If you’re looking for a gift that no one else could ever give, something to stand out in someone’s life for as long as they live, if you want to get a laugh or a genuine smile, then visit Channapatna, maybe stay for a while? my toys are simple but they’re unique and bold and each comes with their own special story, when sold if the sound of wooden engines is something you love? Channapatna toys are the one to speak of there are trains and clowns, natural things all around when folks across sea view my toys, they have rarely frowned so if you are a fan, and my art you enjoy Channapatna is the place to purchase a toy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Journey of the F.C Cluster 2016 Channapatna, was in its truest means, one of the most breathtaking experiences that has influenced our lifes collectively and individually. Due to which we are here to express our deepest appreciation to all those who provided us with the possibility to witness this project. A special gratitude goes out to our mentor, Dilnaz Ma’am, whose contributed in stimulating suggestions and encouragement, helped us coordinate the project especially through documentation of this report. A special thanks to our Graphic design faculty, Sanjeev C.M. sir for guiding us with the proper understanding of the layouts for our documentation. Furthermore, I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role of the craftsmen and artisans who ensured we got everything we required, with all the necessary materials to inaugurate “The Channapatna Charm”. We were more than loving and we will always be thankful to them! A special thanks goes to our team mates, who helped recreate everybody’s desires in regards to our project. We assembled parts of everybody’s expression, after which we created for ourselves this book of wholesomenes. Last but not least, many thanks go to the head of the college, The Director of NIFT Bengaluru along with all the rest of our faculties who invested their full efforts in guiding and achieving this goal. I have to appreciate the guidance given by other supervisor as well, ex-student documentations especially in our project presentation that has improved our presentation. To conclude, this one goes to our 6th team member, Chacha ji. We don’t have much to say to him, except that.. We’ll be coming back soon!
CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the Craft cluster project titled “Channapatna� is a record of work done by the student, Name & Registration No as a Regular student for the degree of B.Des Fashion Communication during the period of July 2015, which represents as independent work and does not form the base for any previous work.. PLACE: Bengaluru DATE : 17-2016 Under the Guidance
Ms. Dilnaz Bano Assistant Professor Department Of Fashion Communication National Institute of Fashion Technology Bangalore - 560102.
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external jury member
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CONTENTS ABOUT CLUSTER INTRODUCTION SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION HISTORY LIFESTYLE OF THE ARTISANS MATERIAL SPECIFICATION PRODUCTION PROCESS GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT MAYA ORGANIC NEELASANDRA KATERPILLAR KALANAGAR EFFECTS OF CRAFT ON CLUSTER STORIES OUR EXPERIENCE
CLUSTER AT ITS ORIGIN The Department of Craft Cluster is an Initiative at NIFT Bangalore under the Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. The seminar is aimed towards bringing together all stakeholders from the Indian handicraft industry, especially Karnataka, to evaluate and create opportunities for the artisans. The seminar takes into consideration both the handicraft and handloom industries. Craft Survey and Documentation: As part of the Craft Cluster initiative of NIFT, students undertake field visits to closely interact and work with craftsmen to add value to their products. Through the Crafts Cluster Initiative, NIFT faculty, students and alumni play a proactive role in the growth of traditional handicrafts & handlooms; at the same time, NIFT also collaborates with leading fashion institutions around the globe, to keep itself abreast of latest global trends and developments. The Minister said that it is a tribute to the academic rigour of NIFT programmes, that almost 3000 industry-ready professionals are delivered by its various campuses and placed with the best names in the fashion industry every year. National Handicraft Development Programme has been launched which emphasizes integrated approach for holistic development & support to the crafts & artisans. The new approach is built on the key element of empowering artisans by skill upgradation, design development, technology upgradation and supply of raw material, through easily accessible Common Facility Centers at cluster level. Developing and strengthening marketing linkages through various options such as exporters, direct sale, participation in sale expos and e-commerce is another major component of new approach. Welfare of the artisans is being taken care of through Handicrafts Artisans comprehensive welfare schemes. The NIFT craft cluster is one of the biggest embarkments to better improve the circumstances of the craftsmen and artisans by the government of India and this initiative is carried on till today. “On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded.” “The Lotus” by Rabindranath Tagor
INTRODUCTION
THE CHANNAPATNA CHARM
Our narration began two centuries ago from now, Channapatna or ‘Gombegala Ooru’ (toy town) Karnataka has been known for its wooden and colourful lac-turnery toys that the craftsmen so deftly manufacture and bring to the market. But the newer generation may better familiarise Channapatna with its introduction in Bollywood. One of several towns in Ramanagara district, where the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay was shot, Channapatna is spread across 58,000 hectares. For centuries, most of the families in this town of 72,000 have been making wooden toys for a living.But that legacy is now taking a hit from the constant migration of expert toy-makers.The origins of toy making in Channapatna, which is 65 kilometers from the medieval city of Srirangapatnam, can be traced to the 18th century rule of Tipu Sultan. That was when the monarch brought Persian toymakers to his Sultanate to train local handicraft workers and artisans after being gifted one himself.Today, those traditional skills of Channapatna’s toymakers are globally recognised and protected as a geographical indication (GI) by the World Trade Organisation. This ensures that these toys cannot be copied and made anywhere else in the world. But though the fame and name of Channapatna toys resonates with pride globally, people in the industry have only tales of injustice and grief to narrate.
