ibid.p.25
41 Ibid.p.25
42 Ibid.p.25
43 Ibid.p.28
44 Ibid.p.28
45 Ibid.p.28
46 Ibid.p.28
47 Ibid.p.28
48 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.86
49 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.28.
50 Ibid.p.29
51 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.86
52 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.29.
53 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.86.
54 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.14
55 Andhra Pradesh Journal, Red Sanders – The pride of Andhra Pradesh, Govt. of A.P.
Hyderabad, October, 1964.pp.40 – 41
56 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.87.
57 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.14
58 Ibid.p.118.
59 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.90.
60 Ibid.p.91
61 Ibid.p.61
62 Shampa Shah (Ed.), Tribal Arts and Crafts of Madhya Pradesh, Mapin Publishing Pvt.Ltd.
and Vanya Prakashan, Ahmadabad, 1996, p.26.
63 Jasleen Dhamaja, op.cit.p.76
64 Ibid.p.76
65 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.44
66 Personal Interview with the Artisans by the scholar on his personal visit to Nirmal Toys
and Arts Industries Co.op.Society, Nirmal
67 Personal Interview, op.cit.
68 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.14
69 Ibid.p.118
70 S.Srinivas, Wooden delights of Ettikoppaka, Deccan Chronicle, 26th September, 1999,
Hyderabad.

131
71 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.44
72 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.118
73 Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Development of Handicrafts of Andhra Pradesh – A
Report, Jaipur, 2004,p.27
74 S.Srinivas, op.cit.
75 Personal Interview with the Artisans by the scholar on his personal visit to Kondapally
village.
76 Personal Interview, op.cit.
77 Personal Interview, op.cit.
78 Personal Interview with the Artisans by the scholar on his personal visit to Kalahasti.
79 Directorate of Censes operation, Andhra Pradesh – Selected crafts of Andhra Pradesh –
Vol.i, 1961, Hyderabad, p.86.
80 Ibid.p.87
81 Ibid.p.87
82 Ibid.p.87
83 Ibid.p.87
84 Ibid.p.88
85 Ibid.p.88
86 Personal Interview.op.cit.
87 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.43
88 Personal Interview with the Artisans by the scholar on his personal visit to Nirmal Toys
and Arts Industries Co.op.Society, Nirmal
89 Personal Interview. op.cit.
90 Akole T.S., Aruna Prasad and Ibha Kapoor, Cherial Paintings of Andhra Pradesh – A
Report, Dakshina Chitra and Madras Crafts Foundation, Chennai, 2007.p.01.
91 Ibid.p.1
92 Mittal Jadish , The Printed Scrolls of Deccani Picture showmen – Seventeenth to Ninteeth
Century, Jyotindra Jain(Ed.), Marg Publications , Delhi, 1998, pp.56-57.
93 Akole T.S., Aruna Prasad and Ibha Kapoor,op.cit.p.04
94 Ibid.p.08
95 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.44
96 Ibid.p.44
97 Dr.B.Venkateswarlu, A critical Study of Leather Puppetry in Andhra Pradesh, p.89
98 Ibid.p.85.
99 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.44.
100 Ibid.p.44
101 Ibid.p.44
102 Ibid.p.44
103 Ibid.p.44
104 Ibid.p.45
105 Ibid.p.45
106 Ibid.p.46

132
107 Ibid.p.53
108 Ibid.p.65
109 Jasleen Dhamaja, op.cit.pp.10-11
110 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.30
111 Jasleen Dhamaja, op.cit.p.19
112 Ibid.p.20
113 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.43
114 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, op.cit.p.54
115 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.06
116 Ibid.p.06
117 Ibid.p.06
118 Ibid.p.07
119 Directorate of Census operation. op.cit. p.148.
120 Ibid.p.148
121 Ibid.p.149
122 Ibid.p.149
123 Ibid.p.149
124 Ibid.p.151
125 Ibid.p.157
126 Ibid.p.158
127 Ibid.p.169
128 D.N.Saraf.op.cit.p.07

133