For Earth Consciousness and Sustainable Living BANGALORE VOLUME 4, ISSUE - 1 JANUARY - MARCH 2013 Rs. 80/-

Crafting our Future

The Joy of Making Craft and Sustainability The Kitchen is a Temple Where the Hand has Ears

Satish Kumar Vandana Shiva AmadouJanuary - MarchHampate 2013 Eternal Ba Bhoomi 1 Today, an argument, an attitude, faces crafts and artisans in India. This is the argument of economics, of sustainability, of marketability, which is the argument of financial survival... (But) those who believe that crafts are only about beauty and aesthetics are in error, just as those who believe in the other argument, the economic argument, and think that paying for itself is the sole justification, are wrong...

The hard argument, the real argument, which overrides all others, is not exclusively about sentiment or reason – but about common sense. And that common sense tells that whatever we do in terms of economic planning and development in India, there will always be several hundred million people in this country, the figure being unverified, who cannot but live with and through the work of their hands. Now it is a great compensation of nature that these hundreds and millions of people have talent in their hand, which the assembly-liners and the free-marketers do not quite concede. And that talent is the unexplored reservoir which needs to be used for their good which means the greater good of the great number of the people of India.

- Gopalkrishna Gandhi Quoted in the Craft Economics and Impact Study Report published by the Crafts Council of India, Chennai, April 2011.

2 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Crafting our FUTURE Tree of Life by Ramesh Tepya, Gond Artist Gond of Life by Ramesh Tepya, Tree

There is an old story about a girl and her red shoes which It’s not a pleasant story – and neither is the story of illustrates well our modern civilisation’s struggles with a our modern civilization which continues to celebrate the machine-dominated world. production of huge amounts of machine made things at every level and in every sphere. Over the last two centuries A poor, young orphaned girl who lived with her oft of industrialization especially, our addiction to stuff has disgruntled aunt, once made herself a pair of red shoes become siucidal. Produced alongside are huge amounts with pieces of cloth and thread and leather and her own of waste of every kind – plastics, paper, household food enthusiastic hands. It wasn’t the prettiest pair but the shoes waste and hazardous and poisonous waste which often had their charm - she loved them and she danced with them end up polluting our waters and degrading our lands. village in a dazzling chariot and asked her if she would come We need to go back to valuing our crafts if we wish to alongand they to liveserved in her her bigwell. house. One fine She day, went a ladywith arrived the lady at andher live sustainably on earth. As much as oil and capitalism soon she was scrubbed and cleaned and taken to a shop to with unending growth are part of the problem, craft and buy beautiful clothes and the most shiny, fancy pair of red organic agriculture can be part of the solution. The usual shoes in the world. It was a whole new life - oh, how she loved question now would be – are we to go back to the jungles? to wear those shoes and dance to her heart’s content! We cannot stop development, can we? The answer is not ‘no development’, but development that does not trash To get out of the watchful and restrictive eyes of her new the planet or exploit the 80% of “less developed” people foster mother she walked to the nearby woods, one day, and or 100% of future generations. ran and skipped and danced away. Late in the evening, she was tired and afraid in the dark forest; she tried to remove There are actually millions of people around the world her smart red shoes to rest – but could not. She just lay down who are showing the way by taking action at a personal, exhausted and slept. The next day, as soon as she woke up, community, activist and at Governmental levels. and the her red shoes seemed to make her dance by themselves… Bhoomi Magazine is committed to sharing their stories. and she danced on and on, but wanted to stop and eat and Going organic and engaging in a craft or buying rest. She came to a village and danced to a cobblers shop handloom, handicrafts and other local hand made and asked him to remove her shoes. The kind man gave her products, are a few of the many ways in which we can live some food but could not remove her shoes – they seemed to more responsibly on our planet – and at the same time have stuck to her feet. Afraid to go back home, she wandered live with beauty and support the craftspeople. It is one around – or rather kept dancing around trying every now and way in which we can celebrate the hand made shoes that then to remove her shoes. make us dance happily and stop the frenzied ‘dance’ of a Absolutely tired and helpless, she went back to the machine dominated life. It can make life more beautiful cobbler - he tried hard with all his tools, but could not wrest and deeply satisfying. getting her feet cut off. Seetha Ananthasivan them off her feet; she finally managed to stop dancing – by [email protected]

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 3 EternalBhoomi Issue No. 13 January - March 2013

Eternal Bhoomi is committed to bringing you holistic perspectives from renowned writers and thinkers as well as practical ideas and examples of earth conscious living from people around the world Crafting our future:

Urban culture generally views handicrafts and organic food with lenses of sentimentality and aesthetics. We need to understand handloom and other hand made products for their potential in being part of the solution for sustainable living Vantage Point and for being the sector that provides the second largest employment today, next only to agriculture.

Vantage Point Positive Steps Multi-view

6 The Joy of Making 8 By Hand: The Looms that 18 A Hundred Hands Anna Konig can Lead India Mala and Sonia Dhawan Hands can be used product- Uzzaramma ively to shape our material Low energy, ecological way of 20 Kathputlis world effectively. making a vast array of textiles Priyanka Varma 10 Where the Hand has Ears 34 The Craft Economics and Craft - A powerful embodi- Impact Study ment of the mystical life force. Extracts from Report by Crafts Expressions Amadou Hampate Ba Council of India 48 Recycled Enchantment Anton (Tony) Rager 13 Musings on Craft On the emphasis on non- permanence reflected in tribal culture. Ramya Ranganathan

16 Kamaladevi: Tireless Promoter of the Crafts About Kamaladevi Chatopad- hyay who pioneered the revival of Indian handicrafts. Jasleen Dhamija

22 Craft and Sustainability On why we need to look at crafts with new eyes - as im- portant for ecological wisdom Seetha Ananthasivan

4 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Young Pioneers 23 to 33 New Year Special: 36 Indeed, Small is Beautiful Lavanya Keshavamurthy In celebration of India's Craft Culture 38 Thaalavattam Natasha Rego

Science

40 In the Cosmic Swimme Eric Maddern

Perspectives

, 42 India s Incredible Bazaars Dr. Vandana Shiva

46 The Kitchen is a Temple Satish Kumar The Bhoomi Team wishes you Books Wonderful New Year

14 The Craftsman to celebrate and care Fiona Maccarthy for our Home - Planet Earth 44 Churning the Earth Ashish Kothari and Aseem Srivastava We look forward to your... feedback, suggestions, articles, poems or pictures. Food Email : [email protected] or send by post to: The Editors, Bhoomi Network, 47 Millet Recipes No 70, Chikkanayakanahalli Road, From Nutritious Little Millet by the ICAR, N. Delhi Off Doddakannahalli, Carmelaram Post Sarjapura Road, Bangalore - 560 035 50 Climate Change Corrigendum: In our October - December Issue, 2012, we had printed Membership Page the name of one of the co-authors as Shivakumar instead of 51 Srinivas Krishnaswamy which is the correct name. We sincerely regret our error. 53 Announcements Eternal Bhoomi is a magazine published by Bhoomi Network, a unit of K.N.A.Foundation for Education, a Public Charitable Trust registered in 1995. 54 Bhoomi College Masks on cover photograph by the students of Prakriya Green Wisdom School

This Magazine is printed using soy based inks on wood-free paper except for the cover and special pages.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 5 Vantage Point

Re-engaging with the raw materials from which The Joy of our lives are shaped is a potent reminder of the difference between what is real and what is only MAKING illusory, says Anna Konig

Quilts have had a good year. The popularity of the recent effectively downgraded as mere devices for holding pens or V&A Museum exhibition showed that there is enormous tapping keyboards. By implication, therefore, craft becomes a appetite for the product and process of craft, and deservedly kind of indicator of a lack of literacy: at worst, it is seen as being so. Visitors could not have failed to be moved by the beauty for those who never really got to grips with the written word. of the artefacts and the skill of the makers, many of whom But it is this popular misrepresentation of making by hand that remain poignantly anonymous, their names lost in time. To I wish to challenge. appreciate the work of a craftsperson, one needs to step back Craft is inevitably a sensory experience. For me, there is and recalibrate an understanding of what it means to work with much pleasure to be taken from handling fabrics, juxtaposing hands, an exercise brilliantly articulated by Richard Sennett in patterns and colours, creating a personalised visual display. his book The Craftsman. But, scholarly analysis aside, there No doubt this is true of other crafts: a wood turner appreciates is also much to be learnt through participation in the act of and has an empathy with the material with which he or she making. Quite apart from the enjoyment of the finished product, works, as does a potter at the wheel. In the face of a culture the process of working with hands allows us to tap into wisdom that increasingly emphasises image over material substance, re- that transcends the constraints of time, place or language. engagement with the raw materials from which our lives are While one is exercising non-verbal parts of the brain, shaped is a potent reminder of the difference between what is thoughts start to flow in different patterns. real and what is illusory in life. Through making a patchwork quilt, I learnt that repetitive actions, once mastered, need not be laborious. Rather, they Making and learning through touch and occupy the body in such a way as to permit the mind to wander. manipulation of materials has an important While one is exercising non-verbal parts of the brain, thoughts role in early years education, but it becomes start to flow in different patterns, producing solutions to nagging problems or ideas for new ventures. The rhythm of repetitive devalued as literacy develops. Although handwork is a different beat to work to – hardly surprising, then, initially regarded as fine instruments that singing has a long tradition of accompanying repetitive work. And with that repetition comes the acquisition of skill: for learning, the hands are effectively one learns the shortcuts and the importance of sequential action, downgraded as mere devices for holding about when to keep going and when to stop. pens or tapping keyboards. A handcrafted object also raises the philosophical question of how to deal with imperfection. Industrial processes have all My own re-engagement with crafts came a few years ago but eliminated the very concept: we rarely accept ‘seconds’ during an extended period of illness. I lacked the concentration in the world of mass-produced consumer goods. But anyone to read, but felt the need to occupy myself during the long who has ever made anything by hand will know the dilemma hours at home and - as one so often does in testing times – involved in dealing with a ‘mistake’. On some occasions, it gained comfort from returning to skills I had made infrequent will be undone and reworked, with a rueful ‘note to self’ about use of since childhood. Since I had a suitcase full of old pieces taking more care next time. On other occasions, the mistake of fabric, a patchwork quilt seemed like a good project. What will just become part of the finished object, an acknowledgment I did not appreciate when I started was just how much I would that human hands are not machines. On a more abstract level, learn – not only in terms of practical skills. it is useful to distinguish the difference between fatal flaws and those that can be lived with. To accept imperfection in one’s Making and learning through touch and manipulation of work is a step towards accepting imperfection in oneself. materials has an important role in early years education, but it becomes devalued as literacy develops. Although initially On a more practical level, craft provides the maker with regarded as fine instruments for learning, the hands are an opportunity to be uniquely eco-conscious. In particular,

6 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Photo: Nidhi Aggarwal

Makers are devalued in contemporary society... My point here is not to suggest that the pleasure of making something in the comfort of one’s own home bears any resemblance to grinding sweatshop labour. Rather, it is a reminder that such a job deserves a fair wage, and may even make us think twice about buying cheap mass – produced goods. patchwork is a beautiful way to use up leftovers and cast-offs. something is to understand and appreciate the value of work I literally pieced together fabrics from different periods of my – Itself a denigrated term, usually prized only for its exchange life: little visual reminders of clothes I had worn and places I value in monetary terms. But anyone can utilise the work of their had been. Charity-shop finds sit alongside scraps from favorite hands in their everyday life. Conceptually, making need not be shirts, and every piece has a place. For me, the ingenuity of the restricted to such obvious examples as sewing a quilt or making craftsperson is something to marvel at: it underlines the ethos of a piece of furniture. Cooking, making music, gardening-any of making considered use of the material world rather than tearing these activities can and should be recognised as crafts. through it with no thought given to its fragile nature and finite Nor should making be the sole preserve of those who limits. consider themselves to be ‘creative’ by trade. One of the most Makers are devalued in contemporary society. There is an prolific quilters I know is a lawyer who works long hours and unvoiced assumption that those who use their hands have failed has limited free time. Yet she has made quilts for the babies of to master intellectual hurdles of school, exams, university, numerous friends and family members in the past year or so, professional training and so on. For a few lucky individuals, each quilt unique, each made with much love. ‘craft’ is elevated to ‘art’ and they are permitted membership Finishing a project is sometimes the hardest part, and when of a privileged cultural elite, but for the most part we associate I came to the end of my quilt, I feared that it might become an manual work with deprivation, poverty and workforce unwelcome remainder of those long weeks of illness. Happily, exploitation. My point here is not to suggest that the pleasure though, its completion kick-started other creative endeavours of making something in the comfort of one’s own home bears and it has become a comforting reminder of how the hands any resemblance to grinding sweatshop labour. Rather, it is a can be used productively to shape our material world and the reminder that such a job deserves a fair wage, and may even objects we surround ourselves with. make us think twice about buying cheap mass – produced goods. Unless one is very fortunate in terms of career openings, the Anna Konig teaches Cultural and Historical Studies at the University structures of contemporary life provide limited opportunities of the Arts, London. This article is printed with permission from Resurgence magazine, for pride to be taken in work. In some small way, to make UK.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 7 Vantage Point

By Hand: The Looms that can Lead India - Uzzaramma

The artisan weaving cotton textiles on the handloom has been unfairly relegated to a peripheral status in the textile industry. Not only does handloom still employ the largest number of people in the country after agriculture, it still makes 12-13%of India’s textiles and has tremendous potential in the future as a low- energy, ecological way of making a vast array of textiles for garments.

How is cotton cloth made? How is the amazing cotton fibre, India was draining Rome of her gold. Indian cotton fabrics lighter than air, converted into fabric that even today is the stuff clothed “everyone, from the Cape of Good Hope to China, man of half the fabric in the world? [If bread is the staff of life, and woman…from head to foot” as Pyrard de Laval says in the cotton is the stuff of life!] From its original state of a ‘boll’ early 17th century. on the plant, the cotton is picked and the seeds removed. The In the West, however, it was the technology of the Industrial remaining lint – around 30% of the content of the boll – is freed Revolution in the 19th century that propelled the growth of from trash, aligned and drawn down in the carder, draw-frame cotton textile production. The success of the western cotton and flyer-frame, which make up the pre-spinning stages; and textile industry was based on slave labour in the southern states then it is spun into yarn, which is finally woven into fabric. of the USA, used to pick cotton, and child labour to run the Each step can be done either by hand or by machine. machines. When slavery and child labour became socially Then to now: Indian cotton textiles, the prime industry unacceptable they were replaced by abysmally low paid work, for millennia, flourished peacefully, employing millions in and as this too became socially unacceptable, the cotton textile the various stages and making huge varieties. Tome Pires, a industry in the West either closed entirely or needed heavy Portuguese traveler wrote in 1515 describing ships that came subsidies. from Gujarat and the Coromandel Coast as “worth eighty to Cotton textiles in India today: We grow our own cotton ninety thousand cruzados, carrying cloth of thirty different and we also have all the necessary skills & technologies for sorts”. Exports have been documented from India to the Roman textile production. We can supply not only our own vast Empire as early as in the first century BCE, to such an extent domestic market but also many regions and segments of the that the Roman historian Pliny is said to have complained that export market. There are 4 ‘sectors’ of the textile industry that are officially recognized by the State: mill, power loom, handloom & khadi. Spinning mills are included in the mill sector and it is taken for granted that all weaving except Khadi use yarn that is made in mills. Mills: Weaving mills today produce about 4% of the country’s cloth. The first mills were set up in India in the mid 19th century to export cotton cloth to England, and thrived during the American Civil War. They continued production for a hundred years, but the inherent unviability of mechanical weaving meant that they could only pay low wages to the mill workers, which led to strikes and unrest from 1928. In the 60s the advent of ‘power looms’ sounded the death-knell of the mill sector.

Ecology and energy are increasingly becoming a cause for concern as the world faces global warming and ‘peak oil’. As public opinion begins to focus on these issues, ecological production processes are rapidly gaining in value.