ARTS AND CRAFTS OF CHANNAPATNA
“Toys gave me money. As soon as a toy was complete, The other special feature which add up to the merit I had to put it in a box, to send it to the market later. I couldn’t waste my time playing,” says Mohammad Farooq, a 43-year-old traditional toymaker in Channapatna,
The lacquered Channapatna wooden toys are known for their aesthetic appeal which is made with bright and vivid colors. The finishing of the wooden toys is very smooth and hence it is not dangerous by any means. They are very eco- friendly in nature. A distinct traditional craft technique is used in the making of the Channapatna toys by lacquering the ivory wood. It is noted for its high permanence and durability.
the colors further. These special qualities make of these wooden toys are that they are made with the Channaptna toys ideal for children. ivory wood which is specially meant for export. The lacquer colors which are used in the making of the toys “Its like bringing up a child when you are an arare prepared from natural shellac. tisan. You get that satisfaction when you see your product transform from the raw wood to the Here toy workshops still rely on traditional methods final shape, like them taking the first footsteps, the locally found wood is turned on lathe and colthen getting shapes, then making their initial ored with organic sources such as turmeric for yellow, forays into the market, and finally, you have to indigo for blue, red from vermillion and brown from sell them. It’s like holding their hands through katha. this whole process and then giving them away. Artisans use a locally available cactus leaf as a file. Each It’s more than the money.” piece is processed with hands & it is made sure that none of the toys have sharp edges. -Aruna Ranganathan, 2013, Artisan in ChanThe lacquer finish makes them further napatna. smooth, imparts a luster and brightens up
SECONDARY DATA DOCUMENTATION 5th August, 2016 Starting Line Secondary Data Collection Process 11th July, 2016. 9:06 o’clock flashed on our alarm clocks. We were back. we entered in with a sacred mixture of wholesomeness and a hangover from last night, well in our defence, we have NIFTian traditions to follow. With our pre-occupied minds and brand new outfits planned out for the first day we settled ourselves into seats we didn’t belong to and began to mentally prepare ourselves for what we exactly knew was about to happen next. Channapatna 2016. On the day of our arrival, we were given a briefing about what we were required to accomplish, our objectives and our motives behind the chosen Cluster topic for FC 2016. We were given a run-through of the working system that we were required to follow after which our creativity was unchained. We were given an opening to all kind of possibilities, How were we expected not to go wild? Each came up with newer fresher and unrealistic ideas with untaming energy. And with that note, we ended the day. We started fresh on the 12th and 13th, with guest lecturers from renowned guest faculties such as Professor who embraced and enlightened us with information we were not only unaware about but which was also much required. Through out the process of secondary data we were often aided with all the required information and support from our faculties and our mentor Dilnaz ma’am who took a closer, more keen interest with impeccable guidance to help us build. Not just the documentation but also us as people. Registered goals in our heads, we all headed to the Resource Centre that belongs to our college in-order to gather as much information as we could. We took reference from previously documented journals based on Channapatna such ‘Handmade in India’ that threw light on concepts such as the toys, geographical location, people, artisans, history etc. Alongside we also looked through documentations created and re-created by seniors and ex-students, even the ones not based on Channapatna. Equal importance was given to the technical aspects of the documentation. Layouts, concepts, typography, logo design, marketing, branding, re-branding and packaging were all given special attention. We studied available material online with the help of sites, reference images and video covering all topics in ambition to create a strong understanding upon the topic in question. We even visited recommended stores to get a better understanding of what our mentors were trying to convey. Having a fair idea of what we individually expected to attain, each of us roughly sketched what we individually imagined the documentation to look like. After 3 days of brain storming and heavy evaluation we brought our spirits together and yield ourselves not one but many ideas. From upliftment of lifestyle, raw material analysis, to jewellery enhancement, we went through it all. The reference videos which we stumbled upon at the time of research budded inspiring motion directors of the group. Where on one end we insisted on focusing upon the marketing aspect of our study the other was equally excited about working on an advancement to create more business opportunities. The artistical imposters of the group stuck on how to optimise the art and essence of the channapatna culture and create cultural fusions. Well, in a college of above average creationists, this behaviour is considered to be normal. With all the dispute and confusion, there was something we all happened to agree upon, WE WANTED IT BIG!
We decided to concentrate on the tourism of Channapatna, where we intended to study what brings any graphical change to the sales of Channapatna products due to its tourism assets. Through which we could analyse the marketing potential of the place simultaneously and for those who chose to try their hand on creativity, we left enough scope for the crafstmen. Questionnaire Phase Having decided upon our topic of research we each divided areas as per the basis of strengths and pre-existing interests. We drew out a summary of all the places we were to visit in order to accumulate all the required information to conclude our research. We boiled down to places such as Kalanagar, Katerpillar, Kaveri, Neelasandra, Jeevanpur, Islamapur and many others. Not only had be faired out where our next stop was going to be but also what had to be asked, directly and indirectly to activate our research plan. A final questionnaire was created that tied the research together accompanied by individual questions we were curious to know answers to. And we set out to finish what started!
