Decoding an Anomalous Gujarati Chakla
Posted by: valeriehector | Filed Under ObjectsThis post is dedicated to an unusual piece I found online a few months ago, the chakla shown here, which was probably made in Gujarat State, Western India.
The chakla measures 11 ½” wide by 14 ¾” tall, and it is made of European glass beads united in peyote stitch.
Chaklas are decorative wall pieces that are hung on the walls of the home or over a door to beautify the home and attract positive energies.
I could tell that this chakla wasn’t too old, maybe from the mid-20th century, but I also knew that it wasn’t typical for Gujarati beadwork. It was breaking too many rules. But somehow the result was compelling. I wanted to know more.
Who is the large figure in the center of the panel? And what does the writing say? My best guess was that the figure must be that of a woman wearing a veil…maybe a Hindu goddess or a bride? What were those diagonal lines floating in the air near her left arm…an indication of movement, to evoke a dance? And the object seemingly balanced on her head…part of a headdress? And the figure’s face, why was it blue?
The writing below the figure must say something about her? In what language? A quick Google search suggested Gujarati.
But that was as far as I could get without an expert.
So I pulled out my old copy of the only lengthy study that I had ever seen on Gujarati beadwork, The Embroidery and Bead-Work of Kutch and Saurashtra, by J.M. Nanavati, M.P. Vora, and M.A. Dhaky (Baroda: Dept. of Archaeology, Gujarat State India, 1966).
Several beaded chaklas from the late 19th century are shown, all totally symmetrical in design, with a square area at the center surrounded by a border. Where there are figures of humans, animals, or deities, the figures are usually relatively small and shown in pairs or groups. The motifs are spaced at careful intervals, almost always against a white background. There is no writing. These early chaklas embody the conventional design rules by which many Gujarati beadworkers of the era apparently operated. No anomalous chaklas are presented (which is not to say that they did not exist).
Althought the unusual chakla shown here maintains the white background, the use of a border, and the presence of small figurative motifs, it abandons rigid symmetry and careful spacing of motifs in favor of a looser, more idiosyncratic, even naïve sense of design which tolerates disproportion and displacement: the large figure’s feet are not be centered under its legs; the white eyes are slightly askew; the animals in the right border are smaller than the ones in the left border; and the small female figure in the lower left corner lacks a head (or is it her torso that’s missing?).
Somehow I think these anomalies are part of the charm. They are why I like this piece so much. In them lie traces of the maker’s personality, aesthetic, and worldview.
Next I checked a few more of the books I have here on Indian textiles and folk art. Nothing similar. It didn’t surprise me, because the beadwork of western India has never been very well-documented. And my home library is very limited.
It was time for a different kind of expert. I suspected that only someone from Gujarat State could decode this piece. So I called the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at The University of Chicago, (http://ealc.uchicago.edu/) and described the situation.
In a day or so I received an email from Mona G. Mehta, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science.* She is a native speaker of Gujarati who was raised in the city of Bombay and researches the politics and society of Gujarat. She was happy to help. Progress!
Here is a brief excerpt from Ms. Mehta’s email, which I quote here with her permission.
“The central figure that you see in the bead work is not a woman but Shrinathji or a form of Lord Krishna that is worshipped by the Vaishnavite or Pushtimarg sect of Hinduism (started by Vallabhacharya [1479-1531] ) and is immensely popular in Gujarat. The iconography of Shrinathji is typically bedecked with lavish jewelry and fine clothing and exists in many stylized forms. The veil like thing you pointed out is actually either a garland of jewels or flowers. In the temple of Shrinathji the idol is treated as if it were a real and divine person and its clothes and ornaments are changed at particular times of the day from morning to evening….
“In fact, the particular dress of Shrinathji, with fitting pants that curl at the bottom and a long flowing tunic-like shirt, reveals the influence of the Mughal and Muslim garments Chudidaar and Kameez, versions of which are widely worn today in South Asia, particularly in north India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. This is because this sect of Shrinathji worshippers appeared around the time of the arrival of Mughal rulers in the South Asian subcontinent.
“The diagonal lines on the upper left are often flowers….or simply a piece of flowing silk. The feather on the left hand side of his crown is a peacock feather, which is the quintessential symbol of Lord Krishna.”
Ms. Mehta mentioned a Wikipedia entry that gives basic information about Shrinathji and his appearance. The link is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinathji. A Google image search produces dozens of other depictions of Shrinathji, all with the same blue or black skin that often characterizes depictions of Lord Krishna, plus links to further information.
See http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&q=shrinathji&btnG=Search+Images
Next, Ms. Mehta analyzed the inscription.
“As far as the inscription is concerned it is indeed in Gujarati (although it is not the most legible because the curvatures are not emphasized as they should be) and the word on top panel says “Shrinathji” whereas the bottom one says “Sharda.” Sharda is another name for the Hindu goddess of knowledge called “Saraswati.” In this context it could also be the name of the person who made this beadwork. It is usually a woman’s name, so that is a possibility.”
Thanks to Ms. Mehta’s expert observations, the chakla is no longer such a mystery. But it is still an anomaly, at least by the standards of conventional Gujarati beadwork.
And to me it still seems more compelling than most, perhaps because it has a purpose beyond mere decoration, which seems to originate in a religious impulse: to honor and invoke a beloved deity, one who can bestow blessings.
We have not finished decoding this piece, not by any means. While I would like to know about its maker—her name (I am assuming it was a woman), where she lived, what her life was like, where she learned to do beadwork, how she happened to make this piece in peyote stitch, an unusual choice, and so on—I realize these things have been lost to the passage of time, and for now I will be content with pursuing more library research.
I think the next step will be to locate a copy of this book:
In Adoration of Krishna: Pichhwais of Shrinathji: TAPI Collection by Kalyan Krisha and Kay Talwar (Surat: Garden Silk Mills Ltd., 2007), which covers picchwais, or devotional paintings on cloth or paper of Lord Krishna. In some cases, apparently, picchwais may be embroidered.
You can look up In Adoration of Krishna by entering its title at http://www.abebooks.com.
For more about pichhwais, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pichhwai.
It’s time to head back to the studio, and think about breaking some rules, and maybe making a few pieces that are more than merely decorative or at the very least, completely asymmetrical. And to remember how much can be learned from a single piece of beadwork.
(Text and images copyright Valerie Hector 2008)
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*I would like to express my gratitude to Ms. Mehta for taking time out of her busy schedule to assist me.
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