Geographical Indication (GI) tag accorded to ‘Karuppur kalamkari paintings’ and ‘Kallakurichi wood carvings’
In a bid to empower the artists with the prerogative of suing anyone who tries to copy their designs, the traditional dye-painted figurative & patterned cloth called Karuppur kalamkari and wood carvings of Kallakurichi have received geographical indication (GI) tags.
Both of these traditional arts have long been the part of Tamilnadu culture. While the paintings are intricately made on a cotton cloth using pens or brushes made out of bamboo tree and coconut tree stems, the wood carving is essentially one wherein the craftsmen are specialised in carving temple-related items and also furniture, using traditional designs.
As per The reports in The Hindu, the application for registering Karuppur kalamkari paintings for the tag was moved by the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (Poompuhar). It filed the application for Kallakurichi wood carvings jointly with the Kallakurichi Wood Carving Handicrafts Industrial Cooperative Limited Society, and the Chinnasalem and Vriksha Association of Wood Carving Artisans self-help group.
Like other folk art, both of these arts are also chiefly associated with temple art but they are extensively used to adorn the houses especially in Southern states of India.The subjects are all mostly religious, but they also cover a bit of nature. The time to finish a painting depends on the intricacies and how big the canvas is.
According to Jaya Jaitly, a seasoned proponent and curator of Indian handicrafts, “There is so much variety in India that anything, which is specialised to one area, and has a wonderfully-rich history, gets noted. So for giving it a status, GI is a good tool,” she said.
Apart from these, several other traditional and innovative articles have received the tag for instance Mahabalipuram stone sculpture, Nilgiri (orthodox) tea, Virupakshi hill banana, Thanjavur doll, Thanjavur paintings, Coimbatore wet grinder, Kancheepuram silk saree and more.
GI tag certainly gives the ‘exclusive rights’ to owner or proprietor over the product, and empower them with the prerogative of even suing someone for trying to duplicate it.