HISTORY TIPU SULTAN Channapatna toys were created due to the efforts of Tipu Sultan in the late 18th Century. It is said that the Sultan was a great admirer of wooden toys and invited artisans from Persia (present day Iran) who came to Mysore and taught the local artisans the art of making the wooden toys. Tipu Sultan was a great patriot, a very shrewd general and an amazing business visionary. He is responsible for bringing up many other things to the place but unfortunately many of them have not survived, but Channapatna toys are still being made. There are a lot of people working behind promoting and expanding this traditional artwork, some loves this artwork and are thus a part of it whereas some are practising it just to earn their livelihood.
BAVAS MIYAN Bavas Miyan is the father of Channapatna Toy. He is the one to sacrifice his life for channapatna toys. He adopted Japanese technology for toys making and help the local artisans improve their art.People say that he was the person who went to Japan, learn the art there which he taught his fellow artisans after coming back to India. The craft has diversified over time; in addition to the traditional ivory-wood, other woods—including rubber, sycamore, cedar, pine and teak—are now used as well. Manufacturing stages include procuring the wood, seasoning the wood, cutting the wood into the desired shapes, pruning and carving the toys, applying the colours and finally polishing the finished product. Vegetable dyes are used in the colouring process to ensure that the toys and dolls are safe for use by children.
For nearly two centuries, ivory-wood was the main wood used in the making of these toys, though rosewood and sandalwood were also occasionally used. A 200-year old legacy however found itself on shaky ground when the markets were flooded with ‘Made in China’ products; low cost Chinese toys and plastic playthings soon replaced indigenous toys. Livelihoods were threatened, but thankfully not for long, as soon as the customers became aware of the toxic chemicals used to make those toys, the handmade Channapatna toys came back in demand . The government and NGOs were able to rein in the damage and transformed Channapatna’s state of affairs. Even though there are some artisans who are still not satisfied by the help that has been provided by the government.
LIFESTYLE OF THE ARTISANS Talking about the people of Channapatna, a dyeing passion for a tradition seems present in each. Currently in Channapatna there reside about 5000 families which still carry a link with the soon diminishing craft. Although illiteracy is a feature that does not prevail in Channapatna, not everybody chose a higher standard of education. The lack of social change in and around the area have lessened the opportunities of the artisans and the residents. Schools have been built but infrastructural barriers still seem to prevail. Power-cuts seems to occur often and cause hinderance to artisans who lack facilities like generators or work at small enterprises.
With the craft flourishing, craftsmen have grown in numbers. While the domestic market took it for granted, international market lapped it up doing it more harm than benefit. The entire toy making industry is a small scale industry. Some are so small that the work is done right outside the homes of these skilled artisans. But, the majority of them are shops where four to six people can work together. Toys from Channapatna do not have any sharp edges or use any chemicals that can inflict damage to a kid which in turn proved to be lucrative to their business in comparison to Chinese products. Companies like Microsoft have done their fair share in the development of Channapatna by being one of their most profitable customers,. The initiative created by
Microsoft changed the mannerism of Channapatna toys They were the authentic wooden toys but with the newer designs which involved puzzles and mathematical games, and soon started a new trend of toys. The people of Channapatna are laid back in nature, even then nearly all the toy factories big and small are open from Monday through Saturday except for national or state holidays and the small factories are open on Sunday. Even if they are closed, the owner might open it if interested travellers come along. They speak Hindi and Kanada and a large portion of their population are muslim by religion. They live in small houses with minimal necessities and earn a salary of 10,000 on
average per artisan. The lack of development seems to be highly prominent. On speaking to the artisans we got to know that the people of Channapatna were promised multiple developments by the government but nothing has still been done about it. Each family of an artisan on an average has 3-4 children and when asked about their future they all were tainted by the idea of their children continuing with the art. They all said “ their children were going to be educated and work unlike them, they wouldn’t want their children leading the same life they lead.�
PRODUCTION PROCESS
RAW MATERIALS USED WOOD Usually Halewood or ivory wood is used as these are light weight, soft and easy to cut, process and finish. The types of wood used are Pine wood, rubber wood, banyan wood, beech wood etc. Wrightia tinctoria wood The wood of Wrightia tinctoria is used extensively in India for carving and lacquer work for toys. The timber is high in quality and valuable. The white wood, which is very fine, is used for turnery, carving, toy making, matchboxes, small boxes and furniture. High levels of extraction is resulting in it becoming scarce in some regions. The famous channapatna are made from its wood. The bark is smooth, yellowish-brown and about 10 mm thick, producing a milky-white latex.
TOOLS Turning tools are generally made from three different types of steelCarbon steel High speed steel (HSS) Powdered metal Comparing the three types, high speed steel tools maintain their edge longer, requiring less frequent sharpening than carbon steel, but not as long as powdered metal tools. The harder the type of high speed steel used, the longer the edge will maintain sharpness.
Unlike other edged woodworking tools, woodturning tools require more frequent sharpening, because the wood passes at a great speed. To maintain a clean cut, the sharpness of the tools edge must be maintained.
the tool. As with any mechanical sharpening method, overheating or blueing is a danger to be avoided as it will ruin the steel’s temper, rendering the steel too soft to maintain a sharp edge.
Sharpening is usually accomplished with the aid of mechanical devices such as powered sharpening wheels and abrasives.
When this happens, the blued area must then be ground away to expose fresh steel and the tool must then have the bevel reestablished and the edge re-honed. High speed steel is not prone
This sharpening process requires either skill of the craftsman, or one of the many available sharpening jigs, which facilitate maintaining a specific bevel on
The famous channapatna are made from its wood. The bark is smooth, yellowish-brown and about 10 mm thick, producing a milky-white latex.
