NEW DELHI: There was a time a few years back, when hand fans were easily found in every household. It was a thing people kept within close reach as electricity conking off was common, but generators weren’t. Right then, out came these utilitarian, light-weight, economical hand made fans crafted out of jute, leather, cotton, paper, bamboo or palm leaf, to flutter the heat and the mosquitoes away. Well...today, they are very close to being redundant. With their disappearance, will also disappear a tradition intrinsically tied with India’s craft culture that various regions of India, and even the world, has fanned for many years.
Thousands of nameless crafts people have already lost their grasp over a skill that earned them an income. So then how are we, city dwellers who are far removed from this indigenous occupation, to appreciate our antiquity? As an ode to all those people, a one-of-its-kind pankha exhibition has been put together by painter Jatin Das. “The first pankha exhibition was held at the Crafts Museum in 2004 and a selection from the collection travelled the world. The 2018 exhibition at IGNCA is the most definitive exhibition of the collection held and possibly the largest exhibition of hand fans in the world,” says Das.
It’s also to acknowledge the people who are engaged in the practice of making hand fans, even today. The show will have fan related objects such as paintings, prints and films. Interestingly, all the fans belong to Das’s personal collection, also one of the largest in the world. “It began with a pankha gifted to me by a friend 40 years ago. My interest in this craft developed to the extent of me collecting over 5,000 fans,” says Das.
There will various knowledge sharing programmes, workshops and demonstrations by craftspeople for children and adults, besides the main exhibit. On display will be Phad community’s large fans that were used in courts or in aristocrats’ homes. “The circular or axe-shaped phads usually have an inner support structure made of bamboo or wire over which cloth is stretched or grass is woven,” says Das.
Palm leaf fans are made after palm leaves have been separated from their stalk, gathered and set in the sun to dry.
There are painted fans in the display. These are made of paper and wood, decorated with paintings.
Then there are the grass fans made of khus root or the vettiver. “Khus khus is collected by women to weave pankhas, and used by priests to make temple fans that cool congregations as they worship.
From homes to museums, and back to homes...we hope that’s how the story ends.
May 26-June 24, from 10.30 am to 7.30 pm, Twin Art Gallery, IGNCA, Janpath.