A dozen of glass bangles worn around her wrist are rested against a surface, probably a desk. She in her finely printed sari and a half-sleeved blouse is gleaming. Her eyes express a deep thought and she wears a subtle smile. This is a photograph of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay in her later years.
In another frame, she is in her twenties. Two full length photographs taken at the same spot are placed side by side. In a loosely garbed saree with small buttas and a medium sized border, she is clasping her hands, and tilting her head. In another, she looks straight into the camera letting her hands free, with her lips pursed.
These photographs are the most interesting among the collection that is on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bangalore by Crafts Council of Karnataka (CCK) marking 50th year of its inception. Crafts Council of Karnataka was instituted by the doyenne of handicrafts movement, Kamaladevi in 1967 following the establishment of its counterparts in the National and International levels.
Other photographs in the collection mark some of the significant moments in the history of India, both in the pre and post-independence era. In a couple of them, she is with the luminaries of Indian freedom movement like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Acharya Kriplani and Sarojini Naidu. There are scenes of a few prominent milestones in the freedom struggle like that Dandi salt march, where she plunged into the Satyagraha after winning arguments with Gandhi on the participation of women in Civil Disobedience Movement.
In the post-independence pictures, she is laying the foundation for India International Centre (IIC), Delhi, relocating Partition refugees in Faridabad or with two boys who were freed from the jails of Pakistan after she wrote a letter to Zia-ul-Haq, the then President of Pakistan.
A caption on one of the photographs captures her persona: “She pleaded, disagreed and asked questions to world-famous personalities like Einstein, Nehru or Zia with the same ease as she spoke with the local artisans.”
Kamaladevi had admiration for the practise of Bhuta Kola of Dakshina Kannada, and there's a room that displays these masks. To remember her fascination for this ritual, a folk dance performance from coastal Karnataka, was staged after the photography exhibition was inaugurated recently.
Looking at the range of photographs one could suppose that an arduous research has gone into shaping this exhibition. Curated by B.R. Yajnik under the expert guidance of art historian Kapila Vatsyayan along with the support of India International Centre and Rohini Nilekani. The inspiration behind conceptualising this exhibition is however, Devaki Jain, an eminent economist and a scholar of women studies. For Devaki, Kamaladevi wore multiple feathers in her hat of which only few have come to light. It is for this reason, to showcase multiple sides of this uncrowned queen, this exhibition was conceptualised.
The exhibition will be on at NGMA, Bangalore till January 30 except on Mondays and public holidays, between 10 am and 5 pm.
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Remembering a friend
Devaki Jain, an economist whose work pertains to social justice and women empowerment, recalled her days with Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay during her keynote address. She was introduced to Kamaladevi only after her marriage with Lakshmi Chand Jain, a close associate of Kamaladevi, working as Secretary, All India Handicrafts Board.
Devaki recalls, “it was Kamaladevi who helped in my research in the late 60s -- from introducing me to remarkable women in Delhi, providing material I needed to even lending her study desk. I was almost adopted as a daughter. She was fonder of the work my sister Lakshmi Srivathsava did in Bangalore. She was fascinated by the vegetable dying activity my sister’s studio Tharangini carried out.”
- Kamaladevi consulted Vimala Rangachar, former Chairperson, CCK for all things related to art and culture of Karnataka. Vimala used to take her to various parts of the State to meet artists, watch performances and rituals belonging to different communities. “On one such tour, she insisted that she meets Shaukat Ali, wood inlay artist from Mysore at his residence. In those days, it was impossible to go by car, as the road leading to his house was narrow. Kamaladevi insisted: ‘I want to see how Ali cuts and carves the wood and how he paints.’ She was interested in the making of art and therefore she never lost an opportunity to have a closer look at how artisans worked.”
- Vimala recounts another incident. They were at Heggodu, Shimoga to watch plays by Ninasam troupe. The government of Karnataka had allotted exclusive rooms for her stay at the district headquarters Shimoga. But Kamaladevi stayed with the theatre artistes in a makeshift room. She told Vimala, ‘I have come all the way to stay with these theatre persons, what is the point in staying in a hotel?’ “Such was her involvement in arts,” says Vimala.
- Talking about her other contributions in the State, she narrates another interesting story. “Looking at an empty patch of land in front of Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bangalore, she suggested, ‘Why don’t we build an auditorium here?’ The piece of land belonged to a theatre group called Amateur Dramatic Association. That is how ADA Ranga Mandira which now hosts cultural shows everyday came into existence,” explains Vimala.
- Kamaladevi was thus responsible for influencing the setting up of many institutions of the country including National School of Drama, World Crafts Council, Sangeet Natak Academy and others; she also built physical spaces for cultural interaction.
Though Kamaladevi is established widely as an authority on the handloom and handicrafts, Devaki feels, “there is a flip side to it. In a way, it shadows the work she did in other areas which is in no way insignificant. Her contribution as a promoter of justice, freedom, equality of women and moreover as a leader who stuck to her principles has been sidelined in history.”
“She was the first woman in the country to stand for elections. In her address, at the Clock Tower Maidan, Bangalore at the age of 23, she had the conviction to say, ‘If you vote for me, it won’t be a personal favour, you will be paying homage to womankind at large.’ She was confident of her actions. When everyone who called themselves as revolutionaries only spoke, she was in jail demanding minimum facilities for female inmates. Therefore she, for me, is a true feminist who did what it took to ensure dignity of women,” Devaki says.
Kamaladevi who had such political vigour all through her youthful days, lost interest in politics soon after Independence. The decision to move out, Devaki claims is a conscious one. “What she had written in 1939 on Imperialism and class struggle was suggestive of the fact how national struggle had led to a closer union between the British and Indian capitalists. She whispered into my ears on the first Republic Day as Rajendra Prasad was taken on a royal chariot, 'Don’t you see Devaki how we are imitating the British? President of independent India goes on a procession just like the British and stays at the same building where the Governor General lived.' Her ethics restrained her from continuing in politics,” Devaki states without an iota of doubt.
She feels: “ideally India needed leaders such as Kamaladevi who committed their life to social causes and carried forward the principles churned out from freedom struggle. Therefore, I want people to know about Kamaladevi, more as an intrepid political leader.”