COLOURS
After the wood s prepared and cut and carved into the desired shape, it is turned on lathe and colored with organic sources such as turmeric for yellow, indigo for blue, red from vermillion and brown from katha. The lacquer finish makes them further smooth, imparts a luster and brightens up the colors further. Some artisans, these days also use poster colours, acrylic colours, spray paints etc.
THE PROCESS OF COLOUR MAKING • • • • • •
First of all, vegetable or natural dyes are prepared which are dried naturally. This is the reason that the artisans don’t have all the colours but rather mix two three colours using the natural dyes. These colours are added to lacquer (which is heated) and comes in the form of chips. These lacquer chips melts on getting heated which helps in mixing the the colour. After the natural dye (dried form) is added to the lacquer, it is then mixed properly to blend the colours uniformly. Once the colours are mixed, these are made into sticks, dried for around 10-15 minutes and are then ready to use.
THE PROCESS OF TOY MAKING • Wood is the main raw material used in the making of Channapatna toys. • Usually Halewood or ivory wood is used as these are light weight, soft and easy to cut, process and finish. • The entire work space used only one kind of machine which was the Lathe/wood turning machine. • There were 18 such machines in this particular industry and they were running on electricity. • Woodturning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe. • Woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving. • Many intricate shapes and designs can be made by turning wood. • After the wood is cut and given the desired form, colour is applied. • There are two distinct methods of turning wood: spindle turning and bowl or faceplate turning. • Their key difference is in the orientation of the wood grain, relative to the axis of the lathe.
Maya organics (interview- mr.Srinivas) •Maya organics is an N.G.O which started in 2001, with the main purpose of training female artisans. •Faced a lot of problems initially as it was considered a male oriented job before. •They train artisans (above 18 years of age) for around 6 months and even provide them with stipend. •Workers here usually work for 3 to 8 hours daily and are paid around 400 rupees per day. •Halewood (scientific name-Wrignitia Tinctoria) is the main raw material that is used.
•Girls work here before and after marriage as well. •Maya manufactures goods which can be categorized mainly into 3 categories:Push and pull toys Montessori products Home accessories •The most popular toy that they make is KABI. •Raw materials used are all organic, natural and free of chemicals. •The wood has to dry before seasoning to avoid fungal attack. •Various methods are used for the processing of the wood. •One such method is the use of smoke to dry the wood which takes around 15 days for the wood to dry out rather than taking 2 months if done through the usual method. •Palm leaves are used to spread the colour all over and for giving a glossy finish. •The wood is usually cut into a length of 3 inches. The product passes through QC twice, and then goes for packaging. Colouring : natural 1st grade lac is used which is completely non toxic which is mixed with natural colouring materials (khalas). After packaging is done, the sample then goes to the lab for safety check .(certified from US) Transportation : they spend around 4000 rupees per 100 kgs of products on transportation.
Raw materials The process of making colours :•First of all, vegetable or natural dyes are prepared which are dried naturally. •This is the reason that the artisans don’t have all the colours but rather mix two three colours using the natural dyes. •These colours are added to lacquer (which is heated) and comes in the form of chips. •These lacquer chips melts on getting heated which helps in mixing the the colour. •After the natural dye (dried form) is added to the lacquer, it is then mixed properly to blend the colours uniformly. •Once the colours are mixed, these are made into sticks, dried for around 10-15 minutes and are then ready to use.
The process of toy making :•Wood is the main raw material used in the making of Channapatna toys. •Usually Halewood or ivory wood is used as these are light weight, soft and easy to cut, process and finish.
One of the many places we visited, Neelasandra proves to be a curricula attribute to the Channapatna map. Neelasandra village is located in Channapatna Tehsil of Ramanagara district in Karnataka, India. It is one among the 145 villages of Channapatna Block of Ramanagara district. Neelasandra’s population is 675. Out of this, 357 are males whereas the females count 318 here. This village has 78 children in the age group of 0-6 years. What made Neelasandra stand out, and helped gain its popularity is the existing literacy rate of Neelasandra. The population of Neelasandra is imbalanced as the villages is Pre-dominant male society. This is further proved as the Literacy ratio in Neelasandra village is 60%. 410 out of total 675 population is educated here. Among males the literacy rate is 70% as 251 males out of total 357 are literate whereas female literacy rate is 50% as 159 out of total 318 females are educated in this Village.
Neelasandra is neither populated, nor is it developed. Infant Neelasandra is know to be much lesser developed than majority of Channapatna. On interviewing the artisans, none hesitated to give out any information. They were friendly and interactive. We interviewed a couple of people, houses and families, half of whom had no intention of encouraging the Channapatna heritage amongst their children. They still resort to unconventional methods of performing the art, and when asked about it, economical issues was the generalised response. An average family belonging to Neelasandra earns about 400rs a day on the basis of which the whole family runs. They struggle to make ends meets. They often face problems with middle men who end up eating the profit of the artisans leaving them with bare minimal.
