With its focus on sustaining and celebrating India’s crafts and its makers, The Craft Council of India instituted the Kamala Awards in the year 2000 in memory of the late Smt Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, doyenne of the post independence craft resurgence in the country. It was a movement which renewed pride in our craft heritage, taking it to the road of growth and development.
The Kamala Awards, is bestowed on artisans who are chosen for outstanding performance in separate categories of Excellence in Crafts, Excellence in Weaving, Contribution to the Crafts Field, Craft Revival and Young Artisan Award. “Kamala Samman” is given to artisans and activists for Lifetime Achievement in Craft. The Awards capture the spirit of excellence which has been the hallmark of India’s 5000 years old craft tradition. This year the Kamala Awards were presented on 23rd November 2024 at MRC Centre, Chennai
The Kamala Samman Award 2023:
Shri Gajam Govardhana
Gajam Govardhana’s life journey from his birth in a poor Ikat weaving family of Putapakka in Telangana, to being honoured with the Padma Shree and Shilp Guru Award by the President of India is an inspirational story of great talent and commitment to his craft of Telia Rumal. Following his early beginnings as an Ikat weaver, he left for Chirala at a young age to learn the unique technology of weaving Telia Rumal, soon becoming a master weaver of the craft. His significant innovation was to take the Telia Rumal technique used originally to weave turbans and shoulder cloths to sarees, fabric, dupattas and bedspreads in cotton as well as in silk and other fabrics. He has introduced new products and tools including changes in the loom to facilitate ease in weaving. His Telia Rumal products are a brilliant melange of concept, weaves and subtle interplay of natural colours.
His creations have walked prestigious National and International ramps and are rare exhibits in museums in New York and the Netherlands. He has set up the “Gajam Govardhana Telia Rumal museum” in Hyderabad with rare 100 year old textiles. Shri Govardhana has taken his craft forward by training many aspirants in 8 to 10 Weaving Centres in his village.
The Kamala Award for Excellence in Craft 2023:
Kum. Pushpa Kumari
Pushpa Kumari was born into a family of Madhubani artists in Ranti, Madhubani district, Bihar. She grew up in her grandmother and eminent artist Mahasundari Devi’s home, learning her first lessons in Madhubani painting from her. Although
her early years were steeped in the mesmerizing colours, magical shapes and the mythological stories of Mithila paintings, she gradually broke away from the confines of her inherited tradition. Often called an artist in transition, she works with the imagery of her own creativity, often with little connection to her Mithila painting heritage. Her art combines drama with poetry in a world of intimacy, gods and mythology, which stretch the boundaries of Madhubani art. Passionate, innovative and
contemporary-traditional, her collections are celebrated in the Mithila Museum in Japan, at the National Museum Liverpool, UK, in Art Galleries in Melbourne and Brisbane and at the San Diego Folk Art
Museum.
The Kamala Award for Contribution to Crafts 2023:
Shri Sivaprasad Reddy K
K Sivaprasad Reddy was born in a traditionally practising agricultural family in Tangutur village in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Following his dream of becoming an artist and despite family objections, he got admission in the Kalamkari Centre at Sri Kalahasti where he finished his 3-year training. Soon afterwards he joined as a teacher at the Kalamkari Centre, while simultaneously obtaining a BA degree in the Open University. Shri Shivaprasad Reddy returned to his village in 1990 and set up “Kalamkari Kalakshetra”, where Kalamkari art works are being created while training is given to village youth and women in the art.Shri Sivaprasad Reddy’s genius lies in the innovations he has brought to Kalamkari craft with his depiction of new mythological stories, innovative ‘Tree of Life’ forms, and in the use of natural dyeing processes. Intricate, delicate craftsmanship and beautiful colours define his brilliant paintings. Among his iconic art works is a 47 ft wide 11 ft tall depiction of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavatam, all in one frame. This masterpiece by the master artisan-painter won him the Shilp Guru award. He is also the recipient of the National Award and many State awards. He has participated in many prestigious exhibitions both nationally and internationally.
The SHANTA PRASAD Award for Excellence in Weaving 2023:
Smt.Sundari Devi
Sundari Devi, rug weaver from Aaspura, was born in Rajasthan on 1st January 1976. She has had no formal education yet can surprise one with her extensive range of knowledge spanning agricultural tools, aviation, and tech-weaving. Her remarkable aptitude for observation and learning is driven by the passion to bring innovation in the rug creating process. Sundari Devi rugs are works of woven art, brilliant tapestries that fuse contemporary and futuristic art in combinations of singing colours. Her imagination is priceless – the poetry of a rug in the symphony of merging blues hangs beside the imagery of an action-packed cricket match, or the vision of impeccable art brought into parade ground drill. Her unique insights and surreal imagination leave one curious about the innovative shapes and stories she is sure to bring to her future rug making.
The Kamala Young Artisan Award 2023:
Shri Yethin N
Yethin N is a 5th generation sculptor with a passion for arts and crafts. Born in the artistic Vishwakarma community, his upbringing instilled in him a deep appreciation for wax modelling and bronze casting. He derives inspiration from
his grandfather Shilp guru Shri N.G Neelakantachar. Yethin’s training in metal crafts began in 2014 under the guidance of his father Shri Nagesh N and uncle Shri Ganesh N from whom he learned the techniques of wax modelling and metal work. Although a law graduate, his strong determination and passion made him decide to pursue metal crafts as his full-time profession from 2016 onwards. Currently, Yethin works along with his father Shri Nagesh at Malleswaram. He
works on commissions for temples, ashrams, spiritual seekers and private collectors. Yethin wishes to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and carry the legacy forward with profound skill and passion.
The Kamala Award for Revival of Languishing Crafts 2023:
Shri. Santoshkumar Chitragar
Santosh K. Anjaneya Chitragar was born into a marginalized family of hereditary Kinnal craft artisans who practise this unique vibrantly coloured wooden craft mostly of dolls, idols of local deities, gods and goddesses, animal figures, furniture etc. He learnt his craft at a very early age. A graduate of Fine Arts and a Postgraduate degree holder in visual arts from Kannada University, Hampi, he worked as a 2D character designer with a Bengaluru based company. But the pull of his hereditary craft was strong, and he came back to his village to carry forward his ancestral heritage. Santoshkumar Chitragar has a master’s touch in making graceful figurines in stunning colours. He has set up a Kinnal Art Studio where he is training many young aspirants in the craft. Meanwhile, his own masterpieces of Kinnal craft have gained countrywide popularity through exhibitions in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. He has created a brand which is taking off both at home and overseas. Santosh is bringing to the craft new designs for contemporary tastes while continuing with the traditional Kinnal style of process.
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