Article on Udhavi

Indira Nagar resident Sabita Radhakrishna has founded an organisation that gets volunteers to spend quality time with senior citizens.

Their children have flown the nest. They have to take care of themselves. Needless to say, they feel lonely.

Sabita Radhakrishna has founded a voluntary organisation, Udhavi, for such seniors.

“These days, aged parents either prefer to live by themselves or need someone to take care of them, even if they live with their children,” says Sabita.

Udhavi sends its volunteers to seniors to provide them companionship or to render some help. They spend quality time with the aged, taking them out for walks or any events, chat with them, read books to them, play indoor games with them, write letters or run errands for them.

For seniors to make use of the services of Udhavi, they have to register with the organisation and also produce a consent letter from their children.

“We train our volunteers to be patient and be prepared to repeat any chore the seniors tell. They are instructed to keep from giving any medical advice, prying into the personal affairs of the aged, discussing financial matters and giving any unsolicited advice. The volunteers are not supposed to give any food or refreshments,” she adds.

“Udhavi is still a fledgling organisation and we seek advice and help from Dignity Foundation whenever required,” says Sabita.

“As a child, I was attached to both my paternal and maternal grandparents. I grew up with them. So, I always have a special concern for the aged ,” she explains the reason behind her work.

Sabita Radhakrishna is supported by a group of like-minded friends who have personal experience in the care of the aged. They form Udhavi’s core committee.

Among this group are Jayashree and Sanjay Dattatri. They are the proprietors of Old is Gold, a store selling a range of products that help in the care of the elderly. Kanchan Jayaram, an entrepreneur, is another member. She takes care of her aged parents and mother-in-law.

“This is not assisted living. Udhavi is not about rendering any specialised or professional care.

It is all about companionship, cheering them up, trying to be positive and spending some time with them,” they say. Radhika Krishnamohan, another active member, says, “The quality most required in the care of senior citizens is patience. Whenever I find the time, I spend some time with the aged in my neighbourhood.” Udhavi is a mother’s tribute to her daughter. Sabita Radhakrishna lost her daughter Deepika in 2001. “My daughter had always wanted to help those in need. It took these many years for me to do something that she would have loved to do,” says Sabita.

 

Just LOOking

JUST  LOO..KING

Our parents inculcated in us the habit of visiting the bathroom before we went out...a habit which has carried right into our adulthood. A question of practicality, then and now.... bathrooms are not conveniently positioned and reachable in the most urgent of situations.  For the male of the species large expanses of open spaces provided ample scope for bladder spurts. Today those very spaces have shrunk leaving the men no alternative but to look around.

During our various travels round the world, it  one did not have to rush to the toilet just when we were about to leave. The number of toilet signs one read posted were heart warming. Every mall had a loo, so we could spend hours loafing,  comforted by the thought that a clean bathroom was at hand.

Did you know that the toilet with the flush cistern is only about 100 years old, and it was considered then, one of the marvels of modern technology and a simple way of removing human waste!  About 60-70 years ago old homes had to use improvised methods where conservancy workers removed human waste from outside the toilet.

The California Institute of Technology in the US won first prize for a solar powered toilet which breaks down water and human waste into hydrogen gas for use in as fuel, in a competition for next gen toilets to improve sanitation in developing countries. It was a challenge set by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which required designers to develop a new sanitation model which hardly changed since Alexander Cummings developed it more than 200 years ago.

What is the universal name for bathroom? What we called bathroom became toilet because you did your toilet there and placed your toiletries, which you used after a bath. When we travelled outside India there were other names to boot. You had to enquire where the restrooms were...did one rest there?  Or were they washrooms, certainly you didn’t go there just to wash, on the other hand in a dry bathroom there is no water.  And then of course there is the loo which rolls off on your tongue. 

The most valuable invention is the health faucet, and God bless the inventor whoever he may be. I remember encountering it for the first time years ago at an actor friend’s place and she had already christened it “bum shower”.  The bidets are there, but are certainly not so effective. And you have the “Hindustan commode” where one squats and presumably the most hygienic, and very popular in France. The European commode widely popular which you considered a private throne, and the reinvented Anglo Indian commode which had dual purposes, a cross between the two.

About ten years ago we visited Manila and were out on a picnic with our hosts.  We wished to make a beeline to the bathroom.   None of the locals could understand our needs. We tried every trick in the book, gesturing wildly as the urgency to find one increased by the minute. At long last when we mentioned restroom, some kindly soul pointed to a small lone building at a distance, but not too bad as the end was in sight. Since I reached first, I gingerly opened the door which creaked in an eerie manner and entered a dusty room. Lo and behold, right in the centre of the room which was about  8’ x 8’ was a potty, thankfully with a seat cover. When I looked around, there was no wash basin in sight, no tap no water, no flush. Mercifully I had some wet wipes in my handbag which I had the sense to carry, but my Indian habits die hard and I couldn’t wait to get home!

