Tamarind seed gum.

                    Tamarind seed gum, like many organic gums such as neem gum, wood apple gum, i.e. the secretion from the bark of the trees were used in preparing canvas, priming , fixing gold foil etc. Tamarind seed belongs to this category, since synthetic glues were unheard of then.

                   Seeds were soaked, ground to a paste, boiled to a paste consistency and then used. Copper sulphate was added as fungicide to this paste. . Even now large pattachitra canvasses are made like this , though the modern ready made canvasses have taken over to a great extent.

Attached images from Facebook.

                  Used as primer for the surface, tamarind seed paste provided a congenial base for coloring unlike the synthetic ones where we get issues like resistance , paint flaking, falling off etc. Making the paste was/is a laborious process, though the powder, now available,  reduced a few steps.

Just 10 seeds will do to make 3,4 boards of medium size. Why not try?

 

Saradamba in all her glory as guru tatva.

Revival or death- Part-2.

                            And the great care the artist took before starting as well as while doing the projects amounted to a religious practice. Keeping the mind pure by visiting temples, praying, telling beads as also meditating, the artist visualised the form of the deity to be painted and executed it with respect and veneration. Such paintings looked alive and when seen by anyone evoked great devotion.

                           Come the western mindset of commercializing anything and everything, the occupiers of the country encouraged the local artists to produce paintings introducing the western art materials, new surfaces and reducing the size of paintings to wall murals to miniatures  to be taken to their own country as a memento or  bounty. In the process they not only commercialized the art form, but also instilled in the minds of the artists a casual attitude towards the sacred art form. They also instilled in our minds that these were related to caste system, and viola, they won!

                          The son of the artist didn't want to pursue the father's profession any more and sought better pastures. He wanted to 'educate' himself in the 'western' system of education and 'earn' working under someone! Now the father started training people who have no interest in education but wanted learn to earn.There started the slide and the dilution, no need to mention here about the 'good hearted' souls, who wanted to promote a dying art form. They became agents or middlemen of the illiterate artist and made tons of money but leaving the artist poor and dejected.

                          Enter the scene, women who had everything but wanted to enjoy the new freedom to venture out of the house due to western education, started learning..This meant that whether they are capable of learning or proficient in the art of drawing didn't matter. Everyone wanted to make thanjavur painting now, for reasons...

1. It was proving to be expensive to buy one, being labor intensive,
2. If they learnt it they can make paintings for themselves and who knows ...can even sell them .

                       The worst scenario came when all wanted to learn which triggered the urge in everyone to teach also. Anyway, the balance swings in favor of the demand & supply ratio is it not? So, anyone who learnt to make one or two paintings, could not resist from sharing the half-baked knowledge with others who didn't even realize the sacredness of painting god's pictures. The result is the present sad situation. I don't want to be judgmental, but it is heart breaking to see people posting photo after photo of their amateurish work.

                       Recently one of my acquaintances sent me a picture of a black & white xerox copy of a figure stuck on a board and the embossing work done over that. Now I am wondering what is going to be next?

                          

Krishna playing flute under the Punnai tree..

As a young cowherd, Lord Krishna once wandered the beautiful Vrindavan forest. Every living thing offered the Lord of the Universe their respectful reverence. Trees provided shade, plants offered fruits and flowers, birds sang love songs, and cows gave pure milk to Him. Amidst the offerings to Krishna, a sorrowful bamboo reed felt worthless, believing it had nothing to offer. Hence, it surrendered itself, asking Krishna to do as He pleased.

Touched by its sincere gesture, Krishna blessed the reed. He sliced it, pierced seven holes, and filled it with His prana shakti. Through its openings, Lord Krishna created an enchanting melody. With His divine grace, the humble bamboo became His flute!

Krishna always had this flute with Him. Carrying the flute, Krishna captivated the hearts of the Gopis Its melodies evoked deep emotions, drawing them closer to Him in divine love and joy. Often, the curious Gopis asked why Krishna held the flute dear. Krishna revealed that the seven notes in the flute represented the seven aspects of our being. To become His flute, one must be empty and surrender everything, enduring life’s sorrows as holes in the reed. Krishna explained that only those who served Him and performed good deeds could become His flute, receiving His life force in the emptiness of their hearts.

(Text from internet.)

REVIVAL OR DEATH?

                          

                                                                     

Lakshmi, seated on a lotus peetam.

