Once reserved for weddings and temple rituals, the Chettinad kottan, a hand-woven palm leaf basket, returns to the highlight at The Folly. The exhibition, Fibre to Form: The Kottan Story, marks the start of the M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation’s twenty fifth yr celebrations, spotlighting a craft that was revived, sustained and reimagined by the inspiration during the last 20 years.
“This is our first project and most successful one,” says Visalakshi Ramaswamy, founding father of the inspiration. “We have got all that we wanted to do with this — revive, document, and sustain it for 25 years.”
A girl weaving a kottan at the M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When the inspiration started working with the kottan, there have been no plans to show it right into a industrial product, however sustaining the craft meant adapting it to the current. “It was an object used in rituals and wasn’t in demand in today’s day and age,” she explains. “So, I turned the basket into a packaging product to be relevant.”
The kottans on show span years of design from older ritual-style baskets to latest festive collections and new revival efforts in crochet and bead work. “This revival happened unexpectedly when we found someone in Gujarat who wanted to teach bead work. They trained our women, and then some local people who themselves do crochet. We felt like we had come full circle. The kottan was complete, so it felt right to celebrate it,” she says, including that these baskets may even be on show.
Women at the M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Today, the inspiration additionally makes use of plastic and wire to make baskets, an unconventional selection in craft revival circles. “Some people can’t make the kottan — it’s not as simple as it looks. It’s quite complicated,” says Visalakshi. “But those people also need a livelihood. It was difficult for me to come to terms with that, but today I have accepted it… your stomach is bigger than anything else.”
To weave a kottan, tender palm leaves are harvested, sliced into skinny strips, dyed over the course of two days, and woven into baskets whereas they’re nonetheless moist and pliable. It is a time-consuming course of, and the inspiration works with over 100 ladies in and across the city of Karaikudi. “They have been with me for 25 years, and all of them went through a year-long training to be able to make kottans,” she says. Still, she admits the way forward for the craft is unsure. “Younger generations from these craft communities are not interested in this kind of work,” she says.
Kottan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Challenges, she says, have been fixed — from sourcing uncooked supplies and convincing ladies to proceed the work, to advertising and ensuring the merchandise attain the correct viewers. Despite uncertainties, her purpose stays unchanged. “The motto of my foundation is to document and revive,” she says.
The exhibition additionally marks the start of a collection of showcases by the inspiration, every highlighting a unique revival effort. Upcoming chapters will concentrate on Athangudi tiles, conventional lime plaster, handwoven saris, wall stencilling, portray, and extra.
Fibre to Form: The Kottan Story is on show at The Folly, Amethyst on June 27 and 28.