Which reminds me...why does every five star hotel boast of not just spotless toilets but ones devoid of water?  After all the hotels are based in India where almost every Indian likes to wash however large or small the usage might be.  Can’t they have a health faucet?   If  I have  dinner at a 5 Star restaurant, and I need to go to the loo,  I have become smart enough to carry my glass of water with me..  Sometimes I lament the fact that my parents inculcated the cleaning-with-water routine even for small jobs!  Why do the men get off scot free?

Most public toilets in India are deplorable and either you brave them holding your nose and gingerly stepping over puddles or risk urinary infection. Each time you board Air India aircrafts the smell of dank urine reminds you that you are heading home.  Travel first class in the train and you still are confronted by dirty toilets, even dirtier toilet seats, and the balancing act is quite dangerous when you are rhythmically rocking with every move of the train.  Please can we have those disposable plastic seat covers which slip on every time you use the flush! If you are very fussy, cut a wad of old newspapers in the shape of a toilet seat, but don’t forget to cut a largish opening in the centre!!!

And remember, if you have to go, you have to go....

18 August 2012

On The Verge of Extinction

KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
Classic Korvai has become rare, weavers finding the traditional process unviable

The Korvai of Kanchipuram is one of the prized textile techniques of the South. It involves a specialised process where the borders and pallu , in contrast colour with the body, are woven separately. They are then skilfully woven into the body of the sari. Owing to various factors, including the fact that two people are generally required to operate the shuttle, this handloom sari is rapidly fading away. Many weavers have now turned to the powerloom to produce silk and cotton saris. Even those which are hand-woven do not follow the ancient process.
Korvai can be distinguished from the much easier type of weaving, i.e., the portion where the border meets the body is slightly rough and if examined closely, the meticulously woven attachment can be discerned; so too the portion where the pallu meets the body of the sari in a process called “ petni.”
Twenty five year old S.R. Vejai Ganesh belongs to a family of hereditary weavers belonging to the Saurashtrian community that settled in Thanjavur more than 400 years ago. Vejai is passionate about making Korvai flourish. He was in the city with his collection of recently revived classic Korvai sarees at an exhibition held by Crafts Council of India.
“It was textile expert Sabita Radhakrishna of CCI who made us start weaving Korvai sarees,” says Vejai. Standing by his side is his brother, Viswananth who is also a master weaver involved in the process. Chettinad checks in bright oranges , reds and yellows, zari checks on blues, greens and oranges either with self or contrast borders, blues with vazhaipoo design, and creations in emeralds with deep red borders were among the saris displayed by Vejai and his brother.
Vejai's forefathers would take their beautifully woven saris to Singapore, Malaya, Indonesia and Burma and return with sugar crystals and textiles made in those countries. Trade flourished. But then the huge extended family went through divisions and its prosperity received a setback. Propitiously, Sabita who was interested in reviving the technique of Korvai came in contact with Vejai. She provided him with designs from her personal collection and encouraged him to start producing traditional type of saris using this method. “We make the saris with pure gold and silver zari.” The thread is dipped in silver and thinly coated with gold. “In this pristine type of weaving, 1 kg of zari when melted will yield 2 grams of gold,” he explains.
“We were weaving saris with only one side border till Sabita maam introduced us to Korvai. Two persons are needed to weave the Korvai; by the drawbox technique however, one person can do it.”
Family art
Vejai's father S. V. Rajarethinam and his uncle S.V. Krishnaraman are experts in handloom silk sari production. “We belong to the Saurashtrian community which came from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu,” says Rajarethinam. “Thanjavur district has various centres of silk weaving such as Thanjavur, Arni and Thirubhuvanam. We call these saris “Kanchipuram saris” because that city earned a reputation for producing saris of thick silk with solidly worked borders. The Korvai skill was taught by weavers who came from Andhra Pradesh.”
“We employ 35 weavers,” says Vejai. “We do not use child labour,” he states. “The heavy weight saris are in demand - 650 gm-1 kg. Our prices begin at Rs. 3,800.The main problem is that powerlooms copy our designs.” The Government should step in to allow master craftsmen to set up handloom clusters, he feels. “The banking sector too does not encourage weavers; the interest rate is very high. It will be good if central sheds are set up for weaving; it will help even physically challenged weavers. Now, since the income is so low, weavers are leaving the sector to take up construction labour.” Vejai can be contacted at 9344133330.
“Design intervention is absolutely necessary”, says Sabita. “And though it is important to provide a weaver such as Vejai with designs, he should ultimately become self-sufficient for that is the key to success,” she adds.