The dark part is that illiteracy rate of Neelasandra village is 39%. Neelasandra village has 355 residents while 320 are un-employed. And out of 355 working people 84 individuals are totally reliant on agriculture. Due to the literary state of the area, Members of the society practicing the art of toy making revert to tradition and old fashioned methods. The hand lethe machine is possessed by all the artisans of Neelasandra. Their work space includes them working in their veranda itself with barely any earnings and almost no earnings. The people of Neelasandra are known to know Hindi and Kanada and an occasional English. But even then we faced language barriers on interviewin g the artisan. Most of our time in Neelasandra went in translating our languages into the native language, but that gave us the liberty to explore and get a little creative. Kanada was the only language they were familiar with. Even after we faced a few hinderance, the people were warm enough to be patient with us. We didn’t struggle alone, they walked us through it.
The Katerpiller industry, located at 2079, 11th Cross, Kuvempunagar Channapatna, Mg Road, in Bangalore was one of the visits made by us, It was truly astonishing to see their array of toys. Half of which were designed and manufactured for foreign sales. Katerpiller is a large unit with a proximation of over a hundred artisan working in link with the products. We entered with great admiration for the place. the company is a US/Canada based company that started an organisation the catered to the export sector of the Channapatna toy industry. Although the environment seemed unhealthy. The unit floor piled saw dust around the artisans and would prove to be hazardous to the health of the artisans inhaling the air. Almost all artisans were bare footed which in turn could cause harm. The Toys we encountered were like no other! They were unique, refreshing and incredible looking indeed. They were created by export standards and not created by traditional means. New kind of technology such as lazer cutting machines, non traditional paints and varnish as finishing substances to give their toys an edge. What was unusual there were language barriers as not every artisan knew Hindi or English, especially amongst the women. The lady artisans were fewer in number compared to the male artisans.
SYED UMAR One of the many artisans working at Katerpillar. Syed Umar painted the toys of Katerpillar with different mediums such as poster colours and acrylic colours. We were absolutely thrilled at meeting the man. He just didn’t paint the toys but gave each of them character. the toys were brought to life once Umar was done with them. They were fun, playful and unusual. His application to the art was better than anything we had seen in Channapatna. Being so heavily intrigued, we interviewed Umar, when he told us that he initially worked in Infosys for 6 years where he had a lucrative job with growing potential but still eventually chose to do something he loved instead. He paints the toys of Channapatna but has no knowledge of the art of making the toy itself. He learned this art through his friends and he further pursued his passion.
He charges about 12rs per piece for painting which eventually leads him with a salary of 12-15 thousand per month. Having said that, he also continued explaining how he is uncertain of his future and that he leaves his story unwritten for now. During our time of secondary research, we came across an artisan who had been interviewed earlier amongst the many documentations. His name is Mohan .C. We instantly recalled his presence and noted that he was a worker from Katerpiller. We asked him a bunch of questions about his lifestyle and his work and about channapatna culture but his answer didn’t seem to differ from what was previously documented about him.We also told him that we had read about him in the earlier documentations but somehow we failed to coax a reaction from. “I don’t know any other job and I don’t have the option to move out. In 10 years there will be no toymaker left in Channapatna.” - Syed Umar
The introduction to Kalanagar lies within its name. Kala-nagar, rightfully named signifying ‘Kala’ meaning talent or craft followed by ‘nagar’ meaning hub. Put together, it proves to be the heart of the Channapatna culture. Kalanagar in Channapatna was developed as an artisans’ village, where the artisans lived and worked. Over the years, lack of demand for the products, high input costs and cheaper Chinese toys led to the decline of this once prosperous vocation. Most of the artisans have drifted away to other professions. Others are struggling to eke out a living.
The lanes of Kalanagar were outlined with factories, enterprises and workshops belonging to artisans, all practicing the art of Channapatna toy making. From the wood in its raw form to a final Channapatna product, from color to its application, Kalanagar had it all. There are about 300 manufacturing units. Skilled artists paint multi-coloured patterns on the wooden products. The colourful products became very fashionable in the international market and gain high export value. Not only was Kalanagar the place we gathered
maximum information from but also was where we met ‘Chacha ji’. We roomed the streets of Kalanagar interviewing the best. The distinct feature about Kalanagar that stood out was the products, toys created by artisans belonging to Kalanagar were beautiful. They were fresher designs and maintained export standards. Toys created for a more recent generation is what all products aimed to look like. Sophisticated and elegant designs of kitchen wear such as napkin rings and cutlery stands to bunk orders of Christmas decorations.
Moon Star, a factory and store amidst the streets of Kalanagar, was one our most favoured destinations. They not only shelved the best of Channapatna toys but had a larger range of crafts of all kind, such as inlay carving. A visit to the Moon Star factory gave us great insight on the different material, methods and mediums that were adopted to produce finer products to serve all kind of markets. We even visited a unit which simply processed the wood which is then sent out to factories. ‘Yahub’ owned by Syed Tabrez was the unit where that processed the wood, which simplified the entire toy making procedure.The unit was set up 7 years ago. Syed Tabrez was a 9th standard pass but chose to lead the life followed by his father. He didn’t seem to have major complaints about the life he lead but even so he still refused upon the idea of letting his children life a life of education followed by a job in the city. People of kalanagar seemed more open to tourists. The streets of Kalanagar were better developed than the other areas. People posed at the sight of cameras and everybody was open to interaction. An incredible journey indeed.