8 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Power looms: They have taken over about 76% of the textile production of India. Beginning with discarded machinery from mills, power looms now use sophisticated modern weaving machines and out-price the mills by working around industrial labour laws of the country, paying abysmally low wages. Most of the textile export from India consists of the cheapest cotton ‘grey sheeting’ made on power looms. Power loom and hosiery centres such as Bhiwandi, Ichalkaranji, and Malegaon in Maharashtra, Sircilla in Andhra & Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu are notorious for the inhuman working & living conditions of the workers and for industrial pollution. Handloom: The artisan weaving cotton textiles on the handloom has been unfairly relegated to a peripheral status in the textile industry. Not only does handloom still employ the largest number of people in the country after agriculture, Ecotone Photo: Saravankumar, it still makes 12-13%of India’s textiles and has tremendous Malkha weavers at Burgula. potential in the future as a low-energy, ecological way of making a vast array of textiles for garments and household The hand-weaving industry provides social stability use. That there is a substantial market demand for handloom by anchoring millions of family livelihoods to rural cloth is proved by the fact that most power loom cotton areas. It produces good cloth by working on renewable fabric in the country is sold unlawfully as handloom. human energy. Rather than doling out huge subsidies Khadi: Weighed down by the Khadi & Village Industries to distribute the electricity consumed by power looms, Commission, Khadi has drifted far from the local self- the State should bolster the physical energy of the sufficiency of Gandhi’s vision. Cotton lint is transported to 5 or 6 central sliver plants which process it through high weaver family by assuring them of decent livelihoods energy machines and distribute the sliver to all the sansthas – through a ready supply of raw material, and access in the country. Khadi today produces only 0.1% of our to finance & markets. textile output. Escaping the technology trap: The textile machinery a relic of the past, an antithesis of their idea of ‘modernity’ and in use today is derived from the failed technology of the therefore something to be discarded. On the contrary, policy- West. How do these processes fare in an ecological, energy making should be based on a rational prediction of the future, a and social audit? Does the higher productivity per unit post-industrial age in which a dispersed, entirely indigenous, low- of a power loom justify the starvation wages of workers, energy, ecologically sustainable textile industry, catering to both pollution of the environment and high energy cost? the domestic and export markets, will be invaluable. In my opinion, the State makes a grave mistake in devaluing We need to find a new direction for Indian textile technology that would buttress our valuable large-scale hand- the low-energy textile process of the hand-weaving industry. The weaving skills as the basis of a cotton cloth industry relevant hand-weaving industry provides social stability by anchoring to today’s circumstances, with the least environmental, millions of family livelihoods to rural areas. It produces good energy and social costs. Doing this would possibly regain cloth by working on renewable human energy. Rather than doling for the country the prime position it held for millennia, and out huge subsidies to distribute the electricity consumed by power one which is lost – India’s textile exports today account for looms, the State should bolster the physical energy of the weaver just 3% of world textile trade. family by assuring them of decent livelihoods – through a ready supply of raw material, and access to finance & markets. Linked The future: Ecology and energy are increasingly to new post-industrial technologies, hand weaving could usher in becoming a cause for concern as the world faces global a contemporary textile revolution. warming and ‘peak oil’. As public opinion begins to focus on these issues, ecological production processes are rapidly gaining in value. Viability is increasingly assessed not just in monetary terms but also in energy, ecological and social terms. Artisanal cloth making gets high ratings here. Uzramma, founder of the non-profit research centre Dastkar Andhra, has been associated with the cotton textile industry of India since 1989. In India is uniquely placed in this changing world in having 2005, Uzramma founded the Decentralized Cotton Yarn Trust with small- a substantial professional artisan textile production sector scale units to process cotton to yarn at field locations. making ordinary cloth for everyday use, whereas in other countries the handloom has become a toy for the hobbyist. She has been a member of policy groups for the handloom industry constituted by the Planning Commission and the PMO. Uzramma is Bureaucracy and the political class have long been committed to the cause of promoting the artisanal mode of production as bogged down in thinking of artisanal textile production as a mainstream economic activity.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 9 Vantage Point Where the HAND

Everything ‘speaks’, and to those has EARS who know how to ‘hear’, craft is the powerful embodiment of the mystical life force, wrote Amadou Hampate Ba

The meaning we give nowadays to the words ‘art’ and ‘artist’ and the special place they occupy in the modern society do not entirely match the traditional African way of thinking. ‘Art’ was not something separate from life. Art not only covered all forms of human activity, but also gave them a meaning. The Ancient African view of the universe was an all-embracing and religious one, and acts, particularly acts of creation, were seldom, if ever, carried out without a reason, an intention, or appropriate ritual preparations. In traditional Africa, there was no division between the sacred and the profane, as there is in our modern society. Everything was interconnected because everything was imbued with a profound feeling of the Unity of Life, the Unity of all things within a sacred universe where everything was interrelated and mutually dependent. Every act and every gesture were considered to bring into play the invisible forces of life. According to the tradition of Bambara people of Mali, these forces are the multiple aspects of the Se, or Great Prime Creative Power, which is itself an aspect of the Supreme Being known as Maa Ngala. In such a context, actions, since they generated forces, were necessarily rituals performed so as to not to upset the balance of the sacred forces of the universe of which humans were traditionally both guardians and guarantors. The crafts of the iron-worker, carpenter, leather-worker or weaver were, therefore, not considered to be utilitarian, domestic, economic, aesthetic or recreational occupations. They were functions with religious significance and played a specific role in the community. In the last analysis, in ancient Africa, everything was considered art, as long as the knowledge of some kind was involved. Art was not only pottery, painting, etc. but everything at which people worked (it was called, Literally, ‘the work of the hands’) and everything which could contribute towards developing the individual.

10 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 In traditional Africa, there was no division These creative activities were all the more sacred since the between the sacred and the profane, as there world we live in was considered to be merely the shadow of another, higher world conceived of as a mysterious pool located neither in is in our modern society. Everything was time nor in space. The souls and thoughts of humans were linked Where the interconnected because everything was imbued to this pool. In it, they perceived shapes or impressions, which with a profound feeling of the Unity of Life, then matured in their minds and found expression in their words the Unity of all things within a sacred universe or the work of their hands. HAND where everything was interrelated and mutually Hence the importance of the human hand, considered as a tool dependent. which reproduced on our material plane (the ‘plane of shadows’) what had been perceived in another dimension. The forge of the traditional ironsmith, who had been initiated into both general and has EARS secret knowledge handed down to him by his ancestors, was no ordinary workshop, but a sanctuary which one entered only after performing specific rites of purification. Every tool and instrument in the forge was the symbol of one of the active or passive life forces at work in the universe, and could be manipulated only in a certain way and to the accompaniment of ritual words. In his workshop sanctuary, the traditional African ironsmith was thus conscious not only of performing a task or of making an object, but of reproducing, by a mysterious analogy, the initial act of creation, thus participating in the central mystery of life. The same was true of other crafts. In ancient traditional societies in which the concept of ‘profane’ was virtually non- existent, the craftsman’s functions were not performed for money or to earn a living: they corresponded to sacred functions, to paths of initiation, each of which was the medium for a body of secret knowledge patiently handed down from generation to generation. This knowledge was always about the mystery of the primal cosmic unity, of which each trade was one particular aspect and form of expression. There were a great many craftsmen’s trades, because there were also a great many possible relationships between humans and the cosmos, which was the great dwelling place of God. While the art of the ironsmith is linked with the mysteries of fire and the transformation of matter, the art of the weaver is bound up with the mystery of rhythm and the creative Word acting through time and space. In ancient times, not only was a trade or art considered to be the embodiment of a particular aspect of the cosmic forces, but it was also a means of making contact with them. To guard against an unwise mixing of powers which might prove to be incompatible, and to keep secret knowledge within the family. these various categories of craftsmen came to practise a system of marriage within their group, regulated by numerous sexual prohibitions. It is plain to see how these chains of initiation or ramifications of knowledge gradually gave rise, through marriage within the group, to the special caste system of the area formerly known as Bafour (savanna region stretching from Mauritania to Mali). These castes enjoyed unique status within society. Let us take a look at the middle class, which particularly concerns us here, namely the class of craftsmen called, in Bambara, the Nyamakala. Owing to the sacred and esoteric origins of his functions, the Nyamakala could under no circumstances become a slave, and he was absolved from the obligation of war Stock Photo: service incumbent upon noblemen. Each category of craftsmen, or Metal Sculpture of Bambara Tribe, Mali. Nyamakala, constituted not only a caste, but a school of initiation. The secret of their art was jealously guarded within the group and strictly handed down from generation to generation or from

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 11 In the traditional religion-orientated world, fantasy did not exist. A craftsman did not make something in a spirit of fantasy, by chance or to satisfy a whim. The work had a purpose and a function, and the craftsman needed to be in a state of mind which matched the moment of its creation. father to son. Craftsmen were themselves called upon to adopt manipulators of forces, the Nyamkala occupied a place apart a hereditary way of life, with obligations and prohibitions in traditional African society. They fulfilled a major role as designed to keep alive in them the qualities and abilities mediators between the invisible words and everyday life. required by their art. Thanks to them, everyday or ritual objects were not simply It cannot be emphasized too strongly that ancient Africa objects, but repositories of power. Such objects most often can be understood only in the light of an occult and religious served to celebrate the glory of god and of ancestors, to open conception of the universe, where there is a living, dynamic the bosom of the sacred Mother, the Earth, or to give material force behind the appearances of all people and objects. form to impressions which the soul of the initiate drew from Initiation taught the right way to approach these forces, which the hidden part of the cosmos and which could not be clearly in themselves, and like electricity, were neither good nor bad, expressed in language. but had to be approached in the right way so as not to cause In the traditional religion-orientated world, fantasy did not short-circuits or destructive fires. We should remember that exist. A craftsman did not make something in a spirit of fantasy, the first concern was not to upset in any way the balance of by chance or to satisfy a whim. The work had a purpose and forces in the universe which the First Man, Maa, had been a function, and the craftsman needed to be in a state of mind appointed to uphold and preserve by his Creator, as were all which matched the moment of its creation. Sometimes he his descendants after him. would fall into trance, and when he emerged from it, he would At a time when so many dangers threaten our planet create. because of human folly and thoughtlessness, it seems to me In this case, the object was not considered to be his that the principle thus raised by the old Bambara myth has lost handiwork. He was regarded merely as an instrument or none of its relevance. After the ironsmith come the traditional medium of transmission. People would say about his work: weavers, who also possess a high tradition of craft initiation. “God put it into you”, or “God has used you to create a fine Initiated weavers of the Bafour work only in wool, and all the work”. Art was, in fact, a religion, a form of particicpation in decorative patterns on their blankets or tapestries have a highly the forces of life and a way of belonging to both the visible precise meaning connected with the mystery of numbers and and to return to the very root of African tradition by seeking the origin of the universe. instruction from the masters who are still alive – instruction Woodworkers, who make ritual objects, notably masks, not so much in a technique as in a way of ‘tuning in’ to the themselves cut the wood they need. Their knowledge is thus world. linked to knowledge of the secrets of the African bush and of This would lead them to take a fresh, more understanding plant life. Those who make canoes must also be initiated into and above all more receptive look at the works of art of the the secrets of water. past, for these were not only ‘aesthetic’ works (aestheticism Then come the leatherworkers, who are often reputed to had very little to do with African art) but also a means of be sorcerers and, finally, also belonging to the Nyamakalaw, transmitting something transcendent. Each object from the there is the special caste of djeli, or ‘public entertainers’, also past is like a silent word. Perhaps the young artists of today, known as griots. more sensitive and more receptive than most people, will be able to hear that silent word. Griots are not only musicians, singers, dancers and storytellers. Some serve as ambassadors or emissaries, acting The old African saying goes (and perhaps the artist of as intermediaries between the great families: others may be today can hear it): Listen! Everything speaks. Everything is genealogists and historians. They have other roles, but those I speech, Everything seeks to inform us, to give us knowledge or have indicated are their principal functions. an indefinable, mysteriously enriching and constructive state of being. The griots as a class do not have their own initiation rite, although individually they may belong to particular “Learn to listen to silence.” Says old Africa, “and you will societies which do have such rites. But they are nevertheless discover that it is music.” Nyamakala, since in fact they manipulate one of the greatest forces acting on the human soul: the spoken word. While the nobles are bound by tradition to observe the utmost discretion in word and gesture, griots are completely free in this domain. Amadou Hampate Ba was a Malian writer and ethnologist. This is As the spokesmen and intermediaries of the nobles, they enjoy an edited extract from the Craft Reader, an anthology of writings on crafts edited by Glenn Adamson, of the Victoria and Albert Museum, special status in society. published by Berg. As craftsmen in materials or in speech, transformers This article is printed with permission from Resurgence magazine, of natural elements, creators of objects and forms and UK.

12 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Vantage Point Musings on Craft I saw this non-emphasis of permanence reflected in the tribal’s use of oral tradition (as opposed to written tradition) to pass on culture, mythology and knowledge, says Ramya Ranganathan

Last week, I had a wonderful opportunity to visit and stay at the Buda Folklore Centre in Honnavar for 3 days. This centre, run by Savita Uday and her parents, is a window of insight into tribal culture, traditions, and practices. Savita’s parents have been learning and documenting the lesser-known treasures of tribal practices for the last 40 years. I was both moved and privileged to be able to share some of their learnings and perspectives. Photos from Ramya Ranganathan Photos from One of the high points of my experience was to be able to interact with and learn wove a little mat that is awkward shaped attitudes towards permanence made snippets of craft, dance, and music first and dotted with gaps and holes, and we me wonder whether these tribal people hand from some of the lovely tribal will probably never use it. Nevertheless would actually be able to face death more men and women that Savita introduced we loved the experience of letting our gracefully than we would. Would not a us to. I was particularly mesmerized by fingers, eyes and imagination play with person who is habituated to continuously graceful Hanmi Akka (pictured in the the cool fabric of the grass, and that is the allowing his or her possessions and accompanying photo), and the patience experience of ‘craft’ that we savored. beliefs die and decay be more open to allowing his or her own body die and and perfection with which she weaved My second learning related to craft decay when time comes? I certainly think blades of paddy and grass to form intricate was in the context of longevity. Quite some prior practice in letting go of things designs and mats. Just observing her a few of the tribal artifacts that we we identify with will help us look at death state of relaxed concentration while she observed were not particularly durable. with greater calm and fortitude. was weaving shifted was a mesmerising When we questioned Savita about this, experience. she told us, “They (tribal people) are not Nature too seems to adopt a similar While we learnt several facts about the obsessed with permanence and longevity approach of gracefully allowing actual traditions and rituals of the Halakki as we are. They create, destroy, and create transformation and metamorphosis from tribal people, an extra something that has again!” This idea left a deep impact on one form to another. The tree regularly rubbed off on me after this interaction is a me. Throughout the trip, I was observing sheds old leaves and grows new ones new perspective on the word ‘craft’ itself. various instances where this difference while water flows from glaciers to rivers I now see the word ‘craft’ as a verb more in attitude towards permanence would to the sea and into vapor. Even the human than as a noun. Usually, during visits to come up again and again. Sometimes it body renews itself by continuously handicraft fairs and exhibitions, my focus showed up in the design of dwelling units, allowing old cells to die. So the tribal would be primarily on the ‘product’. I sometimes in clothing and sometimes in people just seem to be more in touch with was an ardent appreciator of bags, mats, decorations like the mud paintings. I even nature’s own way of being, where things fabric, decorative pieces and toys, etc. that saw this non-emphasis of permanence are not tightly held on to – rather they are were made of grass and bamboo and other reflected in the tribal’s use of oral tradition allowed to transform from one form to natural material. I used to look at these (as opposed to written tradition) to pass another according to their own inherent pieces of art, and admire their beauty and on culture, mythology and knowledge. rhythm of life and death. reflect on how many uses are there for The oral tradition is subject to changes simple natural materials. However, after and morphs each time it passes from ear witnessing Hanmi Akka and others at to mind to tongue to ear again. We now Ramya Ranganathan is an assistant professor work, and dabbling in my own weaving know from research that ideas and stories in Organizational Behaviour at IIM, experiments too, I now see craft as the change and morph even as they are being Bangalore. She teaches courses in positive process itself. I am not in denial of the re-narrated multiple times by the same psychology, careers, integrative thinking and self-exploration. beautiful final product, but that is more person. Read more about her at: of a side effect. My son and I jointly Reflecting on this idea of different http://craftingourlives.com

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 13 Book Review

THE CRAFTSMAN

Fiona Maccarthy writes movingly about the book by Richard Sennett, who does not stop at potters making mugs or Moroccan leather grainers... but extends his warm embrace to the crafts of making music, cooking, and the bringing up of children.

