In the early 20th Century, the houses of Kalamkari craftsmen in Masulipatam lay silent with piles of unused wooden blocks covered in dust and cobwebs, as observed by Nelly Sethna, a scholar and authority on Kalamkari.

A century later, craftsmen’s houses look much the same, leaving the Indian textile art to die a slow death, owing to flourishing screen printing with chemical dyes which have replaced wooden blocks and natural dyes.

Finding no way to rescue the art form, 24-year-old Pitchuka Varun Kumar, grandson of Pitchuka Veera Subbaiah, has established a museum for Kalamkari art.

Mr. Subbaiah was one of the founders of Machilipatnam Kalamkari in Pedana (1970s) but it is now struggling for survival. Ironically, the art had gone into oblivion in Machilipatnam, from where it originated. In 2013, Machilipatnam Kalamkari got the Geographical Indication Registry tag.

The museum is a treasure trove of Kalamkari art. It has a collection of old wooden blocks with Persian, Dutch (Chintz), Mughal, traditional Indian and Buddhist motifs, fabrics, rare photographs and details of the process of natural dyeing, wooden block making, printing and washing in river Krishna. Tree of Life, a wall-hanger created with 212 wooden blocks by his team of artists, is also displayed at the museum.

“Hailing from a Kalamkari art family, I want our museum to offer a glimpse of the true art form and procedures involved in it to visitors and textile art lovers,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Pedana – December 13th, 2017

Noted singer and nattuvangam exponent Bhagavatula Seetharama Sharma died on Sunday. He was 81, and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

The artiste was tuning his shruthi in preparation for an arangetram in Bengaluru, when he was said to have suffered a heart attack.

“He suffered a heart attack and died on his way to hospital. His body would be brought to Chennai and the cremation would be held on Tuesday,” said Deepa Ganesh, one of his disciples.

Born in Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh, Seetharama Sharma developed a profound knowledge in all the three aspects of sangeetham — geetam, vadyamand nrityam. Noted carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna is among his disciples.

He served in Kalakshetra, dedicated himself to the institution and became an integral part of the majority of Rukmini Devi’s Naatya productions.

His first public recognition came from the Dhananjayans Bharatakalanjali, Chennai, way back in the 1970s, and he was awarded the title ‘Sangeetagna’.

Last year, Bharat Kalachar honoured him with a special commemorative and lifetime achievement award. He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for ‘Naatya’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – December 11th, 2017