MANGALURU: For centuries, mankind has saved art, books, and other medium of expression from war, invasion and natural disasters. It was a way of preserving their cultural heritage.
In Karnataka’s Belur and Halebidu areas, ancient books, documents and monographs that carry the imprint of a culture, art, and performing arts were protected by people who fled from invaders and marauders.
Kaavi art, which was brought to the south by people who migrated from the Sindh region centuries ago, has for long been a dying art form, but now it is on the path to revival.
The art form was practised by those who lived on the plains of the Saraswati River in the Punjab-Sindh region. When their civilization persihed due to political and geographical reasons, many of them, or Saraswaths as they are called, migrated to the south—Goa and parts of the Konkan coast—and carried along with them the art they practised and the knowledge of making ‘kaavi’, the pigment made from laterite soil. Kaavi Kala is today found all along the western coast from Gujarat to Kerala.
Over the centuries, this art form has given a distinct identity to shrines, temples, churches and mosques on the Malwan, Konkan and North Malabar coast. It has transcended linguistic, religious and communal barriers.
During the Portuguese persecution of Hindus, a large number of Saraswaths migrated to Karnataka and settled down in Karwar, Honnavar, Kumta, Ankola and Bhatkal. Many Kaavi Kala artists belong to thefamilies that had migrated back to the state.
“This is the reason why Uttara Kannada has more houses and temples adorned with Kaavi Kala,” said Vishwa Konkani Sardar Basti Vaman Shenoy. He is a renowned Konkani activist. Heritage activists in Goa are credited with popularising Kaavi Kala.
Heta Pandit in her book (co authored with Annabel Mascarenhas) Houses of Goa had expressed fears
Kaavi Kala might be confined to the pages of history if not revived.
“A unique art form that originated in Goa, Kaavi was Goa’s gift to Maharashtra and Karnataka. This art form possesses the wisdom of ages in that it has survived the rigors of weather, time and other deleterious factors,” she wrote.
Popularising the Art
Vaman Shenoy added, “The Vishwa Konkani Kendra (in Mangaluru) has been making efforts to popularise Kaavi Kala in coastal Karnataka. We are in the process of identifying artists in Mangaluru, Udupi and Uttara Kannada and training them to make it commercially viable. There are also plans to reach out to architects to show them the beauty of Kaavi art.”