-Bharagavi Shankar-Voulanteer@Team buDa
We’d like to introduce you to another key team
member at Buda Folklore,
Nirmala-akka.
The very mention of Nirmala-akka and one would picture the
smiling lady, clad in bright earthy colours, brass bead chains, the big kumkum
adorning her forehead and tirelessly working on a quilt. When she isn’t
at the fields, she is at the front yard of her house patching a quilt and
ensuring every small piece of thread and cloth is used judiciously.
Nirmala-akka is a master craftsman at Buda folklore. She
is amongst the few women folk in Haliyal village who keep the art of crafting a
Khaudi alive. For women folk in the village, Nirmalakka is a craftsman par
excellence. They seek her help in giving finishing touches to their quilts,
setting right a few erroneous stitches, for new ideas on patterns et al. They
believe that the needle that she uses and the place where she sits are bestowed
with magical powers. There is invariably a tussle amongst them to use her
needle or hijack her seat! To return her favour, these women folk work on her
fields for a day.
To her students in
Bangalore, she is a fine teacher and an epitome of patience. On Day 1 of the
quilting workshop she surprises her students with the ease with which she
measures the six yard saree, makes a small cut and then with a neat motion of
her hands, tears it into two, folding it into layers that forms the base of the
quilt. She repeats the exercise for every participant and the size of each one
of them almost identical – she doesn’t juggle with measuring tapes, rulers and
cutting boards; just pure sense of judgement!
She then rations out a
ball of thread and ‘suji’ (needle) to every participant and then cautions them
not to waste the thread or loose the suji. To drive home the point, she repeats
her instructions couple more times. But well, understanding instructions is one
part of the game and the other is following it. All participants try hard, but
unfortunately Murphy’s Law kicks in at all the right moments. The first signs
of someone losing their needle, she would shake her head in despair. She would
also pick up small bits of thread and fabric lying around and pile it all up in
a basket to reuse.
She is a true – blue
perfectionist too! When it is time to fix the gubbis (Tassels at the corners)
to the quilt, she inspects the colour and size. If one were to choose the pale,
pastel colours she would give a wry smile and hand out her bright shocking pink
gubbi to be fixed. The size of these ‘gubbis’ moreover ought to be a perfect
square; no trapezium and rectangular shapes are accepted. If she does come
across one, she would give a quizzical look and laugh mockingly at your sense
of geometry.
Most often her students
do not speak or understand the dialect she is speaking but everybody gets it
spot-on on what she is trying to convey. She largely believes in the “observe –
implement - practice” concept. Whether
it is running her needle on her scalp to grease it or her sitting posture while
she is sewing or the way she handles the needle and cloth - students observe,
quip to themselves sometimes but later realise that it is a tried and tested
formula and therefore slowly start to implement it.
Nirmala-akka hasn’t had
any formal education in art, but the manner in which she puts together colours
and patterns in a jiffy is remarkable. She has kept pace with modern trends and
has creatively used the patterns used on Khudhis(quilts) while designing
mobile(cell-phone) pouches and hand bags. She even reels off names of these
colourful patterns – Krishnar thottil, Ramar Thottil, Balli,Ther etc.
She hasn’t had any formal education in teaching or psychology either, but she very rightly senses the mood of her students – she gives a stern look when she senses distraction or is unhappy with the stitching, coaxes students and eggs them on to sew faster when spirits are low and also offers to sew a few lines on their behalf.
Nirmala-akka also dons
the chief chef’s hat at Buda Folklore for our culinary workshops and tours. She
is a great cook and dishes out local coastal recipes with great love and
finesse. It is a treat to watch her artfully handle the dough and role out
chappatis.
If you’d like to learn
about traditional hand made quilts and some delectable receipes from Nirmalakka, join us for
one our workshops.
Food is always given utmost importance in any culture and every community has its unique cuisine. A closer observation reveals that the local environment has a strong relation to these food practices. While there is science involved in knowing the right measure of ingredients and when to add to what - like in a chemistry lab; there is creativity and craft involved in using things the nature/environment has to offer and making food look appealing on that banana leaf. 
