Transcript

Hi and welcome to Etv Power Women. Today we have with us our guest. Chndramani Thenuwara, who has been very involved in the craft sector of textile and fabric today. Hi and welcome to the show. Just gonna ask you straight off how you got into this field? How did you end up here?

This is what as I said. It’s a long deviate story. Like most things in my life, things just happened. I went along with what ever happened. Never really had an ambition it just worked out. So professionally thing is I was good at art even from my small days. And I was very lucky through the war I had to shift from Ladies College which is in Colpetty to Good Sheppard Convent which is in Kotahena. I was very sad to leave Ladies College. The building was acquired for military purposes and the school shifted upcountry and my father said no no boarding houses. Children grow away from there parents. So we shifted houses also at that time and so went to Good Sheppard. But anyway that was a landmark change. Because that’s where I met Mrs Cora Abraham. Who was a pioneer in Child Art Education or rather education through Art. And she influenced my life a lot. And then after I got back to Ladies College and anyway I always wanted to come back and I did. Meanwhile Mrs Abraham retired and she started an Art School and I continued to go there. But then I did science, Maths and Physics and things and by this time, by the time you come to you’re A/Levels, the society which I belonged to middle cast Sinhala Buddhist, this is the time they start saying, now you must settle down, get married and this and that.

I thought if I go to University they will leave me alone for 3 years. So that was one of the reasons why I went to the university. Then I was involved with Mrs Cora Abraham’s art classes. She trained me to teach children and I was teaching there. So on Saturdays as a teacher and she started the thing called the ‘Young Artists Group’. To get some of us together and every Sunday we used to meet and paint and things. It was very lovely. And then we used to organize exhibitions and we published our own magazine. Literally published it. We had a little press, and put the letters together and print it. It was great fun.

Anyway with all of this, I also realized that Buddhism your life is in your hands. Never mind what anybody says and Krishnamoorthy’s philosophy “What other people think of you is there problem. Not yours”. All of this together plus Mrs Cora Abrahams said you paint what you want to express. Never mind what anybody else says. There was this advertisement in the paper, saying that Sri Lanka Teachers Travel Club was organizing a trip to Europe. So now I just went for the first meeting. They had it at St. Thomas, Mt.Lavinia. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for this and all you know. Meanwhile I wasn’t rebelling I was simply refusing to consider getting married. At that time, Air Ceylon, they were giving fly now pay later. I can even now remember the advertisement. So I went to Europe with this Sri Lanka Teacher’s Travel Club. In London we were hosted by the British Council. And as we were going passed the National Art Gallery, the person who was taking us happened to be sitting next to me and he just said you know that’s our national art gallery. But I don’t think you’ll will have time to see it. Then I said Ah that’s really a sad for me and told him about my involvement with Art and all that and I had taken a few pictures and thing. And next day, he had arranged a change of schedule a little bit and arranged 3 of us. There were 2 art teachers from Royal College. 3 of us to visit the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in south London. So it was very pleasant. We went around the school and all that and then I told them I don’t think I can afford to ever study here. It was a 3 year course, I would love to do that and that’s all. We continued the journey.

We went to Germany and they gave us pocket money also. Then actually when I came back, there was letter from Camberwell saying if you wish to study with us, we can make a special course for one year. Because they used to like to have foreign students those days you know. Foreigners have now become a problem. Because specially the art school, because it good for them to have this international contact you see. So then my father though, such a pity you know not to send me. Because I had got a place in a school in London you know. So then I went to Camberwell . Then that one year went in a flash. And I thought my goodness now I can’t go back and face that you know they will start getting me married off. Now I had been getting exchange only for one year. And I did not have any more money coming in. And I didn’t have a job. And I didn’t know how to get one either. Because I’m afraid I kept away from the Sri Lankan group. I went to the Tae Center it was in Piccadilly Circus a central place very close to the Art Gallery, which I used to visit all the time. And while I was having tea a Sri Lankan lady standing next to me said what are you doing here and all that and I told her my story. I have no job, I have no money. She said there is a job here why don’t you apply. So this is to sell Ceylon tea. So I thought I don’t know. I don’t think I will be good at it but I anyway applied, because I was desperate. And they gave me the job. So then that involved working in a different part of England every week. London as the base. And they used to send a little unit. A tea making unit. Lovely cups and saucers. Two leaves and a bud. And you have to go in a saree and they out you up in very good Hotels. While I was doing this you know customers who met me ask why are you doing a job like this. And in Nottingham, I remember one gentlemen said, “Look, if you want to go to University I can arrange it.”. I was very surprised. I was wondering, this is a very strange thing. But later I found out that in those remote sort of universities, English students don’t go. Because they checkout on social life. That’s how they choose their university. So if it’s a remote place. They don’t go. Something like that. Then some other people I was told that Adult education scheme, they give you finances to go back to college. That’s if you get your self into a recognized university, or college of higher studies, the county where you live that is say your home county. They will give you a study grant. I couldn’t believe it. But there again, at the tea center some Sri Lankan officer who had come, he said today I cant come and meet where you are working, because I had to meet someone at the airport who’s coming to study, Textiles in near Manchester. Then I asked what is all that about. And got the information and meanwhile I had met a family from Manchester. They were German – Jewish origin. And because this college was in Manchester, I wrote to them and told them to find out it for me. There again if not for the fact that I knew them I may not have bothered you see. I could just told them and say just find this out for me and which they did. Of course I had university background so I just got accepted just like that. Salford College of technology to do textiles.

