To have Asiatic elephant model depicting Mysuru rosewood inlay carving, ivory works

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s traditional handicrafts have got international reputation and now the State will showcase its traditional artistic diversity in the form of a tableau during the 73rd Republic Day parade on Rajpath in New Delhi on Jan. 26

The State’s tableau ‘Karnataka: The Cradle of Traditional Handicrafts’ is the only tableau chosen from South India. Karnataka is among the 12 States which got a chance to take part in the parade this year.

It is for a record 13th consecutive time that Karnataka will showcase its tableau during the parade and the float will feature all the traditional handicrafts that have earned the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Announcing this on Twitter, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said: “Glad that our Tableau on the theme ‘Karnataka, The Cradle of Traditional Handicrafts’ is selected for the Republic Day Parade. This is the 13th consecutive time that our tableau got selected.”

The tableau will feature acclaimed freedom fighter and social reformer Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, hailed as the ‘Mother of Traditional Handicrafts in India’. The tableau will have a model of the Asiatic elephant depicting the Mysuru rosewood inlay carving in the front, along with ivory carvings. The float will also feature traditional Bidriware and bronze sculptures.

The central part of the tableau will have Kinhal wooden craft along with toys from Channapatna. Intricate carvings in Sandalwood will also be displayed. At the rear end, the tableau will feature a bust of Kamaladevi draped in Molakalmuru silk saree and holding all the artefacts in a bamboo tray. The tableau will also feature the famous Ilkal sarees.

Cultural performances

Over 37 folk and classical dancers from the State will stage a cultural show and will be among 480 dancers from across the country. Channapatna Gombe, Kangilu and Bharatnatyam will be the attractions.

The three teams — Udupi Feets from Udupi district, Natyeshwara Nruthya Shala of Bengaluru and Mayoor Nrutya Academy from Hubballi — have been shortlisted for the performances.

Udupi Feets will do the Kangilu traditional dance from Udupi. The team from Hubballi will do Bharatanatyam and the Natyeshwara Nruthya Shala will perform the Channapatna Gombe (Doll) folk dance form.

Narayana Guru tableau row

Meanwhile, the decision of the Centre in rejecting the Kerala Government’s proposal to have social reformer Narayana Guru’s tableau in the Republic Day parade has been criticised by former CMs Siddharamaiah and H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Taking to Twitter, Siddharamaiah said, “Is he not Hindu? Let the BJP clarify its position. He dedicated his entire life to reform Hinduism by fighting against social evils like untouchability. By humiliating his contribution, does the BJP have any face left to talk about Hinduism?”

Kumaraswamy also slammed the Centre’s decision. “Narayana Guru had propagated gender equality and was opposed to caste and community hatredness. The decision has been taken by those who do not know the history of the social reform movement in the country, he said.