Artisans of eastern India and South Africa recently took part in a workshop, a first of its kind effort, in Kolkata under the guidance of Nadia Meer, a designer from Durban. Ranjita Biswas reports

Crafts unbound Bring back the glory Heritage brew Tune in the romance

Do Naga folk motifs and African folk art have anything in common? Why does the audience in a South African fashion show find Manipur’s martial art dance Thang-ta so similar in essence to Zulu tribe dance of their land? To Nadia Meer, a designer from South Africa, these are not esoteric ideas. She thinks that there are lots of commonalities that deserve exploring.

Meer was in Kolkata recently for three weeks conducting a workshop between artisans from Bengal and Orissa and a team of South African artists that accompanied her exchanging ideas and trying to meld designs by borrowing from each other. The international cross-cultural product development workshop was facilitated by the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in association with various government agencies, the Consul General of India in Durban, the government of Free State Province, SA, and the National Institute of Fashion Design. The special project, a first-of-its-kind project, undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development aims at reviving and revitalising dying art forms and economically empower folk crafts persons and performers living below the poverty line.

A two-day exhibition consisting of products developed during the workshop showcased how interchange of ideas can enrich even traditional crafts. For instance, as a South African artisan sat weaving a lampshade with plaited Mosea, a typical local grass, it seemed similar to cane weaving, or even coir weaving from South India. The mat designs superimposed on a local leather bag with fashionable hangings made of terracotta and leather objects looked stunning. It could be a fit accessory for any fashioniasta. Uttam Pal, a national award winner terracotta artist from Dattapukur in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, fashioned out a beautiful embellished crocodile and a coiled snake taking the motif from the African art but without making compromises with the local art style. “The idea of using terracotta to this kind of product never occurred to me before,” he said. The copper necklaces from Africa, on the other hand, were embellished with Indian beads, terracotta pieces to make them look different. Even the designs of intricate patachitra style of Orissa have been adopted to bolder strokes and displayed more prominently on bedspreads in khadi material.

Meer’s exposure to Indian folk designs would not seem so accidental if one thinks about her roots. She is a fifth generation Indian settled down in Durban whose family originally hailed from Surat in Gujarat. “But I consider myself as South African. I come from an activist family. Our family was involved in the anti-apartheid movement under Nelson Mandela. Fatima Meer, a well-known figure in anti-apartheid movement is my aunt,” she said, adding, “My father was often in jail; he used to hide people running away from the police in an underground chamber.” Sounds almost like Diary of Anne Frank scenario! Her grandfather used to publish Indian Views, a weekly newspaper aimed at Gujarati-speaking Muslim communities

Coming from such a background, Nadia Meer was expected to follow a law degree but it was art that attracted her though she did take up law at first to fight against discrimination and was a student leader. She had to prove her worth, that she was good, to get into a prestigious institute for art. When the apartheid regime was over in mid 1990s she was in the US researching on folk art. On return, as the new South Africa was in the restructuring process, young people like her joined in the skill building efforts.

On her first visit to India in 2003 Meer went to Ahmedabad accompanying the minister of culture. She was amazed at the range of arts and crafts and their place in daily life of Indian people. “One difference I find that you in India use materials or wear clothes decorated by crafts in everyday life. We, on the other hand keep them separately as arts and crafts objects,” she observed.

The idea of mingling the handicrafts of the two countries germinated through these interchanges. Her Ukusa Designs worked with a few designers from India and presented the Afrikhadi range of garments in 2003 during the centenary celebrations of Indian Opinion, the journal brought out by Gandhiji at Durban. “The name Afrikhadi was appropriate I felt because I discovered that Gandhi’s ideas about spinning, for self-sufficiency through traditional skill were first germinated in Africa.”

Meer’s empathy towards craftsmen saw her introducing the artisans themselves on the ramp in the Durban ’05 Fashion Week. “I don’t have any quarrel with designers but I find that it’s always the designers who hog the limelight and the people who turn out these beautiful objects are left in the shadows.” In another event as part of the Fashion Week in Durban in 2006 India’s North East was in focus with a Zulu- Naga fashion week. It was a roaring success. She introduced the Thang- ta dancers, the martial art dancers from Manipur too. ”The people in Africa who attended the show were astounded. Usually in cultural exchange programmes sponsored by the government have artists from the classical gharanas performing. The people didn’t know that India also has these folk performing styles. Besides, with warrior background the Africans could relate very well with Thang-ta.”

As one preoccupied with survival of the crafts and craftsmen Meer suggests that the products have to be adopted to contemporary sensibilities. “Look at that beautiful patachitra from Orissa. It’s very intricate and takes eight months at least to finish it. The time and labour are enormous and so it’s expensive. Perhaps a well-to do person can afford to buy it but after that, what?” So she has shown how the same motifs can be adopted to bolder strokes, and using brighter colours to make everyday objects like bedspreads look striking. No, she does not agree that this experimentation will be a death knell to traditional styles for which the intricacy is the USP. “ All the motifs are from the patachitra itself, only bolder. That way there’s ready market for the products and the artist can survive. The intricate designs and time consuming process can continue side by side with market-oriented products. Otherwise both will disappear.” Her contention is in keeping with the aim of the workshop.

On their part the African artisans who came to take part in the workshop say that they have gained enormously from this exposure. Some of the Indian participating artists and their products will be on show in south Africa at the forthcoming fashion week in September. This will take forward the collaborative efforts, Meer hopes. But she is not satisfied yet; she wants to work more in India, particularly the northeast where the “diversity is amazing.” and the designs also gell well with the colour concepts and boldness of designs with those from Africa.

Meer’s activism now concerns the artisans often too poor and without the resources to continue working. “Most importantly, it is the artisans and their work which should not die, their works that need exposure.” It is a mission Nadia Meer does not tire talking about.