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Crafts Council of India celebrated the birth centenary
of its founder Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903 -
1988) with a string of events in her home state, Karnataka.
Karmayogi,
woman of great courage, freedom fighter, woman with
queenly dignity and composure, a versatile personality
are a host of adjectives that can be used to describe
Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the force behind the
resurgence of traditional Indian crafts in post independent
India. A woman ahead of her times, she set up the All
India Handicrafts Board, The Crafts Council of India
and its affiliate bodies and the Regional Handicrafts
Design Centers. She was also the first president of
the World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Region.
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The events of the centenary celebrations included
the following:
- An
international exhibition on vegetable-dyed crafts
of the Asia - Pacific region.
- An
exhibition and sale of crafts from Karnataka's noteworthy
craftspersons who have worked with Kamaladevi.
- A
two day seminar titled "Indian Crafts for a New
Generation" and exhibits commemorating Smt.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay's life and work.
- Rangeen
- An International Natural Dye exhibition in which
India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh participated.
- Kamala
2003, the annual exhibition of quality crafts
in which Crafts Council of India and the State Councils
participated.
-
Kamala
Collection, a selection of specially produced
craft items from the Crafts Council of India and
its affiliated state councils developed for the
last 10 Kamala Exhibitions. This will be curated
into a trade show and expects to travel all over
India and to UK and USA.
- Navodit,
an interesting exhibition / sale by the Young Craftspersons
from various parts of India
-
Chamba
Rumaal, a revival exhibition in which the Delhi
Crafts Council has worked towards the revival of
near extinct craft of Embroidery - Chamba Rumaal.
(Chamba in Himachal Pradesh has a tradition of fine
embroidery done on large sqares of cloth, usually
on mythological themes)
-
Kamaladevi's
life and work : An exhibition organised by
SMM Theatre Craft Trust. This is a collection of
theatre craft items like puppets, costumes and jewellery
all used by various traditional Indian theatre groups.
This was collected through the life time of Kamaladevi
Chattopadhyay and is housed in New Delhi. This was
the first time this exhibition has traveled out
of New Delhi.
A
book titled "Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay - A True
Karmayogi" published by the Crafts Council of India
was released during the inaugural function by the Governor
of Karnataka, His Excellency T. N. Chaturvedi.
The
"Kamala Samman" awards 2003 was distributed
during this celebration by the Governor of Karnataka
Shri T. N. Chaturvedi to five artisans. The
winners of the "Kamala Samman" awards 2003
are shown in the picture below:

Left
to Right: Mrs. Vimala Rangachar, Governor of Karnataka,
His Excellency T. N. Chaturvedi, Desamanya (Mrs.) Siva
Obeyesekere of Sri Lanka (award winner), two award award
winning craftsmen, Mrs. Vijaya Rajan (award winner),
Ms. Rani Satish, Minister of Culture, Karnataka and
Jasleen Dhamija.
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