RED EARTH AND WHITE LINES

Hidden behind coats of synthetic paint, marble slabs and blocks of tiles for nearly six decades is Goa’s traditional native painting: Kaavi art patterns. The last of these patterns were painted on the walls of affluent Goan Hindu family homes, temples and even churches around 150 years ago and since then, these paintings, ignored and neglected, have remained mute witnesses to a waned glory.
It took a dramatic mention from none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi for these paintings to find a revival—the first since Goa’s Liberation over 60 years ago—when in his weekly broadcast ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on December 26 last year, Modi spoke about the efforts to revive kaavi technique.
Today, there are no living kaavi artists and researchers are busy trying to piece together the lost years of kaavi.
Kaavi’s chequered history and its origins are still a mystery for researchers. Some believe kaavi was brought to the Konkan coast by artists from Punjab-Sindh region, having travelled with the Saraswat community when they migrated to the West coast due to environmental adversities.
Archaeologist Sawani Shetye has spent five years researching kaavi art and its origins and has found links between kaavi patterns and yakshagana puppet tradition of Karnataka.
“The origins of kaavi are not certain,” says Sawani. “Some say it has come through the Portuguese to Goa, others believe it has Indian roots. And in general, throughout the history of human civilisation, red soil has been used to draw and paint across the globe. Goa with its natural port was a melting point, which makes it even more difficult to pinpoint its origin.”
Kaavi art is the use of red iron-rich soil and lime to decorate walls and ceilings, mainly of places of worship, but not limited to it.
“A lime plaster derived from crushing seashells is used to coat the wall, this is followed by a layer of the red soil. The artist then etches a design using a stencil, while the paint is still wet. The red is gradually removed to reveal the white, creating beautiful patterns,” says Sagar Mule, whose revival efforts were noted by the Prime Minister in ‘Mann ki Baat’.
The oldest kaavi pattern today can be traced to 16th century structures and there is no pre-Portuguese structure in existence with kaavi, which has served as a limitation for researchers, reckons Sawani.
“One thing is for certain that kaavi travelled to Karnataka through Saraswat community families. And it is not found in mutts belonging to Kannada speaking people, but only Konkani Gaud Saraswat Brahmin mutts. But this is possible because kaavi requires good pigment of kaav or red soil, fine walls and is a labour and skill incentive and this was only possible for affluent families,” she says.
This is probably why kaavi patterns are also found inside houses of affluent Dessai and Rane families in Goa.
Kaavi is Goa’s only traditional native art technique and the first effort of restoration was taken up by the state government recently at the Shree Saptakoteshwar temple at Naroa.
In most cases, the art is found on private homes or temples owned by private managements, making it all the more tough to engineer a mass revival. At times, not-well-thought through reconstruction and renovations of temples have affected kaavi’s preservation, like the Shri Brahmanimaya temple of Caranzol that was demolished a few years ago to construct a new temple.
A majority of the kaavi patterns found today are on structures that are New Conquests or parts of Goa which did not come under Portuguese control for around 150 years after colonisation.
According to researcher Krishnanand Kamat’s authoritative book Konkanyangele Kavikala, some records are available indicating the year in which the art was completed like the Mahalasa Narayani temple of Kumta constructed in 1565 and Rama Mandir of Honavar erected four centuries ago. However, no temple constructed in the last 50 years contains any kaavi art that is worth mentioning, he states.
There are no living kaavi artists either.
“The Chari or other communities who were possibly doing this work of painting using kaavi probably stopped getting patronage from the community and gave up the work. There was almost a 40-50-year gap before any revival or restoration efforts were made post-Liberation and no one tried to replicate the designs during this period, so the art is nearly extinct,” says Sawani.
While outside Goa, standalone figurative patterns from Indian mythology are found made in kaavi form, within the state the patterns are mostly geometric and floral. Temples display floral borders (nakshi) with peepal tree leaves and geometric shapes, while churches bore simple floral bands.
Traditionally, kaavi can be seen on walls, columns and ceilings, while also being used to delineate sacred spaces and niches in temples and homes.
Kaavi being a technique, and not a style of painting, was versatile and had the scope to be secular.
The patterns were recently discovered under layers of lime wash during restoration of the Chapel of the Convent of Santa Monica, leaving restorers stunned, says curator of the adjoining Museum of Christian Art, Natasha Fernandes.
Besides the Chapel, Mule recently helped restore kaavi on the walls of the Shree Maruti Temple belonging to the Deshprabhu family of Pernem. He is now working on putting a contemporary spin to kaavi in the hopes of its revival.
“I am trying to use the kaavi technique to paint new designs, instead of the traditional designs. I have also successfully used the original kaavi technique on paper, while it was only seen on walls so far. Now that it is on paper, it can travel to other places in India and abroad and we could possibly see a new interest in kaavi,” says Mule.
HISTORY ON THE WALLS
Prominent structures in Goa having remnants of kaavi art
Temples
* Shri Kshestrapal, Agarvaddo, Pernem (has oldest known kaavi art)
* Shri Morjai, Morjim
* Partagal Mutt
* Shri Mulver, Malpem, Pernem
* Shri Parshuram, Poinguinim, Canacona
* Shri Betaal, Poinguinim, Canacona
* Shri Maruti, Advapale, Bicholim (restored and protected under Goa Ancient Monuments, Sites and Remains Act)
* Shri Brahmanimaya, Caranzol, Sattari (now demolished)
* Shri Venkatesh, Phansawadi, Canacona
Churches (Old Goa)
* Chapel of Our Lady of Mount (restored)
* Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary
* Church of St Francis of Assisi
* The Archiepiscopal Palace
* St Catherine’s Chapel
Houses
* Boruskar Desai House, Poinguinim, Canacona
* Desai House, Lamgaon, Bicholim
* Deshprabhu Palace, Pernem
* Rane mansion, Sanquelim
The Technique
The wall is plastered with lime first (made from sea shells). It is then cured with water over two days. A steel bodkin is used to etch the design and then the design is scratched out (all done with a free hand). The cavities are filled with ‘kaav’, which is made up of fine red soil, charcoal powder and the extract of a milky plant locally called paal kudi (milk sap creeper) or liana for binding. Only the areas that are sacred are decorated and defined with kaavi. The kaav or red soil (tambdi maati) of Goa provided the most auspicious colour. Kaav was also used for medicinal purposes.