Do you think your travel and seeing all these different places and experiencing different cultures, o think that just influenced you or sort of design your colour?

Design as well as me as a person with my that involvement with religion I mean I don’t go to temple or anything. I go to church because it is beautiful. I go to temples because they are interesting and beautiful and I go to Kovils everywhere everything. For artistic reasons mainly. Anyway with all of this, made me who I am and this kind of this war and everything is totally beyond my understanding. This such an interesting world and to destroy it you cannot think of anything more foolish. Then I came back and started working. I first did some work with the Batik workshop. The workshop was somewhere in Moratuwa. A lovely old house. Anyway it was quiet successful, but then I decided to it was really not that enough.

I know you are wearing one of your own creations today. So just take us through the process of how you know from envisioning the design, thinking of the colour. The piece you’re wearing. How do you?

If you are designing then you get inspirations from everything. Specially if you live in Sri Lanka. From nature you don’t need anything else. This saree is from after visiting to Sinharajah. It had been raining and it was very muddy. It was black mud and the leaves had fallen. Dried leaves. You know Autum colours. But I was very luck I was in charge of a workshop which was a design centre. We were not doing production. I was free to experiment. I was very lucky with my bosses. And also I worked for the government. Which was at that time, the ideal place for a designer. Because they were not concerned about whether things sold or not.

Ok. So it was all about bringing it out and experimenting.

So you were free to experiment. Nobody was pressurizing you.

Saying that you have to make X amount of rupees a month or as in

This is the fashion, nothing. I didn’t have anything like that. A free reign and a very skillful people who were weaving. And also what ever you needed you eventually got it. You had to only have patience to wait. If you want certain colours of die or something they wouldn’t say it is very very expensive you can’t have it. They will eventually get it. It was ideal conditions for a designer to work. And we had shops in Colombo. Small industries had there first ever total saree fashion show. Department of small industries. So it was a very exciting time. Also ideal conditions except for the pay. But it was worthwhile. I have no regrets.

How do you the kind of textile industries? Do you think it’s sort of progressed rapidly since?

The handloom industry has progressed a lot. In terms of quality and consciousness of quality it has progressed tremendously. Presentation also you the fact that you need professional people to do the presentation. They now accept that. It has progressed a lot.

And where do you see it heading? Do you see many more people sort of joining?

Now there is lot of skill. A lot of knowledge the Handloom shop mangers are very knowledgeable people. They do a wonderful 2 year residential course. They will be sent to India and all that. But design, not taught. Therefore you need a professional designer. Now, Sri Lanka still does have a Graduate course in textile engineering.

That’s what I wanted to ask you actually.

Which I feel very sad about. I had gained a lot of experience in this field. Because we had a lot of qualified textile technologists. But they wouldn’t look at handloom. They will do an obsolete thing that shouldn’t exist kind of attitude. So I was the only qualified person in that sector. So that’s how I got a special kind of place. Which is why I am teaching. And they need me because of that. Because my specialization in the industry. If I worked in the power loom sector there would have been dozens of people who would have done that. So I feel very sad and the way things are going I feel that I will not get a chance to teach.

We were just discussing how there is no formal qualification or professional qualification a degree. For textile design.

There is in all other fields now.

But just not in Textile design.

Textile Technology, Garment Technology, Fashion Designing. But not in Textile Designing. Which is very fascinating and also I think, Sri Lanka needs it because now we buy the fabrics from outside. Where as we should be designing our own. Now for a long time we used to get our designs from outside for the Garment industry and quietly that is changing. It is not easy to change that. But it will. Soon there will be enough fashion designers competing with each other and we will have National level. You’ve got to have lot of designers competing with each others for some people to come up. It doesn’t happen in isolation. And it will happen in the fashion design sector soon. But textiles, we don’t have a graduate course in textile designing. Which is very sad because, after all textile is the raw material of fashion design. By the time we wake up to it. We will be so many years late. And then there will be no teachers also. I took this devious pathway as a chartered textile technologist. I also work in the craft sector and that’s how I gained this enormous amount of experience. I feel eternally grateful to all those weavers from whom I learnt so much. Specially the managers of those work shops. They are very knowledgeable. And all this experience. I am absolutely longing to teach. But I am not going to get the opportunity because I only do one little unit 60 hrs of teaching. Which requires 3-4 years. It’s very sad. This course where I teached at the Moratuwa University, in the faculty of architecture, they have a Bachelor of Designing course which has Jewellery design, Ceramics, Furniture, Graphics and Fashion & Textile together. So the Jewellery designers are coming on, Furniture designer we will have professionals in all of those but not just in Textile. And the talent there is amazing.