EFFECTS OF CRAFT ON CLUSTER Health and safety. During the process of the on-going journey of the revelation of the Channapatna Charm, a few concerns were met on the process of the overwhelming experience of toy making. What came across through these couple of days spent, is the lifestyle barriers the belonging people have to face. The houses of Channapatna are small and quaint. They posses bare minimal require-ments accompanied by fluctuating power supply. The place had been promised massive im-provements in and around the area for years but nothing seemed to have changed since then. After gathering knowledge from our skilled craftsmen, we understood what the lifestyle of an artisans could lead to. Hungry for recognition, the artisans would show us all the different skills they’ve applied over the years to improve the quality of their designs. On being asked about the available job opportunities belonging to this sectors, often complaints were received that explained their story a bit differently. For years, these artisans were paid very little, with the intention that they wouldn’t earn enough to start by themselves. They were cheated by middlemen by being unaware of the demands and prices of the market in actual. With no benefits from the government even, the artisans remained poor despite their exquisite skill.This art has been passed on over generations, where grandfathers and fore fathers left their skill to their children.
Even after this culture survived over a decade, the families of Channapatna seems to have no investment or saving. Infact they barely make ends meet. For all the artisans who have moved on to a more modernistic idea, the lathe machine proves to be handier than the hand lathe machine. Due to its portability or its tradition, concerns may differ. Given a 15-20% benefit from sales, the artisans seem to be content with their earnings because of the lack of knowledge and value of their own products. Companies like Maya Organic have made amendments to the land of toys. They came up with development strategies to improve the lifestyle of women as an artisan, which was initially frowned upon by the village, to starting paid training programs for the people of Channapatna, they have increased and bettered the livelihood of the craftsmen in question. Companies like India kala have also started to show interest in upbringing this culture.Competition will always cause hinderance in the field of artisans. From different crafts from around the area, like inlay work to available toys with similar standards, The Channapatna art seems to have begun duplicating. Chinese markets created havoc for the people as they created similar mass produced products hazardous colours at cheaper rates to capture markets
. Eventually the world moved back to the Channapatna art due to safety con-cerns bringing it back in demand. Companies all over the world are developing a fondness for the culture and being a ge-ographical indication, the tourism serves as a lively source of income. Other safety and health concerns involve the increasing health issues of artisans at Channapatna. The dry atmosphere of toy making has proved to be dangerous to the artisans as they inhale contaminated air. A recent study also proved that the saw dust causes loss of hair and damage of lungs. The flooring is barely visible as its always covered with sharp wood splinters and sawdust. The noise from turning of wood through overhead belt-drives may cause hearing disabilities to the artisans. During the time of creating a toy, artisans are advised to wear surgical masks to improve their respiratory heath but somehow the idea of safety concerns hasn’t still been habituated. The rows of artisans are acquainted with a strong smell of lacquer and wood and when one stops to notice an artisans physical damage, almost everyone’s feet has cuts and wounds inflicted from the wood chips scattered on the floor. In the name of precautionary measures, No one uses safety goggles because it is seen as interference in viewing the fine details of wood. Stories were narrated by artisans on noticing the scarred wounds. Half of the artisans suffered damages of cut hands and missing fingers with intention to perfect the art. But the real question to this dyeing culture to be pondered upon is the sacrifices made by the artisans for hardly any returns.
Patrons over the period of time wood Since the art of toy making was introduced by Tipu Sultan, where he invited artisans from Persia to teach the process of making wooden toys to the local artisans, the artists used to follow the traditional method of toy making and they only used ivory wood to make toys and very rarely used rosewood or sandalwood but slowly, over a period of time artisans began exploring and looking for alternatives for wood such as teak, pine, rubber, red cedar, silver wood and Nepal wood according to their convenience and economic reasons. These, wood are more or less the same, soft, easy to cut and easy to work with.
Colours Even though artists still rely on traditional methods ( the locally found wood is turned on lathe and coloured with organic sources such as turmeric for yellow, indigo for blue, red from vermillion and brown from Katha), there are some artisans who are using other contemporary methods for colouring such as acrylic and poster colours, spray paints etc. (For example people at Katerpillar use acrylic and poster colours to hand paint their artwork to give it a better finishing which is a little difficult and requires practice and learning if done on the machines using lac. Also, in Kalanagar and the whole Islampur area, there are a lot of small units/factories which deal with products such as trophies and medals and use spray paints to colour their finished products.)
Contemporary designs The craftsmen too have moved on from traditional designs to contemporary designs and are open to exploring new collaboration to keep abreast. Artisans are widening their line of products which includes table –top accessories, kitchen accessories, lifestyle accessories etc. The town is getting orders from international corporate houses such as Microsoft. Puzzles, space accessories, kitchen utilities are also in great demand. One tenth of the total population of the town is directly associated with Channapatna toy business for their livelihood. Private enterprises do good business out of this art; fifteen to twenty of such companies get orders from overseas as well..The town is also becoming a major tourist destination for people who come in search for these toys.