                                   What with social distancing, quarantine , self isolation...pretty alien to this era.... causing anxiety, panic, and even depression for those who are not used to undergoing such a predicament, causing restlessness and suffocation. But cant we look at this through another lens as to how to handle this situation well ?

                                   People have got used to live by the clock, and the.same clock which they had to chase to keep up with, is now mocking at them..with so many hours and nothing to do..but is it so? Magazines, blogs advertisements shout out to people to learn a hobby,  anything which can be pursued with a passion, and this is the right time to hone one's skills. why not?

                                   Learning art has been one of the most sought after by everyone as a stress reliever and  internet abounds with so many videos, online classes etc.,and so people also want to make a thanjavur painting, like they do with learning kolams, embroidery and the other traditional art forms of India....

                                All right, we have to admit that almost everyone wants to create a thanjavur painting, irrespective of the knowledge and practice in art.We can find such posts in the  famous social platforms that flood the internet these days.There are established artists, and those who are trying to establish themselves as one, as also who think they can make themselves one by learning or rather  surfing from the resources which abound in the net, from blogs to you tube videos.

                             Thanjavur painting is one of the classical art forms of India and the pride of Tamil Nadu. And it has its own regional derivations of Srirangam style, Mysore style and so on.It has its origin in Kalamkari style of drawings and also vijayanagar Hampi style.The problem with our traditional styles of art, especially visual, the practice those days has been the father training the son, the son his son and so on, hence heriditary. Kids when they can hold a pencil or slate stick, which we called 'Balpam" in Tamil, will be asked to participate in the art form and to help through the process accroding to the capacity of the child.Through this method the style as well as the materials and the process were preserved .We could see that the paintings produced were of an excellent quality, the style preserved well and worth the money for the buyer.

                                

                            Indian culture and art forms always intertwined and our culture reflected our philosophy. The one goal of life was to realize our true nature and pursuing it through many of the prescribed ways of the vedas.Once the physical and emotional needs were taken care of man started in his quest for intellectual needs , one among them being the arts,performing as well as visual. So naturally the one thing that connected all the art forms was the age old quest, spiritual. Religion being the practical part and the transition from abstract to concrete, either divine forms or the stories connected to our great scriptures were the subjects.

To be continued..

                           

THE MAKING AND MAINTENANCE OF A THANJAVUR PAINTING

                 Recently I had a call...from one of my favorite students who had learnt to make a Gajalakshmi Thanjavur painting from me. It had been more than 3,4 years, since she completed it. She went abroad and after reaching and installing it in her puja corner, she had sent a photo. The call was about some damage to the painting and required renewal. She mentioned that she had to remove the frame since it had been affected by termites, and had kept the painting exposed inside a closed cupboard along with the other pictures in their puja room, when she had returned to India for medical reasons. She had recovered from a very bad time of serious health problems and now in a position to think about the painting.

              When she sent the photo of the painting, my heart bled, since the paint had worn out in many places and the painting looked pathetic.She wanted to know whether it can be revived and I had to say 'yes'...since a painting done under my supervision is like my child, and my God, the child sure needed attention and rehab..😟. Moreover she was very good with painting and had done a very neat work, though much to my chagrin it was done in a somewhat rushed manner within a month since she was to leave India.

         
            Thanjavur painting without frame is the most vulnerable to the onslaught of weather conditions,insects , moisture and what not...!!You can see the paint chipped completely from the bottom portion, the lovely french ultramine blue which enhances a thanjavur painting like no other color.White on the elephants, garland as also on the floral backdrop along with the design and color from the bolster behind the character had almost vanished..

           I was very happy to see that the gold foil had not changed color or shine. So I started to clean the dust over the painting with a broad soft brush gently...Then I decided to clean out the faded portions with a wet cotton ball twice to clear any residue of the previous coat. I wish I had taken photo in stages, may be the next time....! Once cleaning of faded colors was over allowed a couple of days for the board to dry keeping it open on my work table.

           Started with the background colors for the bolster as well as the floral backrest, which I always finish with 2 to 3 coats. While it was drying I redid the mukkwork of the base of the kalash at the bottom left of the picture. Touched up wherever the paint had chipped away...and on went the repainting and renewal of the Goddess of wealth Lakshmi worshipped by the two gajarajas .till I was comfortable with the finish.

            I had asked for 10days time including the dyring time in between, which is very important in the making of any Thanjavur painting...and which I never compromise with. Whent the painting was finished, I packed it inside a rudraksha frame which I had arranged to get from my supplier. Lakshmi brought me wealth in the form of a decent fee too, on which condition only I agreed to the commission.