Richard Sennett is a prime observer visiting conductor of the local orchestra choice of materials and methods of of society, an American, a pragmatist rehearses the strings section, going over construction. These idyllic conditions of who takes the nitty gritty of daily life and and over the same passage obsessively. making were self-consciously recreated turns it into a disquisition on morality. Rehearsal time ticks by, the manager is in the late 19th century Arts and Crafts His earlier books include The Fall of getting restless. The conductor takes no workshops and a surprising number of Public Man, The Conscience of the notice; the orchestra plays on, caught high-quality individual craft workshops Eye and The Corrosion of Character. up in the exhilaration of the enterprise, still exist in the UK in 2008. But current Sennett’s knowledge and interests range the painstaking process of improvement economics works against long-term widely from architecture, art, design, of performance. This is craftsmanship job tenure. Modern “flexible working” literature to the ever-fluctuating social in action as “enduring, basic human discourages pride in craftsmanship. life of cities. The components of the man- impulse”; the deep inner satisfaction that Pleasure in making comes from innate made environment enthrall him. He is an comes from work perfected for its own necessary rhythms, often slow ones. As enchanting writer with important things sweet sake. we know in our own lives there is much to say. Such idealistic ways of making, more satisfaction in cooking a meal or Typically, his new book considers flourish most easily in settled social spaces. caring for small children if we are not in a craftwork very broadly. Sennett does not The quasi-domestic medieval workshop, hurry. Doing a job properly takes the time stop at potters making mugs or Moroccan containing at most a few dozen people, it takes. Sennett argues in a fascinating leather grainers, though such people nurtured a tradition of perfectionism, way that, while we are working, do come into it, but extends his warm allowing scope to care about the right submerged processes of thought and embrace to the crafts of making music, feeling are in progress. Almost without cooking, and the bringing up of children. Sennett views the being aware we set ourselves the highest This is a book about perfectionist skills, standard which “requires us to care about the desire to do things well that (he satisfactions of physical the qualities of cloth or the right way to thinks) resides in all of us, the frustration ‘making’ as a necessary part poach fish”. Doing our own work well and damage once these urges are denied. enables us to imagine larger categories of being human. We need When we downgrade dedication we do so of “good” in general. This of course was at our peril, Sennett argues, in an erudite craft work as a way to keep the belief underpinning manual work in and thought-provoking work. ourselves rooted in material many 19th century utopian communities. This professional sociologist- But where is it now that pressure to philosopher is also a musician. One reality, providing a steadying deliver has diminished the capacity for of his most telling examples of the balance in a world which contemplation? craftsmanship that verges on craft mania over-rates mental facility. The best craftsmanship relies on a is a scene in a town’s concert hall. The

14 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 continuing involvement. It can take many years of practice for complex skills of The best craftsmanship relies on a continuing involvement. making to become so deeply engrained It can take many years of practice for complex skills of making to that they are there, readily available, almost without the craftsmen being become so deeply engrained that they are there, readily available, conscious of it. An obvious example is almost without the craftsmen being conscious of it. the glassblower, dependent on tried and trusted ways of using tools, organising body movements, understanding his crushing blow to craftsmanship, as the his brilliance in relating the past to the idiosyncratic raw materials with a depth teenage William Morris seemed to know present. His search of NHS hospitals for of involvement so complete the process by instinct, remaining outside the Crystal any residue of craftsmanship, the special of making becomes almost automatic. Palace in a sulk. human quality of being “engaged”, The same total mastery of technique can makes depressing reading. Doctors’ and By this time hopes had dimmed that apply to music making, ballet dancing, nurses’ attitudes to patients are innately artisans could find an influential place in writing. But our lives are so fragmented craftsmanlike, driven by curiosity, the industrial order. Battle was joined. that it is becoming rare. Sennett views investigating slowly, retaining an ability Sennett’s 10 pages on an almost crazily the satisfactions of physical ‘making’ as to “learn from ambiguity”. These special belligerent John Ruskin are as good as a necessary part of being human. We need skills have been eroded by the introduction he gets. He loves the strange immediacy craft work as a way to keep ourselves of health care targets that are entirely of Ruskin’s writing, pointing out that rooted in material reality, providing a quantitive. No place for the craftsman’s his prose has “an almost hypnotic tactile steadying balance in a world which over- subtle and practiced “interplay between power, making the reader feel the damp rates mental facility. He traces these tacit knowledge and self-conscious moss on an old stone or see the dust in ideas back to 18th century Enlightenment awareness” in the brutal Fordism of the sunlit streets”. He comprehends the perceptions. Diderot’s Encyclopedia modern NHS. radical nature of Ruskin’s protest against presents manual pursuits as on a par with his own “overstuffed” Victorian age, On the other hand Sennett finds mental labour, describing the lives of proposing the return to a pre-industrial craftsmanship resurfacing in unexpected artisan craftsmen to illustrate good work past in which individual standards of places. He argues that people who as a source of human happiness, compared work still signified. Ruskin tackled the by participate in Linux online workshops with the predictable warm glow of steady then fixed division of society into artisans are craftsmen who embody the principles marital relations as opposed to the more who laboured and gentlemen who thought first celebrated in a Homeric hymn to flashy sudden thrills of an affair. - or failed to do much thinking. Isn’t there Hephaestus, the master god of craftsmen. Enlightenment thinking found a way still a residue of such class divisiveness Does Sennett go too far in praising the of coping with the onset of industrial about? Linux system of “open-source” computer production. As summarised by Sennett: software as a modern example of a Sennett views Ruskin, unforgettably, “The enlightened way to use a machine public craft employable and adaptable by as a man deeply aware of his own is to judge its powers, fashion its uses anyone, which users themselves donate sensations and experience, making the in light of our own limits, rather than time to improve? The best known Linux appeal we might today describe as “get the machine’s potential. We should not application is Wikipedia, the encyclopedia back in touch with your body”. Ruskin compete against the machine.” It was to which any user can contribute. But, as observed in ‘Stones of Venice’ the later, in the mid-19th century that panic we all know, many Wikipedia entries are draughtsman stopping, fumbling, losing set in as more machines spewed out more just rubbish. Linux workshops are still temporary control over his work only to goods in what seemed to social critics a grappling with an underlying and often resume with new confidence. These are reckless abandon of luxury and waste. magic human moments no machines can inflammatory problem in all communal The Great Exhibition of 1851 was a craft workshops, that of quality control. replicate. Sennett makes a case for such “lost spaces of freedom”: spaces in which Sennett alters one’s view of Doing our own work well craftsmen can experiment with ideas and craftsmanship by finding so much enables us to imagine larger techniques, risk mistakes and hold-ups, meaning in the detail. The grip on the categories of “good” in general. lose themselves to find themselves. “This pencil, the pressure on the chisel: he is a condition for which people will have persuades us that these things have real This of course was the belief to fight in modern society,” he writes. significance. underpinning manual work in Indeed it is. many 19th century utopian Sennett says of himself “I am a Fiona Maccarthy is a British biographer philosophically minded writer asking communities. But where is it and cultural historian. She has written of questions about such matters as wood- biographies of Eric Gill, William Morris and now that pressure to deliver working, military drills, or solar panels.” Lord Byron. She has also been a contributor to has diminished the capacity for One of his great strengths, the thing the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, that makes his narrative so gripping, and is a regular writer for the Guardian. contemplation? is the sheer range of his thinking and

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 15 Vantage Point

KAMALADEVI - Tireless Promoter of the Crafts

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay is considered single handedly responsible for the great revival of Indian handloom and handicrafts in the post independence era. Jasleen Dhamija, her close associate, shares her experiences with the great pioneer.

Kamaladevi was a charismatic persuaded Mr. Ashok Mitra to carry out rhythms and rituals. The celebrations of personality with a rich experience of a Census of the Crafts, which became a the Bhuta, Theyyam and the creation of the political life, which began when she was massive exercise. Everyone knew that objects used in them were a ritual. Their still in her teens. She had the ability the formal sector would only employ a use in the performance created all forms not only to work hard, but also to carry fraction of the population and it is the of rasas, from fear to wonder to karuna. others with her - an ability she honed non-formal sector that would have to be These were expressed with great effect while organising the political movement supported. Kamaladeviji also did not see through poetry, kavya, music, movement for our freedom struggle. In 1952, when crafts only as an economic activity; she and the hypnotic rhythm of the drum, she took up the Chairmanship of the All saw it as an expression of our culture, our which she says in her autobiography, India Handicrafts Board, she took up the heritage and the very inner source of our moved her immensely. challenge of reaching out to craftsmen being. She understood the deep-rooted spread throughout India. It was a vast Gandhiji had told her that it was only influence of the crafts on our way of life. ocean of skills, where people worked if we worked with our hands that we For her, the act of creation and the use of in remote areas as individuals or in could enrich our lives; and Tagore said the objects had an important impact on our workshops. Often they lived on the fringe to her that man’s personality evolved lives, for they were the very fabric of our of society, and were the most under- through music, through rhythm. She life. She did not differentiate between one privileged and discriminated against. For listened to everyone and evolved her area of creative expression and another: Kamaladevi it became an emergency. own creed, based on her own early for her all creativity was enriching. She She felt that the bureaucratic norms had experiences of being born in a household was indeed very contemporaneous in her to be broken if the crafts were to survive. where scholarship was revered, where approach. We are very fortunate that she She began work without any they lived close to nature and the cyclic had the opportunity to shape not only the information, except what could be diurnal movement brought its own craft movement, but also the performing gleaned from the gazetteers. There arts as Vice President of Sangeet Natak were no guidelines, no precedents as to Akademi, which she virtually organised how the work should be organised. The She understood the with Nirmala Joshi as administrative economists and planners wanted to see an deep-rooted influence of the support. Young Kapila Vatsayan, erudite, industrialized country and had no space crafts on our way of life. For dynamic and passionate, worked with her for the Cottage Industry Sector. However, her, the act of creation and as well. When I think of her, I think of a Gandhiji’s advocacy got a place for the multi-faceted person, whose contribution small scale and cottage industries and the use of the objects had made our life so much richer. an important impact on our India began its 1st V year plan with a She enriched us by her work in all mixed economy. Jawaharlal Nehru asked lives, for they were the very the creative fields, and many institutions Kamaladevi to head the Handicrafts and fabric of our life. She did not were linked to her. Besides Sangeet Handloom Sector and assured her of differentiate between one area Natak Akademi, she set up Bharatiya support. She felt handicapped due to the of creative expression and Natya Sangh through which she nurtured fact that there was no data available to the theatre movement throughout the be used to develop a plan with facts and another: for her all creativity country. The National School of Drama is figures, and get the needed support. She was enriching. rooted in its beginnings as Asian Theatre

16 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Institute, which Kamaladeviji started the work of AIHB became known with UNESCO funding. The nurturing We know that only 6% internationally. People from all over the of theatre crafts and folk theatre was her of the work force is in the developing world, Philippines, Indonesia, contribution. Through her work in the formal sector and the rest are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Israel, many newly All India Women’s Conference, she was liberated African countries and even from in the non-formal sector; able to make a tremendous impact on Mexico, came to study our programmes. the largest being those the status of women. It was in 1930 that Today we have a private sector that she proposed the setting up of a Home involved in the Cottage we can be proud of; Kamaladevi inspired Science Institute for Women, and Lady Industry Sector. This has many NGOs who are doing excellent Irwin College emerged out of that. In been possible because of the work. In the private sector, there are people 1944, Kamaladevi addressed the women pioneering work carried like Ritu Kumar who were encouraged very sharply: she pointed out, “The in their initial efforts by Kamaladevi. out by Kamaladevi and the women’s movement … is not a war of the Today, despite the limitations and lack of sexes ... it needs to be directed against structures that she built to support, handicrafts and handlooms are faulty social institutions”: an approach support this work. the biggest employer, after agriculture. that the feminist movement in the west Even today however, no clear picture is came to understand only in the last decade available of the employment: the figures of the previous century. Kamaladevi used in their homes, that which enriched for the handloom sector alone range involved all her friends in her work their lives. People were drawn to her like a from 12 million to 36 million. We know with crafts. Rukmani Devi Arundale magnet. It was a joy to see her laughing at that only 7 percent of the work force is began with Kamaladevi’s help to revive their jokes and drinking in their songs and in the formal sector and the rest in the traditional silk saris in Kanchipuram, stories. Her contribution towards seeking non-formal sector, the largest being and she gave space in Kalakshetra to out and nurturing our roots is remarkable. those involved in the Cottage Industry start the Vegetable Dye Research Centre. Today we take it for granted that we can Sector. This has been possible because Durgabai Deshmukh set up 4 regional easily hear Dhrupad, Khyal, Thumri from of the pioneering work carried out by Craft Teachers Institutes, which created a the best musicians. We see the finest Kamaladevi and the structures that she cadre of craft teachers. The Central Social dancers and select excellent teachers for built to support this work. Welfare Board began the socio-economic our children; unlike in the late 30s when programme for women in 1956, much One could go on talking of her forever. my father in Lahore was accused of losing before International Organisations set I would however like to end by talking of his mind for making singing and dancing up their Income Generating Programme. her as a person. People were in such awe girls of his daughters. Today we can These centres are still running and of her and many felt that she was lacking walk into a shop and buy a traditional have contributed considerably towards in humour. This was not true. She was of Kanjeevram, Gadwal, Poochampalli, upgrading skills and creating a strong course a very private person, and no one, Paithani, Jamdani, Tanchoi- you name base for local craft skills. but no one could fathom her loneliness it: 40 years ago it was not possible. We and the anguish in her heart. But despite I had the good fortune to work closely have come a long way and we owe it to everything, she had a fantastic sense of with her and was her companion on many Kamaladevi. humour. She was a superb raconteur and of her journeys. Each journey was a Her contribution towards creating a devastating mimic. I have spent many voyage of discovery and an education in awareness of the importance of crafts was an hour laughing with her, listening to her the fullest sense. We visited rural Bengal not confined only to India, but embraced stories. When she wanted to be charming, and saw Jatra performances, we saw the the world. It was she who built the World she could do so in a most artful manner rod puppets at Murshidabad, Sahi Jatra at Crafts Council. She persuaded the heiress and nobody could resist responding Puri, the Nautanki at Dhanbad and Meerut Beatrice Webb to finance the setting up positively if she asked for something. It and much much more in our travels across of the World Crafts Council. Through is because of this that right until her very the country. Every day, every week, every Kamaladevi’s indefatigable energy and last days she was able to get support for month was taken as an emergency. Yet it her multiple international contacts, the many an institution and help many people was a joyful journey of learning, of giving Council became an international network. to realize their dreams. Today we live a and receiving. Crafts persons were able to meet and life that is rich in many aspects, because Kamaladevi lived very simply and share experiences, exchange ideas and of the pioneering work that was carried was at home in a simple mud hut or a learn from each other. Today in many out by Kamaladeviji. palace. She enjoyed traditional forms of parts of the developing world, the Crafts expression wherever she went, whether it Councils are the only organisations that was war torn China, sophisticated Japan, spearhead the movement to nurture and Jasleen Dhamija has written a biography the Maghreb, Ethiopia, in the land of develop craft traditions. The All India on Kamaladevi. She began work with Govt. Queen Bathsheba, Scandinavia or among Handicrafts Board became operational of India in 1954, focusing on the revival of the multi-millionaires of USA. She traditional crafts, community development and in 1954, when the first market survey women’s empowerment. She has been advisor absorbed the beauty in everyday life, in was conducted and the planned activities to many govts, taught in many universities and the clothes that people wore, in the objects could be taken up. In less than 5 years, recieved awards from around the world.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 17 Multi-view

“Working with our hands is an inherent instinct that stems from an ancient urge to express our individuality and create beauty. We are in a world of mass-produced toys, automated responses and instant gratification - so we view hand crafting as a means to slow down, de-stress, find satisfaction in simple pleasures and lead more creative and contented lives”, says Mala Dhawan, a co-founder of the NGO, A Hundred Hands

For a few years now, Sonia and Mala Dhawan who live off MG Road, Bangalore have been throwing open their garden to showcase the works of various artisans of handcrafted products. Whether it was the women farmers of Sirsi, Hase Chitra artists from Sagar or groups from Kumaon to Kundapur, their home has slowly become a hub for small artists showcasing their work. Encouraged by this experience, the two sisters decided to formalise the initiative through A Hundred Hands, a not for profit trust whose primary focus is to provide a platform for artists involved in the creation of contemporary, handcrafted alternatives for our daily lives. It is a mission to help these artisans earn a fair and sustainable livelihood from their work. Says Mala Dhawan, “working with our hands is an Ram Soni inherent instinct that stems from an ancient urge to express Sanjhi, is an elegant and exquisite art that originated our individuality and create beauty. Our ancestors decorated in Uttar Pradesh. It can be traced back to the 16th / 17th the cave walls for the joy of it - and steeped as we are in century when it flourished and decorated the walls of a world of mass-produced toys, automated responses and palaces and Vaishnav temples in the Northern belt. The instant gratification, we view hand crafting as a means to art predominantly depicted scenes and incidents from the slow down, distress, find satisfaction in the simple pleasures life of Krishna. Stencils were created by cutting out fine and lead more creative and contented lives.” filigree patterns on paper which were then used as rangolis A Hundred Hands has members who are actively to transfer the designs on temple walls and floors. Today involved with groups that earn their livelihood from it is a dying ancient Indian art. Hence it is extremely handmade products. Some make homemade items on a heartwarming to meet master craftsman, Ram Soni, who small scale themselves. While initiatives that offer greater zealously guards and pursues the Sanjhi art. incentives to craftspeople do exist, much more remains to Ram Soni is a classic example of how an artist can be done. A Hundred Hands seeks to combine skills and blend traditional art with contemporary tastes to keep the work in partnership with artists and craftspeople to ensure art alive and popular. He has incorporated Mughal art a dignified life and a fair livelihood for them. patterns & contemporary designs to keep his repertoire As interesting as the craft work exhibited at the Hundred wide and appealing. A National Award winner, Ram Hands Melas are the stories of the artisans who are happy to Soni’s family has been practicing this art for 5 generations share slices of their life with you. now and keeping the art alive in the country.

