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| Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned a utopic nation and tried to experiment with the implementation of his ideas to achieve the same by establishing a rural settlement in South Africa and naming it as Tolstoy Farm, as he was deeply inspired by Tolstoyan philosophy. The farm provided a chance at communal and agrarian living as well as self-reliance. A hundred years later, Gandhian and theatrist Prasanna has successfully led a rural revolution by creating a self-dependent village where women, instead of being dwarfed by poverty and exploitation in the hands of most of their menfolk, have managed to shrug off their meekness and stand up for themselves. |
The Charaka organisation in Bheemanakone near Heggodu in Sagara taluk, Shimoga district beckons even the most unsure of all and inspires others to follow them.
Blend of Gandhian thoughts & self-reliance
Western Ghats is known for its serene ambience with unhurried villagers and encompassing forests which brings to mind The Lost World of Arthur Conan Doyle. One such village Bheemanakone, a step away from Heggodu in Sagara taluk in Shimoga district, has however, woken itself up from the dreamy state that is common to all Malenad villages. Instead of a life-long poverty and scraping to make ends meet, the girls and women of the village have taken upon themselves to work and earn money enough for their living, without being dependent on their menfolk. They may not be as self-assured and independent as urban working women, but they have contributed their mite to the native handloom industry, thus creating a weavers’ revolution.
Entering Bheemanakone, the visitor is greeted by a hillock on one side aesthetically terraced to house the different units of Charaka, the Women’s Co-operative Society. Charaka produces naturally dyed cotton handloom garments. The Society employs nearly 350 women and has a turnover of around Rs. 2 crore per annum. Each woman working at Charaka takes home more than Rs. 3,000 a month.
The story behind the birth of Charaka is interesting. In the year 1994, a Trust named “Kavi-Kavya” was formed for conducting literary and cultural activities in the village. A group of educated people, headed by playwright and former Rangayana Director Prasanna, were at the helm of the Trust and it was they who started Charaka.
Kavi-Kavya organised a training programme for the workers of Anganawadis in the villages of Shimoga District, in the use of locally available traditional resources for a year. The activists toured the villages to understand village lifestyle, languages, folklore, theater tradition, agricultural practices, the skills of artisans and so on. In the process, they also understood the problem facing the people of this hilly region — the villagers depended too much on agriculture and this damaged the eco-system.
Kavi-Kavya set up a weaving centre on an experimental basis, in order to prove that handloom weaving can be viable and profitable for the womenfolk. Traditionally, cotton cloth and woolen blankets were brought from the plains and sold here and there was no weaver community in the region. In September 1996, Kavi-Kavya Trust handed over the entire infrastructure thus developed, to the women workers (30 at that time) and Charaka Society was registered.
Charaka, which is engaged in producing naturally dyed cotton handloom garments, markets its products under the brand name ‘Desi.’ It is generally assumed that heavy subsidies are pumped into the maintenance of khadi units. Charaka, the production unit and the Desi chain of retail stores have registered a combined annual turnover of Rs. 6 crore and the grant they avail from govt. as part of rural development initiative is less than five per cent of the turnover. The success story of Charaka can qualify to be a case study for business schools.
Charaka is a self-sufficient Society. The advantage of being in the Western Ghats is the availability of forest resources that can be used to extract dyes. Areca is the main cash crop here. The byproduct of arecanut is used to obtain shades of brown with different mordants. Other dye materials used are Pomegranate, Jackwood, Madder root, to get shades of yellow and reds. After experiments, Charaka has mastered the natural indigo vat process and a regular production is done.
Weaving: Charaka employs 150 people in the weaving units for different processes like warping, winding and weaving on the frame looms. Totally there are 53 looms and 14,000 meters of fabric is produced every month. The rest of the weaving is outsourced from other weaver groups and Societies.
Sarees, dupattas and stoles have been some of the new off-loom products that have been designed and woven at Charaka.
Block Printing: Wood block printing with pigment dyes is done through wood blocks specially designed for Charaka.
Embroidery: Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, quills and sequins. At Charaka, women's clothing range and even men's range like Sherwani are hand embroidered.
Tailoring: Charaka produces ready-made garments from fabric that is naturally dyed and woven there itself. Charaka's tailors and designers are all from villages.
There is also a tapestry unit that makes blankets, a bag-making unit and also one that uses the local 'hase' folk painting to produce stationery with intricate designs. Paintings that varyingly have a mandala and stereogram-effect is also tried out on glass, but the locals paint them on their walls.
De-Centralisation: In an effort to provide job opportunities to more people, Charaka has decentralised its processes. People get trained in Charaka on various processes and then set up their own units in the comfort of their homes. The weavers, dyers or tailors need not travel too far to earn livelihood. Also, most of these workers being women, can balance work and household.
