Vijayawada: Four artists from the Netherlands who are trying to trace the roots of textile works that are on the display at the famous Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam have reached a nondescript village, Pedana in Krishna district.
They have been learning the famous Kalamkari from the artisans of this small village.
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands and contains a beautiful old collection of ‘sits’, the Dutch word for Kalamkari textiles. These four artists work in the education department of the Rijksmuseum.
“Our history says the Kalamkari artwork reached Rijksmuseum in the 17th century from this small village. Those days the Dutch settlers brought Kalamkari to the Netherlands from Andhra Pradesh. The Kalamkari used to be expensive and exclusive and not everyone used to possess them since they come by boat. Now we want to know the art for ourselves and came here,” Irma Anne De Bruijne, heads of the arts programme at Rijksmuseum told this newspaper..
“We were welcomed in this little paradise. It is very important that they make textiles in the traditional, sustainable and slow process with the use of organic cotton and natural colours and of course the technique of block printing by hand,” said Anita Manshanden, another artist with the group.
The Dutch artists were bowled over by the talent of the artisans as well as the hospitality extended to them.
“The most important motivation of the Pitchuka family is to maintain and pass this heritage on to the next generation and keep the art alive. The third generation, Pitchuka Varun, is into this traditional art, following his grandfather Pitchuka Veera Subbaiah who is the founder of Kalamkari art in Pedana and father Pitchuka Srinivas,” said team member Elma Van Imhoff
They said Kalamkari contained a great number of techniques and complex processes built up during seven generations of craftsmanship.