18 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Vidhushini: Bright colours and clear lines on hand made paper make Vidhushini Prasad’s Madhubani paintings a great addition for any home. Vidhushini was born in Kolkata and later settled in Bihar, the state where Madhubani painting originated. She was a teacher for a while, and after the birth of her first son, she decided to delve deeper into her fascination for Madhubani art. For someone who has learnt to paint on her own just a few years ago, Asha Ram Vidhushini has come a long way. She has been featured on the Novica website, a Asha Ram specializes in creating National Geographic initiative to connect novel as well as traditional handcrafted artists across the world. “Though I have products out of Sheesham, Ebony and not had any formal training, it was not Rosewood. Wood carving is a specialized difficult for me take up this art. I have art where the artisan carves patterns out of Shyam Venkat inherited it from my culture, and it feels wood with various cutting tools such as a knife or a chisel or a chisel and a mallet. Shyam Venkat, born into a Gond tribal great. I take pride in it”, she says. The highly skilled and ambidextrous Asha family, started painting at ten. Venkat Ram has been instrumental in passing on worked as a daily labourer for many this craft to many youngsters and has years before he dreamt of following his given a livelihood to several individuals passion for Gond art. Gond paintings while keeping the art alive. were originally painted by the tribal people on the walls and ground of their Asha Ram, the master craftsman’s house using limestone and charcoal. range of Mughal Combs are a delight They were not mere decorations, but for any lover of art and history. Each expressions of their religious sentiments piece of intricately carved jaali work is and devotions. Common themes are local a master’s creation and speaks volumes festivals like Karwa Chauth, Deepawali, of the rich Indian heritage. Carved jaalis Ahoi Ashtami, Nag Panchmi, Sanjhi etc; (lattice)on wood and ivory is one of the horses, elephants, tigers, birds, gods, most recognized styles of Mughal art. men and objects of daily life in bright This art is now practiced by only a few and multi-coloured hues. Venkat does highly skilled artisans who have now everything from culture specific painting adapted to changing consumer tastes - to highly abstract themes and his work Asha Ram’s range of handcrafted wooden has been exhibited in many countries. products now extends to utility products, He feels an artist must bring a freshness novel gifts and home products. His latest to the time honoured themes. “When one passion is handcrafting a delightful range looks at my paintings, one must feel they of puzzles. are traditional but at the same time, there have to be new elements in them,” he Adapted from blog post by Geeta Venkat, says. volunteer, A Hundred Hands. Blog: ahundredhandstumblr.com Photos from Blog: ahundredhandstumblr.com Photos from

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 19 Multi-view

K a t h p u t l i - Hanging Loose - Priyanka Varma

Banwari Lal Bhat says “I do not want my kids to be in this job”. Though he and his family are financially dependent on his current work, he doesn’t want the kids to enter the same profession. He wants them to study hard and get into a different field. He emphasizes on the importance of English in today’s world. Speaking in broken English, he says, first and foremost he wants his children to learn English. You might be wondering what his current job is and why does he make a statement like that. Banwari Lal Bhat is a puppeteer from Udaipur, Rajasthan, who earns his living by performing Kathputli shows. Banwari Lal says he has been into this profession since he was 12, and now he is 28. For the last 16 years he has been roaming across India showcasing the puppetry art and earning a living. He says he has done shows all over India, except in the beautiful seven sister states. He travels with his Kathputlis, while his family, a wife and 3 children are back at his native village. His children go to school and Banwari Lal feels that his children should get into this art form only if they are interested and want to do something new in this field. On the other hand, his sister’s and brother’s children have chosen puppetry as their livelihood. This is the story of not only Banwari Lal, but of many artists practicing this dying art form. While wandering through one of the roads of Bangalore, we heard a shrill voice and dhol beats. We saw a small group of people standing around a small stage. Bright colourful clothes, beautiful eyes, nimble limbs were dancing in front of an enthralled audience. The small wooden stage had a bright yellow cloth as the backdrop and these Kathputlis were dancing to the deft fingers of the puppet man, Banwari Lal. It can be a brave emperor, or a dancing girl, a snake charmer or a snake, all dance to the magic movements of Banwari Lal’s finger tips. ‘Kathputli’, as the name suggests, is a wooden puppet. The head and shoulders are made of wood while KATHPUTLI has been used as a medium to provide the hands and legs are stuffed with cotton, covered with cloth and attached to a string. moral and social education. These shows have been an The man in a bright blue kurta was engrossed good medium to spread awareness on the evils of the dowry in playing the dhol, with the puppeteer singing and system, education of the girl child, cleanliness, population making shrill voices with a bamboo reed. The strong control, etc. It has also been instrumental in offering facial expression of the man with the dhol was really captivating. Banwari Lal, dressed in traditional messages on these social and environmental issues in a Rajasthani attire, with a colourful turban on his head, simple common language through anecdotes and stories. was narrating the story through songs from behind the

20 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Depressed by the current conditions and interest of people, Banwari Lal is sure that this art form will disappear soon. He is not keen on passing this art to his children as no one seems to take interest in this age old art form. yellow curtain. The whole setup brought back nostalgic memories of childhood. Kathputli is an ancient form of art. Through the Kathputli show, folktales of kings, wars and other historical events used to be depicted. According to Banwari Lal, puppet shows were not only based around folktales of the kings, but also on social issues to create awareness. It has also been used as a medium to provide moral and social education. These shows have been an good medium to spread awareness on the evils of the dowry system, education of the girl child, cleanliness, population control, etc. It has also been instrumental in offering messages on these social and environmental issues in a simple common language through anecdotes and stories. The Bhat community from Rajasthan began to practice this art as their family profession. Banwari Lal tells us that 11 generations of the Bhat community has been involved only in Kathputli art. These people have not recieved formal education and all the stories that they depict through the Kathputlis have been passed through word of mouth from their parents or grandparents. The Bhat community belongs to the Nagaur district of Rajasthan and apart from the Kathputli shows, they also make these puppets. These wooden dolls known as Kathputli used to attract not only the kids but even the elders. The Kathputli show was one of the main sources of entertainment in many villages. Depressed by the current conditions and interest of people, Banwari Lal is sure that this art form will disappear soon. He is not keen on passing this art to his children as he feels they cannot have a decent livelihood through it when no one seems to take interest in this age old art form. Can we do something to keep this art form alive and not just die with Banwari Lal and the people of his community? It is important for today’s children not only to appreciate how rich and diverse our tradition is, but more important to pass it on to the next generation and support them in valuing our rich Indian heritage. I do hope we soon discover ways of helping Kathputli and innumerable other wonderful art forms survive.

Priyanka Varma is a software engineer and photography enthusiast. She has been associated with community service since she moved to Bangalore in 2007. She volunteers with Pankhudi Foundation, an NGO working for the under privilged kids and with many other groups at individual level. She blogs at http://wanderingtastebuds.com and http://bangalorecapture.com

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 21 Vantage Point

While hand crafted goods are becoming exclusive and replaced by mass produced ‘stuff’ today, when the days of cheap oil and transport fade out, crafts will become an essential part of the solution to the climate crises, says Seetha Ananthasivan.

Craft and Sustainability

The word ‘craft’ conjures up visions organisations focused on a new stability, interdependence and a lower of colourful mirror-work, embroidered economic order for the world: consumption of natural resources. kurtas or knick-knacks to buy as gifts. Gandhiji famously said, “ We need But if we go beyond that city-centric • Following Nature’s principle of cyclical flow of resources. production by the masses, not mass view – craft essentially refers to the production”. The last two centuries and world of making things by hand, • Moving away from globalised particularly the last two decades has through skills that involve the whole capitalism to localization of seen the mind-boggling multiplication person and often has some personal businesses and resource usage, re- of mass produced goods – from cars usefulness or function in a society. As working the finance system to focus to clothes, from plasics to books, from many enlightened educationists talk on local flows of currency. electronic gizmos to processed foods. about learning that involves “the head, • Fostering of enjoyment of life Except for a few products that require hands and the heart”, sustainability through personally fulfilling activities, high technology and capital, many of gurus are talking about livelihoods and relationships and communities. our basic needs – of roti-kapda-makaan living processes that involve again, the – of food, clothes and housing, can be head, hands and heart. • Fostering of equity and reducing the terrible gap that now exists between met by local crafts and agriculture and Just let yourself dwell on this world the rich and the poor local physical activity. Unless we act of craft, imagine you could engage in a from this belief, humankind cannot craft as part of a way of life – even if it is All these basic principles and many begin to solve the ecological crises we to do gardening as a hobby, cooking or more can get fulfilled if the world are faced with today. sewing – apart from enjoying yourself sources a large part of its needs for However, crafts through the and reducing your stress levels, you will material goods through a return to centuries have catered not only to basic be joining a movement of people who a crafts-oriented economy. Just as needs: the human spirit has thirsted for wish to live sustainably in our present organic farming is a ‘systemic solution’ to much more – for expression of religious crises-ridden unsustainable world. reduce the (35 to 40%) carbon emissions from food and agriculture, crafts can fervour or creativity, for personal Let us take some tenets of not only reduce emissions from a range adornment with clothes, jewelry and sustainability that are increasingly of products we need, but also shape a accessories, for beautifying dwellings advocated by several thinkers and culture of local communities that foster and various other ways to give oneself a sense of identity or symbols of high status. Traditionally, crafts have Except for a few products that require high technology and capital, supported all these human wants that many of our basic needs – of roti-kapda-makaan – of food, clothes go beyond basic needs as well, with and housing, can be met by local crafts, agriculture and local physical amazing diversity across the world, activity. Unless we act from this belief, humankind cannot begin to mimicing Nature’s abundance in her solve the ecological crises we are faced with today. expressions through flora and fauna.

22 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 India’s Craft Culture “There is a mistaken notion, common to economists and planners, that culture is something which needs to be preserved. The truth is that culture IS the preservative. Culture is the glue that holds people together as a community and as a humane society, not mere economic growth.” - Krishna Kumar

The tremendous diversity of landscapes, plant and animal life, languages and culture of India can be seen reflected in the vast number of art and craft forms across the ages. The Indic and Chinese civilisations are the longest thriving ones – continuing today with Why value the many aspects of their ancient cultures still sustained, despite the onslaught of Crafts Economy? several invasions and modern western Even today, handicrafts and influences. For example, in India, Vedic handloom is the sector that provides rites are still performed at marriages Even today, handicrafts and the second highest employment in and other rituals and ancient shlokas India, next only to agriculture. While and epic stories are shared with vigour handloom is the sector that politicians and industrialists always and spiritual vitality even through new provides the second highest age media like the TV. proclaim the increased employment employment in India, next only that large industries will provide, the India has enchanted, bewildered to agriculture. reality is that from 1991 (the beginning and often frustrated many who have of neo-liberal globalization) to 2007, set out to understand her fascinating employment in the organized sector range and depth. What are some of the has remained at about 27 million. underpinnings of the Indian civilisation A whole range of ‘new’ crafts has that have influenced our craft culture? also come up, blending craftsmanship Behind India’s abundant unfolding with machines and machine made is a culturally embedded celebration intermediate products – such as of diversity: India still has over 2000 tailoring, small fabrications with steel, languages, has given birth to 4 the making of toys, food items, clothes major religions and has innumerable and much more; in India with 62% of our communities, tribes, castes etc. There population still in the rural areas, unlike is yet a cultural commonality in all of in many industrialised countries, many these, that sociologists have called craft-based communities still thrive, “Unity in Diversity”. The large number although many are dying out as well. of crafts of India ensured a flow of The employment in the crafts natural resources in a cyclical manner sector in India, has increased through through usage of natural materials and a gradual organic process spanning processes. India’s genius has been in her millenia, with little or no help from big exploration of a wide range of systems business, politicians or media; that this of spiritual growth, rather than outer has happened despite the hurdles of materialistic growth only. The Indian the promotion of mass produced goods culture evolved through synthesis of speaks volumes for the sustainability external influences - this is especially and never-say-die spirit of crafts. evident in music, art and crafts and the Urdu language. While hand crafted goods are seeking markets around the world These aspects of Indian Crafts culture today, when the days of cheap oil and need to be valued, especially since they transport fade out, crafts will become will be central to a sustainable culture in an essential part of the solution to the the future decades of climate crises we climate crises. are likely to face.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 23 Foundations of Indian Craft: From the Stone Age to the Indus Valley Civilisation

The most awkward means are adequate to the communication of authentic experience, and the finest words no compensation for lack of it. - Ananda Coomaraswamy

The myriad forms of ancient Indian crafts have continuously evolved over thousands of years. When human beings began making tools with stone and sticks of various kinds and also started using their imagination in cave art etc., the stage was set Unknown Artist, Paleolithic Cave Painting of a Horse for the evolution of crafts. While evidence exists of tools, pottery and cave art from pre- historic times, the crafts of the Indus Valley Civilization appear to have made great advancements – it had well developed towns with burnt brick structures and several tools including axes, saws, knives etc. It excelled in sculptures and artifacts in stones, metal and terracotta; gold and silver were also used. A terra- cotta sculpture of the Mother Goddess as a symbol of fertility and prosperity, pots made with a special clay with beautiful and refined detailing of birds, animals and men as well as several enigmatic seals are indications of a strong foundation for Indian crafts being laid. Bronze sculptures were made using the lost wax process Jewelery, Indus Valley Civilization - which is fascinating for one of the oldest civilisations. This technique required sculptures to be first made out of wax. A layer of clay was then put over this wax, and then heated. This left behind a hollow mould into which molten metal was poured. After cooling, the clay was removed, and a metal sculpture remained. A beautiful example of such work, is the naked dancing girl found at Mohenjo-Daro, covered with jewellery, wearing several necklaces and bangles.

The merger of art and craft in India India is a country with innumerable temples, palaces and other monuments which show case a dazzling array of sculptures, paintings, metal structures, ceramics, textiles and more. Yet, rarely are the names of the artistes and artisans recorded or inscribed in the art work itself. The famed author and art historian, Ananda Coomaraswamy argued that this is because, India’s art merged with its craft, and also, for the artisan his craft was a spiritual practice, and not only an expression of his creativity. The creativity of the artist / artisan was bounded by the stylized forms of the particular school of craft he belonged to, and the themes were either general motifs or dictated by the temple, cave or palace he was working at, most of them being obviously a collaborative endeavour. Photographs from Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Photographs from

24 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Crafts in the Buddhist Era

“The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least three fold: to give man a chance to develop and utilise his faculties; to enable him to overcome his ego- centredness by joining with other people in a common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence.” - E.F Schumacher in ‘Small is Beautiful’

National Museum, New Delhi

The Buddhist era shows enormous strides made in a range of crafts. The Jataka talks of 18 different craft ‘guilds’ for woodworkers, leatherworkers, smiths, painters, etc. These guilds Unknown Artist, Painting at Buddhist rock-cut Cave were organisations to support various craftsmen, at Ajanta, Maharashtra. including through financial investment. The Buddhist text Milindapanha mentions 60 types of crafts. Villages were named after potters, carpenters, metal smiths, foresters, salt makers and oil makers etc. The Jataka even mentions a guild of adhyamtrikas – workers who made hydraulic engines and water clocks! A huge number of Jain temples and other monuments also exist in various regions in India Detail from Jain Temple at Dilwara, Rajasthan

Jaali work, Fatehpur Sikri Mughal architecture, Qutub Minar, Delhi SynthesisThe Mughal influence of foreign is well known influences in architecture and many other areas particularly in north India. Persian, Arabian, Portughese, French and English art and culture have also been absorbed into Indian culture. Jaali work, Urdu, Ghazals, the Kathak dance, the English language, etc., are a few examples.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 25 Crafts and Religion “Religion, the great milch cow, has given us many kicks, but never mind, it gives us a great deal of milk.” - Swami Vivekananda

Every civilization has its religion(s) and supporting canons of myths and symbols. The religions that originated or flourished in India have provided themes and often their whole livelihood for Indian artisans. Interestingly, in some HIndu temples, a craftsman making garlands or the clothes of the God could well be a Muslim.

