August 1935 — India's growing resistance towards the British Raj, and the increasing demand for self-governance led to the Government of India Act 1935. The bill made India a federal country. While this was one way for the country’s people to regain what they had been robbed of, Rukmini Devi Arundale in Madras had a different route in mind.
At a time when Dr. Arundale, Rukmini Devi’s husband was deeply involved in the freedom struggle politically, Rukmini Devi believed that a cultural renaissance was equally relevant — that a country unable to identify its roots can be revived only by re-sowing seeds of traditional arts and culture. In 1936, Kalakshetra, a fine arts school, and a space for the Bharatanatyam was born out of these beliefs. Not only did Rukmini Devi want to alter the perception of Bharatanatyam, but also the gaze around Bharatanatyam artists.
"But to her, it was not enough that she danced herself, she wanted to find young people who would dedicate themselves along with her, to its revival."Kalakshetra's Website about Rukmini Devi
In the 1930s, when the Indian markets were flooded with British textiles and counterfeit goods, many local weavers lost their jobs. Tamil Nadu especially took the hit personally — one of the main sources of income for artisans was lost. In 1937, Rukmini Devi established the Kalakshetra Weaving Centre with support from the Government. Her goal was to revive disappearing designs and motifs to create dance costumes and sarees. Through revisiting forgotten weaving techniques, motifs, colours and patterns, and collecting old sarees from her friends, Rukmini Devi revived a whole style of sarees. The Korvai weaving technique was used to interlace borders with the body of the saree and old designs were adapted to newer fabrics to better suit the movement of dancers and artists.
The mubbagam or three-faced design is a classic signifier of the Kalakshetra saree — it divides the saree into three equal parts, most often with the upper and lower parts framed with a Ganga-Jamuna border (where the bottom and top borders are in different colours). Each saree being juxtaposed with different colours, patterns, and motifs like a vanki (armlet), neli (a wave), manga (mango designs), and temple design patterns meant that to no two Kalakshetra sarees were ever identical. Soon, the saree became a coveted possession for both artists and collectors alike.
In 1954, aided by the Handicrafts Board, another workshop was set up, to allow newer looms, and the revival of old-age vegetable dyeing techniques. The legacy of the Kalakshetra saree not only lies in cultural revivalism but is also rooted in nurturing women from weaker sections of communities and creating livelihoods. The Weaving Centre is now the Craft Education and Research Centre (CERC).
Till date, Kalakshetra sarees are carefully kept in the cupboards of Bharatanatyam dancers. Each one retains a distinct memory of Rukmini Devi and her vision for the renaissance of art and craft forms in India.
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