I was actually gonna ask you about Teaching. It must be a kind of wonderful think kind of to nurture and see ..

And also they are lucky as things are happening in one faculty. Together with architecture people so that also feeds into there thinking.

I wanted to ask you Chandramani, because you are very spiritual and we touched on this throughout the show actually and you feel that these events that had led you to the spirituality or being connected by another force. I mean it plays a huge part in your life and your design I think.

It has opened up a whole world which exist here in little Sri Lanka. Through that I have been conscious of the sensitivity is different in each of those cultures. That was exposed to because of Mrs Abrahams and that Art School I think. But that gave me the aesthetic response. So apart from the in depth benefit you get from known about all these religions, what is the use of having all these four religions in our country if we are not going to benefit from that and we are not benefiting. Because they are looked at in so narrow way. Fundamentally if you understand, you will not get trapped by this relentless pursuit of money and success in those kind of terms. You will not get trapped. But they will on the other hand I feel that I don’t have the right to influence them to think like that because I was lucky. I have only my self to be responsible to. So I can afford to be idealistic. If I starve I starve. My family doesn’t starve. So I can afford to be idealistic.

Ms Chandra Thenuwara was my teacher at the University of Moratuwa. She taught me textile design. She was a very lovable person. All the young girls like me at that time, we all used to love her. She showed excellent teaching skills. Not only that she has inspired me a lot. She was a different person among the other ladies in the university whom I have met. She had her own style. She had her own way of dressing up. Own way of carrying her self. She was a different personality. I was inspired by that personality which has helped me to build my career. She was a very respectable, very decent lady. She had no limits. She will go to any limits. She will extend any support to anyone. And she was ready to9 nurture any ones talent. She was ready to identify the hidden talent and to nurture them. I know she had done it to so many students.

I met first Chandra Thenuwara in 1979 at the University of Moratuwa. We both were teaching at the Department of Textile technology. And Chandra was teaching textile design at that time. And I find Chandra as an excellent lady. Where she believes developing young people all the time. An of course when she deals with people she normally associate people who are good in there integrity, honesty and things like that. She has been very kind to lot of people. She also I think did some work for disabled people or people who have been handicapped. In all ways I think she is a superb lady. Being a designer and an artist you know she has lot of you know, she is very friendly, very nice to people very kind to people and she always wants to help people. And specially the students loved her so much because she was very kind. her teaching was excellent. And she is very genuine and very loyal and works extremely well with all kind of people. The way I have seen her she’s an excellent example of a goo lady you know.

It’s always very nice to see what other people say.

Yes. But my student was more relaxed. Isn’t it?

Now I’m gonna put her on the hot seat and ask hot seat and ask her ‘The Dreaded 10’. Which is brought to us by the lovely people at Ponds Age Miracle. Chandramani are you ready for the questions?

I hope so.

Ready as you’ll ever be? They are quite easy.
Would you give your home to the poor?

I have not thought about my own home. I don’t think so.

What do you do to impress other people?

Oh Gosh! I don’t bother. I am not interested in it.

Do you love your enemies?

Enemies no. I despise people who are not honest.

If you had a million dollars to donate anonymously, whom would you give it to?

Travel scholarship for design students.

Ah! Wonderful. Do you worry about if people will remember you after your gone?

Not really. I would like to think that my students specially would have benefitted a lot and therefore may be remember me.
If you had to choose eating between a posh restaurant or at a simple kade, where would you go?
Depends. The posh restaurant, all these hotels all so totally westernized and I cannot really add to them.

Did you ever consider getting married at any point?

No. This was a very early decision. And looking back I’m amazed at that maturity of that decision. Because it was to do with me. I decided that I was not fit for the job. And I was not. I have no regrets.

What is that you want to see before you die?

Oh, I want to change Fabric textile design. That’s all.

What’s your favorite colour?

That’s an impossible question. Working with little children I got to like bright pure colours. But before I used to like these autumn colours.

Final question. Is there any profession other than your own you would have liked to have tried?

Yes. Architecture. It was not available to us. It didn’t exist.

Thank you so much Chandramani. Those were the 10 questions. Hope they were ok.

Thank you. No it wasn’t too bad.

It was a real pleasure having you on board and I am glad that you came on. I know that you had a bit of reluctance but I am very glad that you cane on.

I was just wondering why anybody would want to listen to me. That’s why I want my work to take most of the time.

I’m sure you have truly fascinated everyone at home. It was a pleasure having you on. Thank you very much.

Thank you.