A huge volume of art and craft has been inspired by Hindu Gods and Godesses. Shown here are many of the gods with their ‘vahanas’ or vehicles, which are birds or animals. Even as huge tracts of forests along with their fauna and flora are being destroyed in recent times, hope exists with many communities which still revere birds and animals, often because of a religious connection. Example: the Peacock which is a vahana of Karthikeya (or Subramanya / Muruga); the elephant, the vahana of Indra and also symbolic of the all time favourite, Ganesha. Ganesha alone may well be taking care of tens of thousands of artisans, because he makes a very popular gift in various art and craft forms.

“ Myths are public dreams and dreams are private myths… God is a metaphor for all that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It is as simple as that.” - Joseph Campbell

The Gods who are worshipped across India as well as local the story of evolution starting from Matsya (fish), Koorma regional Gods and Godesses provide great opportunities for (amphibian), Varaha (the bull – land animal), and leading artisans to make small replicas or symbols as souvenirs to on to Rama, the ideal human being and Krishna the super be sold at Indias huge number of temples. The Dasavataras human and finally Kalki, the apocalyptic in the current era. or the 10 ‘avatars’ of God are depicted in many temples and These depictions also serve the function of keeping alive the pictures for home decoration. The 10 avatars communicate cultural beliefs regarding time and human vulnerabiity.

26 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Various rituals - connected with festivals, marriage etc., also foster a Rites and Rituals need many craftsmen... range of crafts - ranging from the use of small clay vessels for “ella bellu” for Most villages in South India have an annual Festival where the the harvest festival Makar Shankaranthi village diety is taken on procession in a Chariot and the burning of the in Karnataka, to gifting of brass lamps Ravana effigee is an annual ritual during Diwali. These rituals provide and utensils and tonsuring of one’s hair work to several craftsmen in the village. in temples.

One of the most expressive craft forms that women engage in as a daily ritual is the making of floral designs and motifs on the floor called Alpana, Thiruvarur Chariot Craftsman making a chariot Kolam, Rangoli etc. - with rice flour (also to provide food for ants), flowers and coloured powders. Mehndi and Glass bangles are used for certain rituals for women and flowers, kum kum and haldi in almost all rituals.

Craftsman making a Ravana effigee

Providing flowers and garlands for marriages and for worship through puja is probably the work of tens of thousands of people in India. Doing Puja is a daily ritual in many homes, rich or poor, and certainly in all temples.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 27 Craft and Nature

Craft items mostly use natural materials like wood, palm leaf, bamboo, stone and so on which are bio-degradable if not re-cyclable. India also was highly advanced in metallurgy – and various metals and alloys are used in sculptures and vessels which are often made to last through generations. The use of themes and motifs of trees, leaves, flowers, birds and animals show a closeness to nature in urban as well as rural areas. In a not-so-nature-friendly development, during the last few decades, some craftsmen have begun using plastics as a base material.

Gond painting, Madhya Pradesh

“ The artist is not a special kind of person - rather each person is a special kind of artist” - Ananda Coomaraswamy

Painting on the walls and floor of the home were the beginnings of people expressing their creativity, with themes involving nature, humans and gods. Gradually with foreign, particularly western influence, today art and craft has become pieces to be displayed and sold. This has brought in a greater awareness of tribal and regional art and craft to urbanites and also their commercialisation on a larger scale has helped in the survival of many artisans. Warli painting, Maharashtra

Tribal Craft and Knowledge

There are 645 listed tribes in India. Tribals live a truly sustainable life. Most tribals today are using their traditional crafts such as honey gathering, bamboo work or mat weaving etc., to get connected with the ‘developing world’. Whatever their primary occupation or activities, all of them have valuable knowledge of the flora and fauna of the area, about medicinal plants and much more. Tribal art like Warli, Gondh and Chittara have become popular in exhibitions in cities today - we as city dwellers seem to have an instinctive need to connect with the natural and indigenous wisdom of these ‘eco-system people’.

28 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Madhubani painting, Bihar

Many charms and symbols, like this Tibetan one (above), embody the respect the society has for Nature and biodiversity through the several pictures of animals and plants they portray. Sometimes, they work to the disadvantage of animal life - as when tigers get killed for theri teeth or skin, or Rhinos get hunted for their horn

Handicrafts definitely connect us with Nature, since the materials used are often not excessively processed and give us the feel of cotton, palm leaves, wood etc. During the last few decades, materials like plastic, polyester fibres, cement, steel etc are used to mass produce furniture and buildings; although they too are sourced from the Earth, they do not give a ‘natural feel’ and often re-cycling them is difficult or not possible.

Craft for Folk and Classical Dances

India has about 40 folk dances and over 60 musical instruments which are used for them; The classical dance forms are fewer - 8, but today they are made popular all over the country through several dance schools. Every folk and classical dance form in India has its own set of costumes, jewelry and other paraphernelia whcih are made by craftsmen who specialise in the work. Shown alongside is the photograph of a Kathakali artiste preparing to play the role of Ram, with his elaborate costume and make-up.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 29 Craft in Everyday Life “Simplicity is a positive quality; when things are simple they are well-made, they last indefinitely, they are made with pleasure and they give pleasure when used.” - Satish Kumar

Craft to a city dweller often appears to be an indulgence of the elite or the hobbyist; also, craft items that have a certain marketability or export potential are the only ones that are show-cased in various craft exhibitions and shops. But over 60% of India still lives in rural areas, where the function of craft is more important than its appearance.

Let us remember that cooking, gardening, carpentry, masonry, sewing, knitting etc. are also crafts! And hand crafted products in India essentially were for everyday life – be it vessels, foot wear, clothes, the plough or other instruments.

Thousands of craftsmen make articles of daily use like chairs, bags, cushions, hats, purses, sofas, toys etc. Some of these, like modas are now found in all cities and towns. In every state in India, its own unique designs, colours, materials and patterns are manifested in the handicrafts for everyday use. For instance, Kashmir is known for its Pashmina wool shawls as well as carpets, silverware, ivory works etc, Assam and West Bengal for their delicate ‘Sholapith’ and ‘Shital Patti’ work; Karnataka for its rosewood carving, sandalwood crafts; and the engraved and enameled meenakari brassware found in Rajasthan, silk materials from Varanasi and Kanchipuram, colourful embroidery, mirror work, quilting and fabric painting from Gujarat etc are some of the unique crafts from the different states.

30 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 “Any fool can make things complicated, but it requires a genius to make things simple.” - E.F. Schumacher Wall art , Rajasthan Wall

“A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cotton cloth. Their beauty is inseparable from their function. Handicrafts belong to a world existing before the separation of the useful and the beautiful.” - Octavio Paz

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 31 Craft and the Home

The skills and culture connected with a craft was passed on to the young through families, and the house became a natural expression of art and craft forms. Every region had its own “signature” craft, such as Warli, Tanjore or Kalamkari Paintings, Kutch mirror work etc. In some areas, houses are decorated with ‘jali’ work, distinctive motifs and patterns on walls or have beautiful architectural forms that suit the climate of the place.

“The domestic joys, the daily housework or business, the building of houses - they are not phantasms... they have weight and form and location.” - Walt Whitman

Traditional homes in many places, such as these - in Kutch, Gujarat (left and above left) and Assam (below left) are delightful in their diversity and simplicity.

Grass Crafts exist in every region of India. Thatch roofing is used in many villages, and also floor mats, baskets, boxes etc. made of grass, bamboo and palm leaves are very common. Perhaps more than half of India lives in eco-friendly houses built with mud, straw, cowdung, tiles, lime, etc.

32 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Craft and Royalty

The lives of craftsmen were not always idyllic and full of creativity and spirituality as may be suggested by the beautiful art and craft they produce. They often struggled within an unfair and unjust caste system and increasingly today, are vulnerable to being exploited by middle-men and even corporate greed : Organisations have attempted to patent the mango and other motifs which have been used through centuries by artisans. The kings and emperors as well as some rich noblemen through the ages, provided the much needed patronage for artisans to continue doing their work - especially when it concerned working with marble, precious stones and such expensive material and temples and other monuments. Not always were they well rewarded - certain Mughal kings were known to blind and maim artisans on completion of their work so that they would not make equally good pieces of art for others! Apart from palaces, kings patronised the building of fantastic temples like the Madurai Meenakshi temple, the huge Hampi sculptures, the temples at Puri, Somnath, Belur Halebid and hundreds of others. After the Mughal invasion came the Arabic and Persian influence on architecture and great tombs and gardens like the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri were built - and became models for thousands of other buildings. Today, the Consumer is King! Despite all the ills of the free- market globalised economy, many crafts survive because of national and international marketing often supported by many NGOs and other organisations. However, there is definitely a need to judiciously redefine what kind of globalisation is sustainable and avoid yielding uncomprehendingly to capitalist and corporate expansionism, and promote more crafts instead.

20 ft high statue of Ugranarasimha at Hampi built by the Vijayanagara kings

Photos: By Ananth Somaiah, Nidhi Aggarwal, Wikipedia and free stock images.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 33 Positive Steps

The Craft Economics and Impact Study

To address the crisis of unawareness and misunderstanding that faces the handicraft sector, the Craft Council of India (CCI) undertook this Craft Economics and Impact Study (CEIS). Extracts from the full report published in April 2011, available from the CCI website, are given below.

The Crafts Council of India (CCI) Because modernity has been Sustaining them was a burden dictated undertook the Craft Economics and primarily framed as an evolution by the politics of poverty rather than Impact Study (CEIS) to address the crisis of unawareness and or adoption of ideas and ways modern day economic theory. the logic of efficiency implicit in misunderstanding that faces the of living that mimic the West, There is thus neglect and handicraft sector. The objective of this the products of the artisan are ignorance of the value of artisanal effort is to suggest a methodology that production, its scale and potential branded as ‘local’, ‘primitive’, can provide authorities with a robust within rapidly changing markets, and reliable data-base for a sector that ‘ethnic’ etc. There is thus neglect and its critical contribution to social some estimates place at involving 200 and ignorance of the value of and environmental stability. India’s million persons. Such a foundation for fabled wealth that attracted waves of knowledge and action is missing today. artisanal production and its conquerors, merchants, speculators As a consequence, India’s artisans critical contribution to social and and adventurers was built on what it are in acute distress, despite the produced. This was not agricultural environmental stability. sector’s remarkable growth. The Craft commodities or raw materials, but Economics and Impact Study (CEIS) attempts preliminary enquiries to huge premiums in global markets. make accurate data available to inform its culture and its practices. These Imperialismthe finest finished converted goods the that production fetched better decision making. persistent misconceptions remain and trade in Indian goods into the as hangovers of India’s colonial production of commodities and raw The Handicraft Sector experience. materials that could be converted in Handicraft, including Handloom Because modernity has been the metropolitan economy and then is the second largest source of primarily framed as an evolution or sold back to the colonial market. employment in the country, after adoption of ideas and ways of living Mahatma Gandhi’s Swadeshi agriculture. Yet India’s hand industries that mimic the West, the products legacy attempted to transform these are in a crisis of misunderstanding. of the artisan are branded as ‘local’, perceptions, leading free India to Encouraging statistics of growth ‘primitive’, ‘ethnic’ etc. that can denote include handcraft within the framework at the macro level often mask a tragic qualitatively inferior products when neglect at the micro level. The centrality compared with machine-made, mass- schemes, often indifferently designed of hand production to national well- produced objects of uniform quality. andof national reluctantly planning. implemented, Official support today being is not comprehended in most touch only a fraction of possibly 200 decision-making circles. There is from policies that were designed million or more engaged in craft neglect and ignorance of how artisanal toOfficial transform support India schemes, into modernity, developed activity. There is despair, confusion and production – such as the weaving of therefore adopted the orientation that misery among millions of artisans faced a sari or shawl or making the utterly artisans were persons who belonged with rapidly changing markets, intense simple kullhar for drinking tea – to a pre-industrial past. From this an competition, decline of the natural contains within itself the incredibly attitude quickly followed that they materials on which they depend, and rich philosophy of India’s civilisation, were liabilities on a strained exchequer. the lack of the information and skills

34 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Cultural economics is today Recognition Demands Visibility, greater, and a global awakening exists of the importance of artisans and the a growing field across the globe, Visibility Requires Data artisanal culture to a sustainable world testimony to increasing awareness National planning is a huge and order. complex exercise. Large ‘organised’ of the limitations of basing Once a base of reliable data is sectors receive better attention than established for the sector, priority may national policies purely those considered less crucial because be achieved through better informed they are regarded as ‘informal’ or on economic theory. Fresh decisions that can help ensure ‘unorganised’. The opportunity cost concepts of ‘culture’ and of employment, a better quality of life of this is enormous, as labels and ‘economics’ are evolving…India for millions of Indians, strengthening pride in our heritage as a force for validity of indigenously organised, is yet to acknowledge the synergy social and political stability, as well as localiseddefinitions production often fail and to respectdistribution the for environmental sustainability between contemporary systems of systems. The lack of awareness about economic analysis and her own the potential of crafts for economic The CEIS Effort growth is rooted in the sector’s systems of indigenous knowledge. These factors came together to impel invisibility resulting from dispersion, CCI to work with national authorities and the consequent ignorance of and other partners toward developing size and scale. The crisis of data also a methodology for the study. opportunities. Artisans are confronted planning. It has so far failed to bring The Council commenced its “Craft needed to benefit from new market by new challenges that include together,reflects awithin deeper current problem administrative in Indian Economics and Impact Study” (CEIS), those associated with technology, structures, the range of economic, described in this report, in 2009-10 communication and intellectual social, political, environmental, cultural with the support of a small grant from property. and ethical concerns that are required the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. The study for nurturing crafts. was conducted in two stages. The Cultural Economics The key factor in this situation is the existing sources of information relating Cultural economics is today absence of reliable data that accurately tofirst the stage sector. included an investigation of testimony to increasing awareness The second stage included a growing field across the globe, sector to national employment, of the limitations of basing national productionreflects the contributionand income. of theWithout hand household enumeration in the two craft policies purely on economic theory. such a foundation of knowledge and clusters of Karur district (Tamil Nadu) Fresh concepts of ‘culture’ and of awareness, the political will is lacking and Kutch district (Gujarat). Findings ‘economics’ are evolving. There is that can spur investment in the sector’s were then shared with others in the recognition of the living fabric of growth, and thus help ensure its future sector, leading on to recommendations community and social relationships contribution There can be no excuse for of next steps toward improving national that go beyond monetary value and the crisis in India’s handicrafts at a time data-gathering systems. when opportunities have never been It is hoped that these can help and actions. Despite its unique cultural ensure that Indian handicrafts emerge heritage,powerfully India influence is yet everyday to acknowledge choices from grey invisibility to recognition as the synergy between contemporary Once a base of reliable data is a giant industry of immense national systems of economic analysis and her established for the sector, priority and global significance. own systems of indigenous knowledge. may be achieved through The full report is available at As environmental awareness has better informed decisions that can www.craftscouncilof india.org increased, the green dimension of craft help ensure employment and a too the importance of strengthening better quality of life for millions theactivity awareness takes newof craft significance. within issues So of Indians. This may finally of seasonal livelihoods, migration, the status of women, lifting the relevance translate pride in national heritage The Craft Economics and Impact Study has of school education to Indian realities, into conditions for strengthening the challenges of natural resource been published by Crafts Council of Inida, Chennai 600 017. management upon which crafts depend, that heritage as a force for and even disaster management. social and political stability Email: [email protected],in

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 35 Young Pioneers

“ Indeed, Small is Beautiful! ” “During my 2 1/2 month stay at a beautiful homestay in Munsiari, Uttarakhand, I came to see how putting people at the forefront of development, and not technology, could actually work.” - Lavanya Keshavamurthy

Munsiari - “place with snow” in the local language - is at a height of 2200m above sea level, with stunning views of the Panchchuli peaks in the Kumaon region. The journey to this beautiful place was physically exhausting: the fatigue enhanced by the fact that I travelled in a shared taxi from the plains of Haldwani through the lower Himalayas to the higher Himalayas. However, the exhaustion magically disappeared as I was enthusiastically greeted by the family who hosted my stay. In the two and a half months that I stayed in Munsiari, I had the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of five different homes, all part of the home- stay program started by Malika when she Last autumn, while I was in Canada to do an MBA in Sustainability and had was the Sarpanch of this village. as a reluctant MBA student, a friend even begun to enjoy it, when Steve Jobs shared a video about Malika Virdi, titled – died, and ‘Follow your heart’ signs started As I went about planting potatoes, ‘Transforming Lives in the Hills’, featured popping up everywhere. It is then that I digging a pond, fixing solar lanterns, on a TV program called Amazing Indians. acquainted myself with Malika and her clearing cow-dung, taking care of goats, Prior to leaving Canada, I chanced efforts with Himal Prakriti, an NGO knitting my scarf, driving a taxi, etc., I felt upon One Straw Revolution, Masanobu working on conservation and livelihood a strong connection with the land and its Fukuoka’s book on natural farming, and issues in the Gori Valley, Uttarakhand. people. There was a sense of satisfaction questions that arose about “running away I wrote to her immediately, expressing in doing all the “small things” that made from the fast pace of urban life” and my desire to do an internship with the me happy, without the fear of being “shunning technology for simplicity” community at Munsiari, Uttarakhand, to branded a generalist. In urban settings, lingered on in my mind ever since. I was seek answers to my questions through specialization is the norm, and holistic about to come to terms with my decision hands-on work. living is given little importance.

