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Defining art with lamps
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Nimmalakunta near Dharmavaram in Anantapur district is traditionally famous for its leather puppetry, finds out Swathi V.
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- PHOTO: P. V. SIVAKUMAR
Dotting market: Colourful leather lampshades from Anantapur at the All India Crafts Mela at Shilparamam.
Lampshades are an effective way of directing the flow of light and thus occupy an important place in interior decoration. Till very recently, the choice was limited to plain lampshades of synthetic fabric pleated between two circular frames. Not anymore. Now, they are the medium through which a designer’s creativity flows. The variety now available has the ‘designer’ element added to it.
There is a tiny segment from rural Andhra Pradesh which benefits from the new found love for various kinds of lamp shades.
Nimmalakunta near Dharmavaram in Anantapur district has traditionally been famous for its leather puppetry. It had acquired the distinction 500 years ago when a few families of puppet artisans migrated from Maharashtra to Anantapur.
Exceptional craft
The artisans acquired name and fame across the State with their exceptional craft of etching epic tales on leather. They would purchase raw leather, process it and create indelible impressions of traditional grandeur with the simple instrument of a palm twig.
It would be a revelation for many to know that the much renowned comic characters of ‘Kethigadu’ and ‘Bangarakka’ who enriched the puppetry tradition of the State originated from Nimmalakunta.
In course of time, the puppeteers of Nimmalakunta had to shed their traditional source of livelihood with the advent of mechanised entertainment in the form of movies and television. However, they refused to part with the traditional art that they nourished and cherished for centuries.
Instead, they moulded it to suit the changing trends and tastes. As a result, lampshades emerging from Nimmalakunta now have a sizeable market in many parts of the country.
The artisans are allowed free space for setting up stalls at handicrafts exhibitions promoted by the government.
“A strip of leather is initially wound around the frame of the lampshade. We use burnt ashes and a palm twig to draw outlines of the painting. To fill the spaces, we use vegetable colours. The colours are also prepared by us,” reveals V. Shankar, an artisan who set up a stall at the Crafts Mela of Shilparamam.
Exemplary talent
His father V. Kondalarao was among those awarded by the President of India for excellence in their traditional art. In the families of Nimmalakunta puppeteers, children of five years too display exemplary talent of drawing different epic characters within seconds. Of the 200 families surviving on puppetry, about 60 are at Nimmalakunta.
The prices of simple lampshades made by them range between Rs.250 and Rs.500 while the lamps with a stand cost about Rs.600.
Apart from lampshades, the skilful artisans make 64 different articles from leather such as wall hangings, bangle stands, mirror frames, hairpins and notebooks.
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