Vivardhini Handicrafts

 TODA TRIBE Interested in knowing about the tribal people living in India?  According to the 2011 census carried out by the Government of India, there are about 10.42 crore tribal people living across India and nearly 90% of that population live in rural areas. Each tribe is unique in their own way, their physical appearances, the language they speak, the customs they follow etc, are all unique to each and every one of them. While there is a lot of information available online about the various tribes, we would like to present some details about the Toda Tribe.  They are one of oldest tribes living in the Nilgiri mountains in South India. Some reports say that they have been living in this region for the last 3500 years.  There are various theories regarding their origin. They traditionally live in settlements called, Mund. Each settlement usually consists of  three to seven small thatched houses. They have their own language which does not have a script. T...

Kavad Art   Ever seen this before?!  Here is the artist with the panels of this beautiful masterpiece open! Any idea what this is? At first glance, it just looks like a series of pictures. What does it represent?  A STORY!! Who does not like stories?!   Kavad Art is a unique tradition of crafting stories on a wooden box from the state of Rajasthan.  The 'Kavad' is a portable wooden shrine which contains visual narratives of Gods, Saints, local heroes etc on its panels. It is created by combining the expertise and efforts of a carpenter (called a Sutar), an  artist (called a Chitrakaar) and a story teller (called a Bhat). The Kavadia Bhats travel around and narrate the story depicted in the box. These boxes are made only in a village called Bassi, in Rajasthan.  This art form dates back 400 years. The Sutar community started making these wooden boxes from Mango and Selam trees using simple tools. Once the boxes were made, the Chitrakaar hand painted the...

  Introducing Traditional Cookware   Ever heard anybody mention Eeya chombu or shombu(as some would call it)? Chances are that if you are from South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, some of you would have.   It would have been primarily used in reference to the ubiquitous Rasam, an integral part of traditional South Indian cuisine. Many of you may have had lip smacking rasam at some point, chances are the secret behind it was the container that was used for making it. When rasam is cooked in these vessels the reaction between the tamarind and spices with the metal imparts an earthy and flavourful aroma that enhances its taste and therapeutic qualities.   Eeyam in Tamil stands for both the metal Tin and Lead. Chombu is the name given to a specific shape of vessel. While we all know that Lead is poisonous, cooking in a pure Tin vessel is considered beneficial. The history of the using Eeyam(Tin) in cookware dates back several centuries. It is believed to have or...

Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers may not have been educated formally but they were mathematical geniuses for whom mental math came naturally. Much of the credit goes to the ancient game of Pallankuzhi (known as Mancala in hindi and Alagulimane in Kannada).  The origins of the game are said to go back to the Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu and in one instance, a researcher has talked about the game being referred in a Pallava copper plate dating back to 550 AD. The game is played between 2 players on a rectangular board with 2 rows and 7 columns of holes. There are a total of 14 holes (Kuzhi in tamil). In the beginning, each hole has 6 shells, stones or seeds. Each row belongs to a player. The first player picks up the shells from one of the holes and starts distributing them in a clockwise manner one at a time in each hole. Each player is allowed to pickup shells from his/her row and distribute across the holes with the objective of getting shells from the next hole once...

  Kalamkari continues to be a popular textile art form in India today and there are many artists working to preserve and promote this ancient art form (It's over 3000 years old!). Though its origins can be traced back largely to the small towns of Kalahasti and Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, it is also practiced in some villages in Tamil Nadu. We recently met a Kalamkari master craftsman from a rural village in Tamil Nadu. His dedication and mastery of this ancient art form is highly impressive. A third-generation award-winning artist, he learnt this art from his father and grandfather. He uses natural dyes and a traditional technique that makes his work very authentic and vibrant.   Materials like turmeric, indigo, red sand, cow’s milk, crushed flowers, cow dung etc., are used at various stages in the tedious process of creating the final exquisite masterpieces. We bring to you a few small Kalamkari art pieces from this artist. These can be a great addition of ethnic ar...