Rooftop solar power generators. Schumacher talkes about... small means leading to extraordinarily satisfactory results. A demonstration of this principle could be seen in the little village of Paton, Munsiari, Uttarakhand. The village is off the grid, yet people have light, can charge their mobiles and watch their favourite TV serials – all powered by solar energy from their rooftops!

36 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Another book that influenced The stone path we built. my musings around small-scale development was ‘Small is Beautiful’ by E.F. Schumacher. Though the book was written more than 30 years ago, the ideas of linking human behaviour and economics, and putting people at the forefront of development are still relevant, now more than ever. Though progress and development are meant for people, most of the huge development programs that we generally know of somehow overlook the human aspect. A classic example is the surge of many flyovers in Bangalore, most of which have no provision for people to cross the road. Schumacher talks about the use of simple ‘Intermediate Technology’, which is not only less expensive, but also easy for training and control. I could see this in action as a few people made a stone path in Sarmoli village in Munsiari. The people cut locally available stones and laid them out using their hands and simple tools. They seemed satisfied with their work and happily posed for photographs. The other important thing is how easy it is to incorporate feedback In trying to satisfy the ever-increasing consumption in in the process. In this case, the local who urban areas, we have resorted to violent means to was accompanying me told them that the stone path is better than the cement one exploit energy and resources from these since the stone path provides a better grip beautiful and serene places and bring them into especially during snowfall. Whether the our poorly designed homes and offices. suggestion will be implemented or not is secondary, but the ease of providing Economics has simplicity and non- up as a room heater, we requested our feedback is nothing compared to the violence as its base and recognizes the sweet 14-year old hostess to sing us a complexity and bureaucracy involved need for meaningful work that not only Pahadi song and she immediately asked in massive projects in cities. In all the pays an income, but also fulfills the me to turn on bluetooth on my mobile mayhem of complicated drawings, huge human need for utilizing and developing so that she could transfer the song from plans and abstractness, common sense his faculties. So without opportunities for her mobile! All this without the use does not seem to prevail. any work, whether it is meaningful or not, of dynamite, without cutting trees and the natural tendency is to migrate out. without building huge concrete dams. The concept of simple technology was Instead, if projects can be initiated which Talk about taking technology to remote reaffirmed when we visited a couple of villages! In trying to satisfy the ever- micro hydropower projects and watermills create jobs leading to fulfillment of local needs, real development can be achieved. increasing consumption in urban areas, in and around the beautiful village of Bui we have resorted to violent means to (Munsiari, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand). Schumacher also talks about exploit energy and resources from these These mills are not only built almost achievement of maximum well-being beautiful and serene places and bring entirely from locally available materials, with the minimum of consumption, i.e., them into our poorly designed homes and but are owned and maintained by the “small means leading to extraordinarily offices. local community. Unfortunately, some of satisfactory results”. A demonstration of these have begun to shut down as huge this principle could be seen in the little hydropower projects are making their village of Paton in Munsiari, Pithoragarh, way into these serene places, and their Uttarakhand. The village is off the grid, Lavanya Keshavamurthy is committed to impact is already visible through many yet people have light, can charge their working towards equitable and sustainable landslides in the area. mobiles and watch their favourite TV development through responsible use of serials – all powered by solar energy from resources. The shift is causing whole villages their rooftops! to migrate towards towns and cities in Her current focus areas are urban waste search of “better” livelihoods. Buddhist Around the kitchen fire which doubles management and transport.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 37 Young Pioneers Thaalavattam

Marching to the beat of his own drum, Montry Manual gives new meaning to music and musical instruments - Natasha Rego

by Montry, a seasoned drummer who had been frustrated by the lack of what he calls experimental space, Thaalavattam conducted impromptu jam sessions as well as “interactive drum circles”, the latter being a way to communicate with the audience, to show that each one of us has rhythm within us, as Montry puts it. With Thaalavattam, Montry went back to the basics, using unconventional methods that reflect his commitment to the environment. Those small soft drink bottles became his drumsticks; used paint cans, his drums; metal scraps, his hi-hats; and, inspired by America’s Blue Man Group, he fashioned old PVC pipes into “thaalavattam drums”. The bigger bottles, cut open and filled with beer-bottle crowns became shakers for use by the audience participating in his drum circles. A big factor in the group’s constantly evolving sound is Thaalavattam veteran Mehdi Dehbandi, an Iranian self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Mehdi, who is Like many good ideas, Thaalavattam, which means “circle of also a gifted craftsman, makes his own didgeridoos – aboriginal wind instruments rhythm” in Malayalam, was conceived while walking down a street, – and Native American flutes out of scrap says Montry Manual wood, used bamboo, and old PVC pipes. Mehdi asserts that for a sound like At the back of a humble house in a an amble one day in Bangalore, noticed Thaalavattam’s, it’s essential to extract small neighbourhood in a big city, there plastic soft drink bottles in a pile of and throw out the defined vibrations and lives an eccentric man who uses his garbage by the road, not an unusual sight frequencies in terms of musical notes. extraordinary voice to express his many in the city. But for Montry, the discarded “That is how you get space to explore ideas. He is a short man with a cheeky bottles became, in a flash of inspiration, what is in between,” he says. laugh, a distinct Malayalee accent, and the the symbolic instruments through which When the rhythm created by personality of a busy squirrel gathering he would achieve his musical dream: to Thaalavattam’s outlandish instruments provisions for the winter. concoct an original sound. is combined with the melodious His name is Montry Manual, his Those bottles also became, literally, performances of the different featuring instrument of choice is the drum, and his the instruments which helped him artists, the result, Montry says, is pure voice is Thaalavattam. produce that dream sound. When magic. Thaalavattam was born in 2011, the aim Like many good ideas, Thaalavattam, Along with the music it has been was to bring onto one platform, musicians which means “circle of rhythm” in creating, Thaalavattam has evolved over who performed raw, rustic pieces, along Malayalam, was conceived while walking time. “I want Thaalavattam to become with dancers and visual artists. Hosted down a street. Montry, who was out for a way of life,” says Montry, who, since

38 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 he was able to transform junk into musical instruments so effectively, figured he could make other, more useful things, too, from waste material. With his team of “creative sweethearts”, he has created household articles out of unwanted stuff: a discarded bicycle wheel became a wine glass stand; empty jam bottles and old T-shirts were turned into lamp shades. These items are among the many products that are now part of the Thaalavattam merchandise. Thaalavattam: the origins It all began in Fort Cochin in Kerala, where a young Montry grew up with a hankering to become a musician. Influenced by his friend John Thomas, the drummer of Motherjane, a rock band, and Jerry Peter, his drumming guru, Montry moved to Bangalore in 2002. He was 24 years old. Like many young, small-town dwellers, Montry came to the big city with no money, a Class X education, and a big dream. He had to scrape together a living, first as an office boy at a computer hardware company, and later as a graphic designer with small DTP centres and advertising agencies. He says he also spent a wasted year in Chennai – “I learnt a lot, though” – before he finally got a break in 2004 when he became an art director with Mudra Communications in Bangalore. More good news followed when, in 2006, during a freelance design project, he met Vasu Dixit, who was looking for a drummer for his folk-rock band, Swarathma. Montry fit right in. And two years later, he quit his day job to make music his life. In Swarathma, Montry found a musical With Thaalavattam, Montry went back to the basics, using haven. The band played original music and when their popularity grew, they started unconventional methods that reflect his commitment to the touring the country, playing back-to-back environment. Those small soft drink bottles became his drumsticks; shows in different cities. used paint cans, his drums; metal scraps, his hi-hats; and, inspired When Swarathma toured England in by America’s Blue Man Group, he fashioned old PVC pipes into 2009, Montry was drawn to the street culture. “I felt I was discovering a new artist every “thaalavattam drums”. time I turned a corner,” he says. He found this to be the perfect setting to give free reign to his voice. Two years later, five years after he had joined the band, the time came for him, he says, to find his own sound. Thus it came to pass that, on October 4, 2011, exactly 33 years after he was born, Montry found his voice with Thaalavattam. Natasha Rego is doing her MA in journalism and audio-visual communication. Her Life, it seemed, had turned full circle. association with Thaalavattam is part of her Fittingly, that circle happens to be the “circle search “to free herself from conformity to the of rhythm”. society”.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 39 Science IN THE COSMIC SWIMME

Most scientists see life evolving as the result of chance events. But Brian Swimme sees the Universe as moving in a purpose-filled direction. Eric Maddern reports.

He leans forward on the edge of his a trillionth of a trillionth of a per cent that arises from the fundamental nature chair, his hands sweeping the air. “Now faster, it would have blown apart. If it had of matter and energy. There may be this”, he says with a grin, “is my favourite expanded the same percentage slower, it random chaos in the Universe, but there fact about the Universe!” would have collapsed. is also logic, order, elegance and even an inevitability to its unfolding. And, The speaker is Brian Swimme. As This is an uncomfortable fact for whereas most scientists see life evolving a mathematical cosmologist, co-author many scientists. How could the Universe as the result of innumerable chance (with Thomas Berry) of The Universe have got it so right? It can’t have been events, Brian sees the Universe as moving Story and director of the Center for the Intelligent Design because that would Story of the Universe at the California mean a Creator and many scientists don’t in a purpose-filled direction. Institute of Integral Studies, he knows want to believe that. So perhaps there are His own purpose, he believes, is a thing or two about the Universe. But an infinite number of Universes, each one to reveal the fundamental patterns Brian is no impartial, objective scientist. struggling to come into being. Maybe ours and processes at work in our Universe He is a man with passion who truly loves happened, just by chance, to get it right. because, he suggests, if we can learn to align ourselves with these “Powers of the the Universe and, even more, the facts The explanation Brian prefers is that Universe” (as he calls them), then we can about it that he has at his fingertips. the Universe is intelligent, not by design, live a meaningful and spiritual life. Not His favourite fact? That if the early but in an implicit, emergent, dynamic, that Brian Swimme is trying to create a Universe had expanded a trillionth of self-organising way. It is an intelligence

40 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 new world religion. But he believes a To take a course with Brian Swimme radical creativity is required for us to root Brian Swimme argues is to be constantly astounded, delighted deeply in the Universe and to really see that creativity must be an and puzzled. So much about the Universe our planet and ourselves as the miraculous is counter-intuitive. For example, we can blossoming we are. essential part of spirituality. ‘see’ the birth of the Universe when we If you’re in doubt look out into space 13.7 billion light years Last year, during a five-day course away and reach a ‘wall of light’. And yet at Schumacher College, he told us about as to what to do, find the birth of the Universe is also here, in three of the eleven Powers of the Universe your way into this galaxy, where we – the most complex he has identified. Here, in brief, are two of balanced turbulence. beings we know – are now. those three: Feel the stress. Embrace Then there’s the scale of it. There are The first he talked of, perhaps the suffering. Become 100 billion galaxies, each one with 100 surprisingly, is The Power of Cataclysm. disturbed. These are good billion stars. How do you get your mind The truth is that life requires death. It around that? Try this: on a starry night, was in its final, cataclysmic collapse at signs that you’re on your extend your hand above you. Behind an unbelievable 900 million degrees that way to creativity. a supernova star spewed forth 100 newly one fingernail a million galaxies are concealed. Each galaxy is 100,000 light created elements that were to be the years across. Awesome. Literally. Even building blocks of Earth and life. Death (according to Thomas Berry); “a more mind-blowing is the notion that the surprises us with the birth of creativity. shimmering disequilibrium” (as described Universe may have to be this big in order Ninety-nine per cent of all species that by E. O. Wilson). Under these conditions for human consciousness to arise. As have ever existed are now extinct. But, creativity flourishes. The biodiversity Stephen Hawking puts it, “the Universe is after each major extinction, life has leapt on the Earth when humans arrived two as vast as it is because we are here”. forward with a new burst of creativity. million years ago was the greatest ever This is an example of creative tension. So cataclysm is not a mistake. It is seen on the planet. It took that amount of profoundly necessary and our job is to richness and variety to bring forth human On the one hand, how insignificantly tiny we are in this shockingly enormous enhance it. First though, we must face that consciousness. Universe. On the other, perhaps we are the it is happening. For example, we’re in the Brian Swimme argues that creativity most complex and conscious expression midst of a mass extinction; the worst for must be an essential part of spirituality. It of the Universe there is. sixty-five million years. Yet most of us requires finding your way into balanced would rather not know. turbulence. If you’re in doubt as to Maybe, in the end, that’s the response Brian is seeking to evoke in us. Awe. After The second thing is to absorb the pain what to do, turn up the heat. Feel the all, he says, we are made to fall in love, to and allow it to change us. Marcel Proust stress. Embrace the suffering. Become be astounded by beauty and value. What wrote in Remembrance of Things Past: disturbed. These are good signs you’re on is more astonishing than the grandeur of “Illness is the most heeded of doctors: your way to creativity. Indeed, “the ideal the Universe and the realisation that every to goodness and wisdom we only make condition for the human is the highest one of us, an expression of the Universe promises; we obey pain.” We must obey degree of tension that can be creatively becoming conscious of itself? the pain we feel about the state of the borne” (Alfred Kroeber). A measure of world and the fate of future generations. spiritual maturity is the degree to which By working with cataclysm, we have you can handle turbulence. When you feel a chance to bring about deep change. It an urgent restlessness within, you know may feel like being under tremendous something wants to attain realisation pressure, like being held in a vice-like through you. Don’t be afraid of failure. Eric Maddern is a storyteller, musician and children’s author. He is currently touring grip. But it is necessary to abide in these Wander about looking for something. a show called What The Bees Know. www. feelings for true spiritual development Live with ambiguity. Surprise yourself. ericmaddern.co.uk Ninety-nine per cent of all species came and for the vitality of the whole. The above article features in Resurgence issue forth through trial and error. Another Power of the Universe is 259, March/April 2010. The Power of Emergence. The Universe Creativity is also a one-time thing. This article is reprinted courtesy of Resurgence is not static. It is an evolving story with All hydrogen atoms were created near the & Ecologist. To buy Resurgence & Ecologist, creativity running through it at every level. beginning. Galaxies were created a billion read further articles online or find out about The Earth is possibly “the most creative years later. Neither was created before or The Resurgence Trust, visit: http://www. being in the Universe”. Why should this has been created since. We, humanity, can resurgence.org All rights to this article are reserved to be so? Well it’s not hard rock like Mars. do now what we couldn’t do fifty years Resurgence & Ecologist, if you wish to It’s not gaseous and insubstantial like ago. And if we don’t ‘seize the day’, the republish or make use of this work, you moment will have passed. We won’t be Jupiter. Earth is fluid. Its tectonic plates must contact the copyright owner to obtain able to do in even twenty years what we shift, its molten lava erupts, its ocean tides permission. rise and fall. Earth is in between. It holds can – and must – do now. Timing is of the For more information on Brian Swimme, visit and expresses “a balanced turbulence” essence. www.brianswimme.org

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 41 Perspective

India’s Incredible Bazaars - In Defence of India’s Retail Democracy - Vandana Shiva

Just as the colonies used the concept of “Terra Nullius” (Empty Earth) to colonise land that belonged to others, Wal-Mart is using the concept of “Trade Nullius” to hijack our retail – as if there were no trade, no skill, and no knowledge before Wal-Mart’s arrival.