Namma Pattu

13.10.11

GEETA PADMANABHAN

“Threads of Tradition”, a presentation by textile activist Sabita Radhakrishna, was the second in the Namma Chennai series, an initiative by The Hindu MetroPlus and Sheraton Park Hotel & Towers
Kancheepuram idlis, delectable athirasam, sundal on leaf cups and brass-filtered coffee; copper venneer thavalai and kolu dolls as corner décor and Sabita Radhakrishna as the chief presenter; the topic could only be pattu pudavai, that symbol of grace and grandeur in Chennai's gatherings. In its second edition of the Namma Chennai meet, a very interested group assembled in their Kancheepuram best to know about the Kanchi heritage and its fabric of international fame.
“Pattu is not made of just threads, these are dreams of the weavers,” said Sabita, in a flawless presentation that traced the history of traditional pattu weaving that journeyed into Kanchi some 400 years ago. With stunning pictures as supporting material, she traced pattu's history, its patronage from the local deities and kings. She gave the audience a glimpse of the magnificent sari collection of Rukmini Devi Arundale whose crafts centre at Kalakshetra makes those beautiful Kalakshetra saris.
“River Palar flowed in Kancheepuram and its pure waters covered the threads with fine sheen. This patina along with the quality of weaving, weight and durability made Kanchi pattu a must-have in Tamil weddings, gave the textile a niche it so richly deserves,” Sabita went on. Woven into the pattu's history are these facts: Kancheepuram allowed space for the spread-out weaving, had close-knit families and water in the form of Vagvathi. It blossomed when the local deities wore the hand-woven silks and cottons, when the royals gave it patronage. In Kanchi, religion and weaving melded, hand-weaving was done with a sense of bhakti. All activities of the household, preparing the dye, loading the bobbin or twisting the thread, went on around the loom that was the centrepiece of the house. All the members were engaged in the creation of the masterpieces. In an oral tradition, the “secrets” of the art were passed on in a father-son lineage. It was in that sense a truly cottage industry.
Low returns
But all is not well with the industry now despite the crowds at the stores, said Sabita. Saris are not worn regularly and those who wear them choose synthetic yards over Kanchi cottons and silk. Even at weddings, the preference has shifted to other “dresses”.
Weavers have started encouraging their children to look for occupations with guaranteed income and job security. Those who still weave have moved on to hybrid threads where wages are higher. Weaving these saris is hard work and the returns are low.
“This beautiful art with its wealth of designs will languish,” said Sabita in a fervent appeal to the audience. “Don't let it die. Buy a few, patronise them.” She had suggestions for making Kanchi cottons and pattu a contemporary high-fashion fibre. “Traditional weaving could be a studio craft, weavers can be trained and paid a salary and the yardage can be used to make what this generation prefers to wear, for modern silhouettes.” It can be used for furnishings and accessories, anything, as long as the craft is kept alive.”
Anaka Narayanan, the young designer/boutique owner of Brasstacks, is keen to make that experiment. “Sari is figure-flattering, I love the silhouette, like the aesthetics of the handlooms,” she said. “But to me, design is about what the market wants.” Having tried hand-woven material in her designs, she promised to introduce Kanchi silks and cottons to the young as everyday wear.
Also present at the venue was Vijay Ganesh, a seventh generation weaver who has been persuaded by Sabita not to give up his craft. He didn't have to say much. The saris from his family looms in Thanjavur were part of the surrounding décor. Stunning in colours and traditional borders, they got the women leaping to have a look at the end of the presentation. “Exhibitions in metros have not been successful. Their only salvation is to hitch their wagon to young designers,” said Sabita, making a final request. “Don't melt your old saris for their silver,” she said. “You can use them to replicate the designs. The craft is irreplaceable.”
Pattu
* Pure zari is red thread wrapped in pure silver and dipped in 24-carat gold.
* “Korvai” is when the border and pallu are woven separately and then into the body. The fine weaving between body and border makes the joinery invisible. Here Pallu and border contrast with the main colour.
* It takes a week to a month to weave a pattu sari.
* The setting up of a loom costs Rs. 80,000 and an extra Rs. 10,000 each time the design changes, so order 3 at a time.
* Heavy saris weigh 700-1000 grams.