“Chacha Ji” Last but not the Least , Searching the streets of Kalanagar, clueless we roomed. Strangers to an adopted homeland. We aimlessly strutted ourselves hoping we would find a direction to further continue our studies. If we were to revert to honesty, We reached nowhere. But that didn’t kill our enthusiasm, it couldn’t have. We ate literally half an hour before, not to mention it was still 9 o’clock in the morning. Bringing us back to our current topic, our energy was unaffected. We walked ahead and soon got ourselves into one of the by-lanes, the ones connecting to one another. Channapatna is not one of the most lively villages, I think I forgot to mention that. Sitting at the edge of an electronic stall, we spotted an old man, impeccably dressed for the lifestyle Channapatna endured. He was very old indeed, He had himself a luscious white beard that imparted wisdom through every strand. The lense to his spectacles magnified the world for him. Clearly He had seen generations pass. He wore a white ‘kurta-pajama’ with a black formal waist coat and a ‘topi’ that was symbolic of his religion. He was Old but not week, even after he claimed to be 86 years of age! We each pulled out our cameras just so we could capture his persona. Ever wrinkle or scar appeared as proof of all the many wise years he’d lived, Each spoke of a story, Each different than the other. And the depth in his voice reconfirmed that. We greeted him with utmost respect, addressing him with our problem. ‘itni choti se baath’- said chacha Thats all that was required for him to say, and from that moment we were in awe of the man. He stood up with immediate action and started walking in a certain direction. not one of us questioned it. we knew he knew what he was talking about. We were absolutely thrilled to our cores. We asked him his name. He smirked, we knew right then it was a stupid question. ‘Syed Sabh Yussauddie is what I was named but to you Im Chacha ji’ The energy exhibited by him was so strong, we struggled unwinding his secret. He was an old, warm, happy man. Not only did he run us through EVERY worker around his area but also took us to every factory and helped us document each of our processes. We walked miles and spoke for hours. Towards end, each one of us thought of calling it a day. we were soo tired but the man just didn’t seem to break a sweat. A man with such a great aura had to have done great things in life. Chacha Ji, a.k.a. Syed Sabh Yussauddie was awarded by the government as Karnataka’S Wood Specialist and received the honour of being taught by not one but nine Gurus of his time, Each a master in their own craft. He was the reason we stumbled upon newer discoveries, In fact, He added a deeper, more refreshing perspective to our research. Perhaps gave us new direction. We knew just then, we found our 6th member! He kept going, kept narrating, kept inspiring! We kept following, kept learning, kept falling in love.
The Chai Story “Ek chai toh banti hai”
We gathered on all our information, we had a fair idea of what direction we wanted our research to flow in. Packed-up and heading towards the exits, ignorant of our surroundings, we missed out on the motion taking place in the work space of the Kaveri Artisans. Suddenly a voice calls out to us, familiar that it sounded, we gave an immediate reaction. He stretched out both his hands each holding a plastic cup of ‘cutting-chai’. “Aapne jo manga, humne diya ab aap bhi humare liye ek cup chai pijiye!” Just like any other number, we came across Mohan. An Artisan working at Kaveri and belonging to the profession for approximately 30 years. He was just another step to a more glorifying score sheet. As we entered a room of dedicated workers, we soon got down to extracting the most information that we could possibly find within our means, every individual in hope to make ground breaking discoveries. To be the example our teachers spoke of. But our parallel side seemed to be differently opinionated. To the Artisans, we were in fact just another group of children asking them multiple question about their daily routine to their personal lives that stung them to the core but still gave a detailed answer, and with a smile indeed, in hope one day that some difference will be made to their livelyhood, where they could actually afford to leave behind a legacy by which they could be remembered. On entering the room, I must say we weren’t welcomed with open arms. But can the game of blame be played? More than students with an aim to bring change we looked like prospective buyers to half of them being seated. While all the others tired luring us into thinking of their work as the finest, Mohan kept to himself. Although curiosity seemed to grow more prominent on his face. Our lense zoomed onto the mans fine craftsmanship, when it should have instead zoomed onto the wrinkles of a hard working Artisan. His eyes spoke louder than his words. His enthusiasm made his job increasingly honourable, and before we knew it, we shared a bond with our newly made companion Mohan. He went about his entire routine followed by a demonstration of pure art as he ran his tools through the toy he set out to make in our name. We documented his opinions, his years of experience in his field and noted the demographics of his family. How did we forget to ask him how his day was? We finally had what we wanted and without a care in the world, we packed-up and set out with the feeling of having something accomplished all day. What we should have noticed instead was how Mohan didn’t return to his work. He left his table on knowing that we were taking leave. He quickly poured two glasses of tea from the same flash he poured out his cup and offered us a cup of chai. We immediately took a step back, rejecting his offer under the mindset that we were simply being offered as an act of kindness and that we didn’t really want to get in the way of his break time. We repeatedly told him that we didn’t want to drink tea and that he may continue with his pleasure time. Mohan returned to his table displeased. Within seconds he re-offered us our cups of chai and insisted that we had it. He told us that he had worked in the industry for years. Many people came. Interviewed. left but none share with them a cup of chai. He told us in hindi that we come looking for what we what, extract our information and leave but when asked to drink tea with them nobody ends up drinking with them. he followed his speech by telling us that they as artisan try be of as much help as they could be to us students, hoping that they could provide what we are looking for, or rather make us happy but what goes unnoticed is this, a gesture that makes them happy. He told us that he has to work very hard, convert every bit of his blood to sweat, thats when they earn a cup of chai. It doesn’t come easy to every man, it constitutes to the basic lifestyle and this was their way of sharing it. Thats when we realised, we want offering us simply a beverage, he was sharing an experience and we in turn, created a moment. We charged towards Mohan with feelings of being overwhelmed and gave him a hug, A hug for one that will never be forgotten as we snatched from his hand the cups that were rightfully ours! No cutting-chai in the world tasted better! Speaking of which, Has your cup of chai gone cold?