India is a unique marketplace: Village the millions of hawkers and vendors who The Cultural Assault squares burst into life as farmers set up do not have a ‘shop’. My estimate is that The cultural assault is exemplified in an their weekly ‘haats’ (santhes) - shops retail democracy provides livelihoods to India Today article, which described local in small town bazaars cater to our daily about 100 million people and supports at vegetable shopping in a small market as needs, and a myriad of sellers set up their least 300 million through the incomes that “90% perspiration, 10% inspiration” and goods on city streets while the ambulant retail brings. This is the real ‘Incredible shopping at a supermarket store as “99% vendor melodiously announces his wares India’ which creates the vibrancy and inspiration and – 1% perspiration”. The at our doorstep where he arrives in the colour , the diversity and democracy that attempt is to present the low cost human morning with vegetables picked up fresh India is. scale neighborhood markets or vendors from the ‘mandi’. Today both agriculture and small as “primitive” and the air-conditioned Official estimates put the figures of retail are under assault from agribusiness supermarket as “sophisticated”. small retailers at 40 million. But I do not and giant corporate retail. The assault is Another article in the Time think this takes into account the farmer multifaceted – and it is cultural. Magazine* titled “Supply Chains’ Food who sells directly at the village ‘haat’, or

42 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Fight” also tried to project the picture of primitiveness. “As the early morning light slowly illuminates the mishmash of streets around the Krishnarajendra Market in central Bangalore, pushcart vendors wade through ankle deep mud and cow manure and past heaping piles of cabbage leaves and rotting tomatoes. Skinny porters doubled over beneath burlap sacks full of vegetables shuffle though the quagmire, trying to avoid the trucks that belch blue clouds of diesel exhaust and the sacred but occasionally cantankerous cows munching on piles of trash... “Across town, in an eight month old processing warehouse run by India’s largest company, Reliance industries, Today both agriculture and small retail are under assault half a dozen women wearing balaclavas, from agribusiness and giant corporate retail. The assault is woolen trousers and bulky jackets work inside a room kept at constant 3 degrees multifaceted – and it is cultural. C, peeling and chopping vegetables, spinning them dry and then heaping them carries local products from local suppliers, Another myth propagated by Wal- in small plastics packets before placing that appeal to local tastes, needs and Mart reads, “We expect to provide direct them in plastic transport crates. At the fashions. But the Wal Mart model is based and indirect jobs to thousands of Indians”. other end of the 5,600 sq-m warehouse, on the opposite of localization – on the India has at least 40 million people men unload crates of grapes from a truck principles of globalization. By being the in retail. A few thousand jobs will not pulled up to a spotless loading dock. A biggest buyer of most commodities, Wal- compensate for the millions of livelihoods quality control expert samples every tenth Mart decides the fate of the producers – destroyed by Wal-Mart. And a person crate…” whether they will continue to produce and at a Wal-Mart cash register might be What this presentation hides is the at what price they will sell their produce. unskilled; India’s small traders are highly millions whose dignity and livelihoods Wal-Mart is presenting itself as an skilled, they are their own purchasers get snatched when a Reliance or Wal- ally of the small retailers it will destroy: and marketing managers, they know Mart sets up a store, or the billion of “The Joint Venture will sell quality finance and supply management. Just as units of energy used and millions of tons merchandise directly to retailers – big and the colonies used the concept of “Terra of carbon dioxide emitted to run air- small, including ‘mom and pop’ or kirana Nullius” (Empty Earth) to colonise land conditioned warehouses and long distance stores. The purpose is to establish an that belonged to others, Wal-Mart is using supply chains. efficient supply chain linking farmers and the concept of “Trade Nullius” to hijack Wal-Mart, one of the largest small manufacturers – who have limited our retail – as if there were no trade, no corporations in the world has been at infrastructure or distribution strength.” skill, and no knowledge before Wal- the forefront of pushing the FDI agenda Mart’s arrival. One is made to believe that there in India. A typical Walmart store sells are no wholesale markets or mandis in Let us not fall into the trap of Wal- 60,000 different items, a superstore India which get farmers’ produce to the Mart’s myths. Let us not create a monster sells 12,000 items and 80% of these are retailers. But our trade network is more for India’s small producers and retailers. sourced from China. Wal-Mart is one of sophisticated, more complex, more the best beneficiaries of corporate led multilayered and more efficient than any globalization, and has made communities system Wal-Market can introduce. The dependant on supplies from thousands of Wal- Mart system, however, will destroy miles away for everyday items – including Dr. Vandana Shiva is one of India’s leading millions of livelihoods in mandis and the food we eat and the clothes we wear. scientist-activists and the founder director wholesale markets. In the mandis the of Navadanya and Foundation for Research Wal-Mart and the Myths retailer can choose to buy from hundreds in Science, Technology and Ecology. She is it Propogates of traders. With Wal-Mart, farmers will a farsighted visionary who has been battling have only one buyer and consumers will for India’s Food Security. She is the author Yet Wal-Mart is spreading myths have only one seller. There is no reason to of several books on Agriculture, Biodiversity, about its corporate reach and its predatory imagine that Wal- Mart will not destroy Corporatisation of Agriculture, The Politics of growth. Charles Fishman in his best-seller India’s small, independent retail as it has Food, etc. “Wal-Mart Effect” has exposed these done in the US. This article includes extracts from Dr. Shiva’s many false claims it makes such as that it article in the Bija Magazine.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 43 Must-Read Book

Churning the Earth is a much needed book in India which brings together undeniable data and hard-hitting facts about the violation wreaked by globalization on India’s people and ecology. The authors, Ashish Kothari and Aseem Shrivastava have undertaken painstaking research and analysis to spell out the problem in detail as well as to offer alternatives. Given below are a few extracts from a brochure on the book - given under the two sub- headings of Problems and Alternatives The Problems

State of the Economy and the Society >> Chronic water shortages are affecting ever more >> Employment in the formal (organized) sector of the regions of the country. India has the highest volume of annual Indian economy has remained virtually stagnant at around 27 ground water overuse in the world. million workers between 1991 (the beginning of neo-liberal >> According to Indian Council of Agricultural Research globalization) and 2007. They constitute less than 6% of india’s (ICAR), 16 tonnes of top soil per hectare are being lost overall labour force. annually, or about 5 billion across the country. >> In 2011-2012, debt servicing accounted for 30% of >> According to the Central Pollution Board the 187 the expenses of the Government of India’s budgetary expenses coastal towns and cities release 5.5 billion liters of waste water from it. While defense accounted for 8%, health and education into the ocean every day. together amounted to less than 2%. >> Plastic wastes jumped from 101,312 tonnes in 2003- >> The London – based New Economics Foundation 04 to 465,921 tonnes in 2008-09. (NEF), using World Bank data estimated that between 1990 and 2001, for every $100 worth of growth in the world’s income per >> Despite impressive growth in several sectors in person, just $.60 found its target and contributed to reducing India, the share of the country’s budget going directly into below the $1-a-day line. This means that to reduce poverty by environmental work and regulation has remained extremely $1 involved paying the non-poor an additional $165 low (well below 1% with the 2009-10 allocation being the >> Over 80% of Indians live below its current per capita smallest ever share of the budget). income of Rs. 150 a day. >> Since 1991, some of the world’s largest mining >> India has the world’s largest number of undernourished companies are investing in India. This includes Rio people, more than all of sub-Saharan Africa’s countries put Tinto Zinc(UK), BHP(Australia), Alcan(Canada), Norsk together. FAO’s estimate for the period 2004-06 is 251 millions, Hydro (Norway), DeBeers(Africa), Meridian(Canada), a fourth of the countries population. Raytheon(USA), and Phelps Dodge(USA). Many of these have as bad or worse environmental and social records as State of Environment & Environmental Impacts Indias’s own mining companies. >> According to a recent report, India has the world’s 3rd largest ecological footprint, after the USA and China. Consumerism and Waste >> The per capita ecological footprint of the wealthiest TERI estimates that consumption of packaged paper will Indian (top 0.01) is 330 times of that of the poorest 40% of rise from 2.7kg per person per year in 1997 to 13.5kg per person India’s population. It is over 12 times that of the footprint of per year by 2047. Electronic waste, was estimated at 1,46,180 the average citizen in an industrialized, high-income country. tonnes in 2005, and likely to go up to 8,00,000 tonnes by 2012.

44 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 Towards Alternatives: Radical Ecological Democracy

The authors suggest Radical Ecological Democracy (RED) Employment and livelihood as a means to provide an alternative to these huge and The combination of localization and landscape approaches interconnected problems. Broadly, RED is to be a social, also provides massive opportunities for livelihood generation, political and economic arrangement in which all citizens have thus tackling one of Indias’s biggest ongoing problems: the right and full opportunity to participate in decision making, unemployment. Land and water regeneration, and the resulting based on the twin principles of ecological sustainability and increase in productivity, could provide a huge source of human equity. employment, and create permanent assets for sustainable Localization livelihoods. Localization, a trend diametrically opposed to globalization, Village based or cottage industry, small scale and is based on the belief that those living closest to the resources decentralized, has been a Gandhian proposal for decades. Such to be managed (forest, the sea, the coast, the farm, the urban industry would be oriented to meeting, first and foremost, local facility, etc), would have the great stake, and often the best needs, and then national or international needs. knowledge to manage it. The role of the state There are thousands of Indian initiatives at decentralized Though communities (rural and urban) will be the fulcrum water harvesting, biodiversity conservation, education, of the alternative futures, the state will need to retain, or rather governance, food and material production energy generation, strengthen, its welfare role for the weak (human and non waste management, and others (in both villages and cities) – human) For localization to succeed, it is crucial to deal with the socio-economic exploitation that is embedded in india’s caste International relations system, inter- religious dynamic, and gender relations. The reversal of economic globalization does not entail the Working at the landscape level end of global relations! Indeed there has always been a flow of ideas, persons, services and materials across the world, and Many of the problems we face now at much larger scales, this has often enriched human societies. RED, with its focus on are emanating from and affecting entire landscapes (and localized economies and ethical lifestyles, learning from each seascapes), countries, regions, and indeed the earth. Climate other, would actually make the meaningful flow of ideas and change, the spread of toxic, and desertification, are examples. innovations at global levels much more possible than a situation Landscape and trans-boundary planning and governance are where everything is dominated by finance and capital. exciting new approaches being tried out in several countries and regions. These are as yet fledging in India, but some are worth Is such a transformation possible? learning from. The Arvari Sansad (parliament) in Rajasthan RED entails huge shifts in governance, and will be resisted brings 72 villages in the state of Rajasthan together, to manage by today’s political and corporate power centers. But in India, a 400 sq.km river basin through inter-village coordination, there are many signs that a transformation is possible over the making integrated plans and programmes for land, agriculture, next few decades. water, wildlife and development India is perhaps uniquely placed to achieve the transformation Governance, local to national to RED. This is for a variety of reasons: its thousands of years of history and adaptation (including ancient democratic practices Central to the notion of RED, is the practice of democratic that perhaps pre-date even the famed Greek republics), its governance that starts form the smallest, most local unit, to ecological and cultural diversity, its resilience in the face of ever-expanding spatial units. multiple crisis, the continued existence of myriad lifestyle and Meaningful education & health worldviews including ecosystem people who still tread the most lightly on earth, the powerful legacy of Buddha, Gandhi, The most relevant knowledge for Red will also be that and other progressive thinkers, the adoption of revolutionary which disregards the artificial boundaries that western forms thinking from others like Marx, zealously guarded practices of of education and learning have created between the ‘physical’, democracy and civil society activism, and reconstruction. But ‘natural’, and ‘social’ sciences, and between these sciences and of course it cannot do this alone, it will need to convince, teach, the ‘arts’. and learn from, other countries and people… which too it has The more we can learn and teach and transmit knowledge done for many centuries, but now in an entirely new and far in holistic ways, giving respect not only to specialist but also to more challenging context. generalist knowledge, the more we can understand nature and our own place in it. Extracts from the brochure of the book, ‘Churning the Earth - The Making of Global India’ by Ashish Kothari and Aseem Shrivastava.

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 45 ( Perspective The Kitchen is a Temple

Shri Satish Kumar visited the Bhoomi College for Sustainable Living at Bangalore, to inaugurate the Bhoomi campus on the 16th of November, 2012. The few words he spoke after he lit the fire in the kitchen and then visited the dining room “Vasundhara” and the Bhoomi Library, were so simple, yet powerful, so warm and wise that we are sharing them here.

The Kitchen is a temple, and the food that we make But when we are together, the ego may become everyday is the prasad; and all of us are gods and strong; each one wants to do things his way or her way. goddesses. We offer prasad to each other as gods and Each one wants to control rather than participate. So goddesses in this temple! Our motivation and dedication the last line of the shloka says, do everything together transforms cooking into a spiritual practice. Cooking is without quarreling, without the ego getting in the way. not to just feed the body: cooking also feeds the soul. The quality of the soul is the quality of love, spirituality, The love, the caring and the sacred spirit that you put sharing and compassion. The need to control and quarrel into cooking makes it spiritual. The practical work is to are qualities of the ego. So I wish for all of you, that you feed the body, but the soul is fed by the mother’s love, come together here to work together and eat together the father’s, brothers and sisters love – the soul is fed by with love for each other and not quarrel together! This is the whole family coming together. a beautiful dining room made with mud – and beauty is When I started a school in Devon, called ‘The Small food for the soul. As my mother used to say, everything we make should be beautiful, useful and durable – BUD! School’, we made the kitchen the first class room. So So may everyone who comes to cook and eat in this the first thing children learnt here, was not Darwin or Shakespeare or science or literature but cooking! Once Bhoomi dining room, Vasundhara, which is Beautiful, they learnt cooking, children could learn science or Useful and Durable, do so with happiness and spiritual maths or anything else. So cooking needs to be not flowering. the wife’s work or the servant’s work, but our work, Just as the kitchen is a temple, the Library is also everyone’s work. We need to bring back spirituality and a temple. The mind and the soul are fed in a library, dignity to cooking. while the body and soul are fed in the kitchen and dining I spent part of my years as a young man in the room. Knowledge can be used for power or for serving. ashram of my guru, Shri Vinobha Bhave, at Bodh Gaya When we know to cook, we can make a meal and serve in Bihar. Before a meal we would chant the shloka: others. We can use knowledge not for fame or name, Sahanavavathu, Sahanau bhunakthu, for money or status – which are all for the ego – but to Sahaveeryam Karavavahai serve – to serve the humanity, the earth and each other. Tejasvinava thithamasthu By serving others we are actually in a process of self- Maa Vidhvishavahai. realization. How do we find joy and happiness? Not by The brief meaning of this shloka is this: being in isolation but in relationships – with family and friends, with trees, with the house and the soil. Let us as students, teachers and friends should share and do everything together; When we work together and eat together, our energy Satish Kumar is the Editor-in-Chief of Resurgence Magazine and the will flourish. When we act together, rather than alone, co-founder of the Schumacher College, U.K. we will have tremendous energy. May we work together with love and sharing, He is also a member of the Panel of Advisors of Bhoomi College and the Bhoomi Magazine. without quarreling.

46 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 ( Food Millet Recipes

Millets are indegenous crops which are much more nutritious than rice and wheat, and can be grown with less water and are not as vulnerable to pests. Hence they have great potential as crops that can help us adapt to climate change. Here are a two recipes from the booklet “Nutritious Little Millet” by the ICAR, New Delhi.

