Founder Members of Paramparik Karigar

Once in a lifetime great souls emerge amongst us who cast their energies around so that they light many lives. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was one such soul. She was a ‘child-widow’ born in a conservative Manglorean family on 03 April 1903.

All her life she ‘felt’ colour, she ‘breathed’ space and design, she ‘heard’ silences and nuances that people missed. She was articulate but never garrulous.

Pandit Nehru, one of her foremost admirers saw the wealth in her and coaxed her to leave politics and gave her unlimited power to revive the culture and traditions of India. Kamaladevi raised great institutional monuments for Dance, Drama, Music, Art & Craft. She loved craft and craftspersons most of all and the later years of her life were completely immersed in the uplifting of Indian craft.

Kamaladevi believed that Artisans and Craftspersons were people and individuals with valuable skills and expertise and as such she insisted they ought to be cherished with pride as part of our culture and social heritage.

Roshan Kalapesi was very involved with the theatre world and toured Europe and America for many years.

She returned to India in 1965 and in the same year Khadi and Village Industries (KVIC) approached Roshan to create garments from leather which were shown to a large delegation from Germany. It was at this exhibition that Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay first met Roshan Kalapesi. Kamaladevi was so impressed by her that she requested Roshan to become the President of the Crafts Council of India.

Fortunately Roshan was at the time compiling a collection of Indian costumes for Air India and had the opportunity to travel all over the country and meet the craftsmen in their own environment. This experience was invaluable for her, as was the association with a ‘master’ teacher in Kamaladevi. Henceforth Roshan was totally involved with craft and craftsmen and in 1996-97 Paramparik Karigar came into being.

The office of Paramparik Karigar was a hub of activities and meetings. Craftsmen from all over the country would drop in for an informal chat, or some personal or professional advice and Roshan welcomed them all. She was ‘Roshan Amma’ to all of them and she had a personal rapport with each one of them- a kind word, a bit of gentle advice or suggestion about their work and sometimes even financial help. She was the guiding spirit behind Paramparik Karigar but at the same time she built up a strong team to carry on her work, to fulfill her vision.