The Society is growing at a phenomenal rate of 25 per cent per year. The workers give themselves a small bonus every year, eat subsidised food, have health insurance and take home loans. They also have a library and a cultural troupe. Charaka is not sustained through donations, either foreign or Indian. As Desi products have become a popular brand in Karnataka, sometimes it gets hard to meet the demand.
The success of Charaka is in the fact that many educated youth who want a change from the monotony of city life are eager to associate themselves with Charaka now.
Charaka Utsava: Every year during January, Kavi-Kavya Trust conducts a cultural festival called Charaka Utsava, wherein artists from all over India participate. This festival goes on for three days. During the festival, "Kayaka" awards are given to employees on the basis of individual and group performance, disposition, attendance, productivity and quality. Charaka Utsava is purely a rural cultural festival and is conducted in several parts of Sagar taluk at a time. Folk teams are invited to perform in different villages.
Dasimayya Awards: Desi National Award, renamed as 'Dasimayya National Award,' has been one of the most prestigious awards for handloom weaving in India. It is given to organisations and individuals who have made remarkable achievements in handloom weaving.
Prasanna - the brain behind Charaka
Prasanna (born 1951), is a theatre director and playwright. He is one of the pioneers of modern Kannada theatre. He graduated from National School of Drama (NSD) and founded Samudaya Theatre Group. He served as the Director of Rangayana. He has directed Girish Karnad's Tughlaq, Gandhi, Life of Galileo, Thayi (Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children), Acharya Tartuf, Shakuntalam, Fujiyama, Kadadida Neeru, Hamlet, etc. Some of his dramas are: Uli, Seema Paar, Dangeya Munchina Dinagalu, Ondu Lokada Kathe, Haddu Meerida Haadi, Jangamada Baduku. He has also directed documentary films. He has been awarded the B.V. Karanth award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Prasanna went on a fast in 2007 demanding national theatre status for all the 18 scheduled language theatres and inclusion of theatre training in the school curriculum.
'Desi,’ redefining fashion
Desi, meaning both native and Developing Ecologically Sustainable Industry, is the marketing wing of Charaka organisation. Though the influx of western lifestyle and garments had cloaked the usage of native handloom products, Desi has created a craze among the urbanites about khadi and handloom products with its indigenous designs including Hase, thus redefining fashion. The Desi outlets sell not only handloom and naturally dyed sarees, kurtas, chudidhar materials, stoles etc., but also bed linen and other fabrics.
“Kambli,” the classic handloom woollen blanket, will also see a revival under the Desi brand. It also has a unit that makes bags, cus-hion covers and other accessories. The quality handloom products bear the “Handloom Mark,” guaranteeing that the article is hand-wo-ven. The response from people for Desi goods has been tremen-dous and the organisation registered a turnover of Rs. 2.5 crore last year.
With a view to support the weavers and artisans, Desi has opened a chain of outlets in various parts of Karnataka:
At Bangalore: Desi Office at No.54, 3rd Cross, SBM Colony, BSK 1st Stage; No.27, Patalamma Temple Street, near South End Circle, Basavanagudi; No.93, 'Kavitha', Seetha Circle, BSK 1st Stage; Desi - Saree Shop, No.264/25-1, 1st Floor, 16th Main, BSK 1st Stage, 2nd Block, Srinivasanagar; No.60/1, 5th Main, Malleswaram.
At Dharwad: 'Sanagamitra', Yelakki Shettar Colony,1st Main, Hubli Road.
At Shimoga: 1st Floor, Meenakshi Bhavan, B.H. Road.
At Mysore: Near Shanthi Sagar Complex, Panchamantra Road, Kuvempunagar.
Land of Neenasam
Heggodu is a village in the Western Ghat region near Sagara in Shimoga district. It is a step away from Bheemanakone, the birth place of Charaka. It is renowned around the world for its Ninasam (Sri Neelakanteshwara Natya Sangha), a theater school started by celebrated dramatist K.V. Subbanna in the year 1949.
Kuntagodu Vibhuthi Subbanna (1932 - 2005) was an acclaimed dramatist and writer in Kannada. In 1991, he was awarded Ramon Magsaysay award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. He was also awarded Padma Shri during 2004-2005. Ninasam is currently headed by playwright and dramatist K.V. Akshara, son of Subbanna.
Hase Chittara
Hase is a traditional folk art of Malenadu. This art is not common to all communities; it is traditionally drawn by Edigas. This art is usually drawn on walls of houses during festivals, mainly marriages and on a particular full moon night during the month of October (or a fortnight before Deepavali). This full moon night is known as Bhumi Hunnime. For colours, Hase artists use rice flour, turmeric, different coloured mud and other natural ingredients.
At Charaka, for files and letter pouches, these Hase drawings are being used, as also for glass paintings. By training rural women in brochures printing, making greeting cards, screen printing and Hase drawings, Charaka has ensured that this folk art gets carried over to the next generation as well.