Samey Set Dosa

Ingredients

• Samey Rice - 1 cup • Black Gram Daal - 1/2 cup • Puffed Rice - 1/2 cup Samey Thalipattu • Fenugreek seeds - 1 tbsp Ingredients • Oil - 2 tbsp • Salt to taste • Samey Flour - 1 cup • Grated Carrot - 1/4 cup Procedure • Chopped Onion - 1/4 cup

• Soak samey rice with fenugreek seeds and soak • Chopped Green Chillies - 1 tbsp black gram daal separately. • Chopped Corainder Leaves - 1 tbsp • Grind them together with puffed rice into fine paste, add required amount of water to get • Chopped Curry Leaves - 1 tbsp batter consistency. • Oil - 4 tbsps • Allow the batter to ferment overnight. • Salt to taste • Add salt and make dosas by pouring required amount of the batter on pre-heated tava. Procedure

• Pressure cook samey flour by adding 4 cups of water, cook open in a kadai and keep stirring till the water is well absorbed. • Mash cooked samey flour and add all the ingredients except oil, mix well and make dough. • A little amount of rice flour can be added if the dough is too soft. • Divide the dough into balls, pat the balls on pre-heated tava. • Apply oil and roast thalipattu fromn both the sides.

Photographs by Ananth Somaiah

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 47 Expressions Recycled ENCHANTMENT - Anton (Tony) Rajer

Chandigarh, India, is an unlikely discarded materials and recyclable items village life, as well as a fantasy kingdom location for the world’s largest folk-art from the demolition of the villages that of palaces, pavilions and other structures. environment. Chandigarh, a stark 20th- once stood on the site where Chandigarh Ten years later, in 1975, city inspectors century utopian dream city, Chandigarh was being built. Around 1965, working stumbled across this illegal construction was designed by the Swiss architect Le secretly at night and on weekends in a in the forest. The Chandigarh bureaucracy Corbusier. In the midst of this carefully publicly owned forest reserve, Nek Chand wanted it destroyed. Nek Chand’s planned, 1950s-style architecture lies a assembled the materials, including rocks, creation occupied government land 40-acre garden kingdom of meandering broken crockery and colored stones, using that had been set aside as green space paths, courtyards, waterfalls, pavilions, concrete and a few primitive tools. He between the government buildings of theaters, plazas and thousands of had carefully observed the techniques of Le Corbusier and the city proper. When sculptures, created by an untutored using concrete in building the new city, word spread, hundreds of people found builder named Nek Chand Saini (b.1924). particularly in the Government Center, their way through the forests to see this In the past few years, completing this then under construction. Nek Chand enchanted kingdom. After much debate, monumental endeavor and guaranteeing was fascinated by the plastic nature of the Chandigarh Landscape Advisory its preservation has become an concrete, and his creative impulse was Committee relented and allowed Nek international effort involving many stimulated by the building work going on Chand to open his creation to the public. individuals and organizations. around him. After visiting the site and recognizing In 1951, Nek Chand arrived in The place he chose for his exotic its artistic value, Dr. M.S. Randhawa, an Chandigarh to work as a road inspector kingdom had been designated as a land agricultural scientist, gave the site the for the Indian government’s Public conservancy, where any kind of building name “Rock Garden”. The Rock Garden Works Department. In 1958, he began was forbidden. Nevertheless, he built a was formally inaugurated on January collecting curiously shaped rocks, miniature world there, depicting Indian 24, 1976, before a crowd of thousands. Thereafter, with a small budget and a Nek Chand assembled the materials, including rocks, broken group of helpers provided by the local crockery and colored stones, using concrete and a few primitive government, Nek Chand was encouraged tools and his creative impulse was stimulated by the building work to enlarge his garden and continue his many projects. going on around him.

48 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 The stages of the garden’s complex and expansion of space. In moving from Unfortunately, all has not gone well construction have been designated as one section of the garden to another, the in this garden paradise. Some people, Phase I, the earliest, begun in 1965; Phase visitor goes through narrow passageways including local Indian bureaucrats, II, completed around 1983; and Phase III, and arrives into broad open courtyards - have worked against the success of Nek which was completed in 2009. Nek Chand an integral part of Nek Chand’s design. Chand’s creations. However, significant steps have been taken at local and set up a local network whereby broken In Phase III, Nek Chand’s work has crockery, tiles, rags and other discarded international levels to guarantee that Nek become monumental in scale. He works items could be brought to the garden for Chand’s vision will be completed and without formal plans but directs his recycling. preserved for future generations. workers to construct what he describes. With the aid of government workers, The heart of this section of the garden Today, Nek Chand is revered as a Phase I was quickly completed, and Nek is the “great swings”, dozens of swings national hero. Nearly 3,000 people visit Chand moved to Phase II, which included that hang from huge concrete arches, the garden daily, making it the most a waterfall, several plazas, a small resembling ancient Roman aqueducts. visited folk art site in the world and one theater, gardens, paths and nearly 5,000 Each of the swings can hold several of the most visited tourist sites in India. pottery-encrusted concrete figures, some people at once, and visitors take pleasure The Rock Garden Society in Chandigarh embellished with human hair, which Nek in this activity. Phase III also has several and the Nek Chand Foundation in London Chand had collected from barber shops. pavilions for soft rag sculpture displays, help document oral histories, site plans, photography, preservation activities and In order to safeguard the sculptures and an aquarium and an open-air theater. As promotion. still make the pieces available for public the size of the site has expanded, public viewing, Nek Chand placed them on high interest and visitor volume have increased sloping terraces connected by pathways exponentially. International exhibitions and divided by tile- embellished walls of figures from the Rock Garden have with narrow, low doorways. Most of the been held in London, Berlin and Paris. sculptures are smaller than life size and ANTON (TONY) RAJER 1952-2011 was a In Washington, he created a sculpture Harvard-trained art conservator specializing range in subject from human figures to garden at the Capitol Children’s Museum, in the preservation of folk art. Rajer was the monkeys, peacocks, elephants, bears and and was given the keys to the city of author of many books including Evolution of many imaginary creatures. an Artistic Vision (1998). Baltimore. The Postal Service of India He wrote numerous articles for the Folk Art In another section of Phase II, Nek issued a Rock Garden stamp in 1983 to Messenger regarding his travels, conservation Chand created a miniature village with honor his work. In 1984, he was awarded work and other folk art projects. His continued shops, houses, paths, temples and a the prestigious Indian award, Padma Shri. quest for knowledge and the sharing of this cascading waterfall. This make-believe He has received hundreds of awards, knowledge was unbounded. world is enhanced further by the trees, which he displays in a special room in his vegetation and birds that inhabit the house. remaining forest. Hundreds of birds live in the garden, using the small nooks and crannies as nesting places. Most of the sculptures are smaller than life size and range in An important aesthetic feature of subject from human figures to monkeys, peacocks, elephants, bears the garden is the sense of compression and many imaginary creatures. Photos: Atul Maleri

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 49 Climate Change Climate Change and Plant Stress Scientists in many parts of the world are working at both understanding effects of climate change and at creating tools to adapt to them. Tools to understand the impact of climate change on agriculture become particularly important. In July 2012, farmers in the U.S. Midwest and Plains regions watched crops wilt and die after a stretch of unusually low precipitation and high temperatures. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) observed another indication of drought in data from satellite Climate Change - 2012 imaging: plant stress. They developed a way to use satellite data to map that plant Emissions Alert: Warming in Antarctica: stress. The most important number in In the Antarctic glaciers, thousands of Plant stress information has the history is now the annual measure of feet deep into the sediment, geothermal potential to improve the skill of existing carbon emissions. That number reveals heat keep things warm enough for forecasts that predict drought out to weeks humanity’s steady billion-tonne by methane to keep producing methane. A or months. Also, because the plant stress billion-tonne march to the edge of the scientific report published in September information is derived from satellites, it carbon cliff, beyond which scientists warn suggests that as the methane gas diffuses can describe drought conditions in areas lies a fateful fall to catastrophic climate upward, it enters a zone where it feels not where rain gauge and radar networks are change. According to Joeri Rogelj, a only the pressure but also the cold of the sparse -- and it can do so at the scale of climate scientist at Switzerland’s Institute overlying ice sheet. Once the ice melts, individual fields. for Atmospheric and Climate Science in this methane escapes into the atmosphere Zurich: which increases the rate of warming here. Global total of carbon emissions Ghent Goes in 2012: 52 gigatonnes (billion metric Melting Ice: tonnes) Studies on climate change revels that Vegetarian To stay below two degrees C of polar ice sheets are shrinking fast. The The city counceil of Ghent (Belgium), warming, global emissions should be study, published in the journal, Science is promoting a weekly ‘meat-free day’ between 41 and 47 gigatonnes by 2020 this month says in a 20 year span various in a bid to raise awareness of the impact regions have lost the following quantities of livestock farming on both personal of ice a year: and planetary health. According the UN, Record Warmth: Greenland -152 billion tons livestock rearing is responsible for one – The earth has already grown warmer West Antarctic - 65 billion tons fifth of global green house –gas-emissions, by about 1 degree Celsius over the Antarctic Peninsula- 20 billion tons so a weekly meat – free day will not only last 100 years, and if we do not reduce East Antarctic - gained 14 billion tons address issues of climate change, but also emissions, scientists say the earth will be reduce Ghent’s environmental footprint, warmer by another 2 to 6 degrees in the Hurricane Sandy: because a meat-based diet requires next 100 years. far more land, water and fossil fuels This year has ranked as one of the Scientists say the storm surge along than the equivalent vegetarian diet. To nine warmest since records began more the Atlantic cost was almost certainly encourage citizen to participate, 90,000 than 160 years ago, continuing a trend for more intensive because of decades of sea- maps have been printed to identify the the planet that is increasing the dangers level raise linked to human emissions of city’s vegetarian restaurants, and school of extreme weather events, according to greenhouse gases. They emphasized that children will enjoy their own ‘veggie UN Meteorologist. According to a recent Hurricane Sandy, should be seen as a day’, starting in September 2012 report by the Met Office, globally, 2013 foretaste of trouble to come as the risks will be 0.57C above long-term average. of climate change accumulate and the political system fails to respond. The 11 billion-dollar extreme weather events Source: NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio/USDA-ARS Source: New York Times Service across the US include hurricane Sandy, and The Guardian http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov which alone will cost about $100bn

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52 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 The Bhoomi College EternalBhoomi Offers new short programmes: Issue No. 13 Editor: Rainforest Adventure at the Sharavathi Valley Rainforest Seetha Ananthasivan Dates: April 19 to 21, 2013 Consultants “What we enjoy we love, what we love we care for…” The Western Ghats is one of the bio- diversity hotspots Rema Kumar of the world - an area for all of us to experience, K.G. Parvathi explore and cherish. The programme in the Sharavathi A. Santhi Lakshmy Valley will include treks through breathtakingly beautiful routes along the Sharavathi River, waterfalls Preetha Ramesh in remote areas as well as camp at Muppane, which is Chitra Mansukhani ideal for water activities. Ravi Somaiah

Design, layout and photo-editing Explorations in Inner and Outer Ecology Nidhi Aggarwal

Dates: May 18 to 22, 2013 Design Consultant: 5 days of intensive and exciting exploration in the Chinmay Dholakia Sharavathy Valley Rainforest is meant to give a rich understanding of Nature’s ways in the wilderness as Production Support: well as within our bodies, minds and communities. Ananth Somaiah Using a 5 elements framework of Prithvi, Jal, Vayu, Agni and Aakaash, this programme will provide space Research Assistant: for collective and collaborative as well as individual Preethi Narayanan efforts to re-connect with Nature. Marketing and Distribution For enquiries and registration: Bhavani Patnam [email protected] Phone: 080 28441173, Mobile: 9449853834

Issue: January - March 2013 Pages 56: Including Cover Hill Top Trekking in Kemmanagundi Printed and Published By Seetha Ananthasivan (Editor) Dates: 4th and 5th May, 2013 (Sat - Sun) On behalf of The Bhoomi Network for Sustainable Living P.B. No. 23, Carmelaram Post, Kemmanagundi is an overnight journey away Off Sarjapura Road, from Bangalore in Chikmangalore District in Bangalore – 560 035 Karnataka. [email protected]

These range of hills offer fantastic views of Printed at: Colours Imprint meadows and magical clouds that you can touch! 150/9, 1st Cross, 8th Block, Trekking on the top of hills, visiting exhilarating Koramangala, Bangalore - 560095. waterfalls and ancient temples will be the highlights Ph: +91-9945640004 of this wilderness programme. Website: www.coloursimprint.com

Other interesting activities will include climbing Published at: with ropes and adventure games. Bhoomi Network for Sustainable Living c/o Prakriya Green Wisdom School Campus, 70, Chikkanayakanahalli For enquiries and registration : Road, Off Doddakanehalli, [email protected] Carmelaram Post Phone: 080 28441173, 9449853834 Off Sarjapura Rd, Bangalore – 560 035 Ph: 080 28441173 [email protected] Editor: Seetha Ananthasivan Bhoomi College and

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 53 The Bhoomi College For refreshing, meaningful, collective learning...

offers a full time 1 year programme on: Science and Management for Sustainable Living (August 2013 to June2014)

About this Programme This programme has been designed for those interested in Green Careers or Green Entrepreneurship, for students, researchers, mid-career professionals, teachers, home makers and others keen on sustainable living. In a world headed towards cli need to re envision economics, technology and science which are aware of ecological realities. This programme aims at bringing to its participants the bestmate work crisis on and these social issues and from political around conflicts the world we and use them meaningfully with committed facilitators and innovative and creative methods.

This one year programme will include • Sessions by great teachers with a holistic approach • Cutting-edge curriculum & exciting learning processes • Gift culture - no tuition fees! Pay as you wish... • Projects in the Sharavathy Rain Forest • Focus on holistic science and management • Perspective building “to see the whole picture”y • A lovely campus, vibrant community and surprises! b

About Bhoomi College The Bhoomi College for Sustainability Studies is a participative space for holistic learning. It is located in the outskirts of Bangalore on a campus with an organic garden and eco- friendly buildings. The Bhoomi College believes in an integrated approach, combining the arts and sciences, theory and practice, eastern and western wisdom as well as intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual self-exploration.

The Bhoomi College Bhoomi offers 1 to 3 month internships on: 40, Chikkanayakanahalli Road, Off Doddakanahalli Sarjapur Road, Carmelaram Post, Bangalore - 560 035 • Organic Gardening Phone No: 080 2844 1173, 9449853834 • Holistic Food and Nutrition email: [email protected] • Audio/Video Documentation • Eternal Bhoomi Magazine Visit us at www.bhoomicollege.org

54 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013 The Bhoomi College

We thank the members of our Panel of Advisors and all the writers and visionaries who have shared their ideas and experiences of positive action with the Bhoomi magazine as well as with the Bhoomi College.

Shri Satish Kumar Dr. Vandana Shiva Dr. Madhu Suri Prakash

Mr. G. Gautama Mr. Narayan Reddy Dr. Ashish Kothari

Shri Devinder Sharma Dr. R. Balasubramaniam Dr. Harish Hande

Calendar of Programmes for 2012 - 2013: The following are some of the short programmes offered by the Bhoomi College. They are usually offered on weekends (Saturday & Sunday) unless otherwise indicated. • January 25 Workshop: Writing new Stories for Gaia- our Living Earth • February 2 Workshop: Organic and Terrace Gardening • February 16 Crafts Mela - A Bhoomi and Prakriya Event • Feb 17 to 21 Connecting with a Deeper Ecology – Programme at Sharavathi Rain Forest • Mar 16 & 17 Holistic Nutrition and Conscious Kitchen • April 19 to 21 Rainforest Adventure at Sharavathi Valley • May 4 & 5 Hill Top Trekking in Kemmanagundi • May 18 to 22 Explorations in Inner and Outer Ecology • June 28 & 29 Beyond Economic Globalisation, towards Earth Democracy

For enquiries and registration please contact: [email protected] Or log onto: www.bhoomicollege.org or bhoomicollege on fb

January - March 2013 Eternal Bhoomi 55 This magazine that you hold in your hands is a labour of love, edited and produced by a few but co-held and contributed to by many wonderful thinkers and writers around the world...

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Join a community that cares about Nature, fulfilment and personal initiatives for sustainable living. You can log onto www.bhoomimagazine.org to register / subscribe Visit: bhoomicollege on facebook. Turn to page 51 for details about membership / subscription. Back Issues are available - see page 52

56 Eternal Bhoomi January - March 2013