OUR EXPERIENCE
Rohit sheoran I enjoyed my cluster and it was a good experience.Before The journey started , Since I didn’t know anything about the place , so I was a little worried about how will we find the appropriate places to carry out our research but as soon as we reached channapatna,everything started happening on it’s own . Everyone was so helpful and pleasant. and it was a sheer luck that somehow I met chacha jaan . He was a wood specialist and has been making channapatna toys for almost 60 years now. He had been trained by 9 gurus . In no time, he became a part of our group and was now,the 6th member and the most important one. He helped us as much as he could and imparted us with his knowledge and experience. Then, meeting the great grand child of bawas Miya was also a great experience for us , he helped us in understanding the in depth history of channapatna. He learned the basics from his grand father and started learning more about the processing of the channapatna art work on his own. The way the artisans were ,their commitment, their love, their sincerity towards their work a treat to watch. Everybody worked in unity with each other, for them, their work is their prayer and above all, no obstacle could come in their way to deliver their best results. This whole experience has not only made me realise that art is there in every nook and corner of the country but has also, made me grow as a designer and as a person. ‘Do your best ,no matter what comes your way’ is one thing that has been imprinted in my soul.
Saloni Gautam The first week of our fifth semester started with our cluster project on “Channapatna.” Initially, it seemed like another college assignment to all of us but as the days passed by and the more we got to know the place, we actually started having fun documenting it. I had no idea that meeting new people, getting to know them and their stories could be so much fun. There are a lot of memories that we all are taking back with us whichhave taken a special place in all our hearts. I was really touched by the kind and humble people whom we got to meet there. One such humble man was “Chacha” (that’s what we used to call him). Chacha, an old muslim man in his late eightees but so young at heart and so full of energy, he showed us all around his place and the factories that he and his son owned. He left no stone unturned to show us each and every process of toy making and never used to get tired of answering our silly questions asked again and again. I think, our journey would have been incomplete if we hadn’t met Chacha. Also, we got to visit a government school for kids.It was fun chatting and spending time with them all. It somewhere made us all travel back to our own childhood days. This whole Channapatna visit was something different that can’t be put into words. A whole new experience which taught us so many things in disguise. Getting to know these people somewhere, let us all know each other and ourselves better. Hope to give Channapatna something in return, since it has given me so much to learn from.
Rohit Kumar CHANNAPATNA a land of toys, with a unique style of toy making, which has no side effects and is eco-friendly and is made from a unique wood. A tree if u cut its branches, will still flourish. It is not at all harmful to humans, yet what is happening to this land? Why no one is willing to make these toys? Why their uniqueness is not valued? Why do the Artisans not want to make this toy anymore? Why? These are the questions for which our college sent us to Channapatna to get answers. No one wanted to go there, because, for my classmates cluster means a trip to somewhere they can enjoy, I was not different. We reached Channapatna may be at 11:30, I couldn’t remember the exact time. The sun was ablaze as our minds, we all were thinking “KAHA LAKE PATAK DIYA”? But, when I saw the toys and felt it, I experienced the smoothness and the finishing as I haven’t experienced before in any other kind of toy! It was something new! , when I saw the process of making the toys, application of colors, I wished to make those toys myself. But, why didn’t the artisans want to make these anymore? Why do they want to venture in some other profession? Maybe because they didn’t see as we students did. For six days we were there. Not for 144 hours, but mentally we were there. We were trying to get answers to our questions. We met many artisans who were very helpful and welcoming. It felt like I was moving in my hometown, the artisans welcomed us to their homes, offered us some tea, they were treating us like we were one of their own and not strangers who went there for their own interest. We asked them a lot of questions, and at last we came to know that the main reason behind leaving this art for the artisans was money. Money, which they got in return of making the toys was not enough to sustain their living. They worked hard, but did not get the value, government took some steps to save this art, but because of some corrupt people, we are losing this unique craft and the people who should be proud to be its creators.
Sanah Chitalwala Do you know the feeling of not belonging to a place but still feeling home? To being showered with love from people you dont know? Do you know the feeling of being called the daughter of the man, everybody calls father? Or a bunch of children looking up to you, second to their mother. I went with the impression to be the best, most interactive group, to score well in my cluster jury. But soon none of that mattered. who was to settle for grades. I found family.Channapatna is know for its incredible produce of toys perhaps, not a bit of it untrue. But no one spoke of how good the tea made by artisans was. No one spoke of how their homes felt so warm even with chilly winds. Why didn’t anybody teach about the people instead? The value of money didn’t stand in that place, bonds did.we were proof. We were bought food by families, drank the sweetest of them tea and walked miles with someone older than us collectively. Is that to you a normal experience to you? Our interactions were aimed at extracting maximum information. But our cameras kept rolling or sometimes even didn’t. we didn’t press pause either way. The last time I visited a graveyard, was to meet my grandfather. But ‘chacha ji’ took me as his daughter to visit the grave of the father of Channapatna. It was beyond honourable. unforgettable and unworthy of words. Therefore rightfully named. The Channapatna Charm!
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