A wintry day spent at the river Krishna in 2014 had stolen the heart of a French artist, Catherine C. Baillaud, who portrayed her memorable day on a fabric in the Srikalahasthi style of Kalamkari art.
Ms. Catherine visits Nellore town every year to teach Kalamkari to deprived women through Help India Trust, an NGO.
Accompanied by her husband Andre Mage, she was taken to the river to have a glimpse of it and also the key procedure of bleaching of the Pedana style of Kalamkari products.
“The view of the bridge and the river near the Durga ghat in Vijayawada city have been registered in my heart. The beauty of the place and my association with the Pedana Kalamkari artisans has forced me to put those scenes on the fabric,” Ms. Catherine told The Hindu .
Ms. Catherine’s untitled Kalamkari painting contains four parts; portrayal of Pitchuka Srinivas in his Kalamkari unit in Pedana, artists bleaching and soaking the products in the river with the backdrop of rail bridge and a girl displaying the final product.
“The Srikalahasthi style of Kalamkari explains the stages in Pedana block-printing style in my work. It’s a way of showing relation of these two textile art forms flourishing in Andhra Pradesh,” she said.
Ms. Catherine presented the painting to P. Srinivas, son of P. Veera Subbaiah, who began Kalamkari in Pedana. “I thought Mr. Srinivas is the person to dedicate and present my painting for his efforts in the conservation of the Kalamkari art,” she said. Ms. Rajini of Help India Trust helped Ms. Catherine in completing the painting with natural colours.
