Kalapesi’s kaleidoscope

Died: Roshan Minocher Kalapesi, 77, first president of The Crafts Council of India and a pillar of Paramparik Karigar, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian craft, on February 24, 2003 in Calcutta following cardiac complications.

Observing the legendary craftsmen of India turn away from their hereditary trade to more lucrative callings Kala­pesi was committed to promoting their cause through the Param­parik Karigar. She regularly organized workshops and exhibitions to give them a platform for their creativity. In March 2003 the Taj Mahal Hotel hosted a rare auction conducted by Bowrings of UK for the craftwork created by the Paramparik Karigars. This prestigious event was the brainchild of Kalapesi who had worked hard for its success but had not lived to witness it, mentions her sister Katayun (Kitty) Madan.

Kalapesi: the cornerstone of craft

In 2003 as in 1999 she was offered the National Gallery of Modern Art free for a month to hold exhibitions. At all such events she would personally interact with the craftsmen, jointly analyze why particular items were not sold and accordingly give them tips to improve their artefacts. A series of skill and enhancement workshops for craftsmen were initiated by her. Working conjointly with Kalapesi towards uplifting the lot of the neglected craftsmen was noted poet Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. When serving on the All India Handicrafts Board Kalapesi realized that the artisans were not getting the proper help and direction nor the monetary benefits which they deserved.

To preserve for posterity the beautiful costumes of India, she was instrumental in collecting and displaying the various attire in an exhibition, Paradha­nika, for which she obtained sponsorship from Air India. This exhibition opened at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington and earned much acclaim as it traveled around the world. With her extensive study of embroidery, Kalapesi had chosen to wear a gara at the inauguration which had attracted as much attention as the exhibition, she had conveyed to Parsiana (see "Painting with a needle,” Parsiana, August 1986). She subsequently designed the Air India airhostesses’ uniforms which were very popular.

Her tryst with attires began when she designed the costumes for a Shakes­pearean play after which she was approached to design an exhibition on leatherwear for a German commercial delegation, notes a life profile. Established as a designer overnight, she was flooded with offers to do several fashion shows. It was Kalapesi who created the wardrobe for Reita Faria (the first Indian "Miss World”) and gave her comprehensive coaching for the event.

Frequently invited overseas, Kalapesi had an occasion to display the crafts of India on board The Royal Odyssey on its voyage from Bombay to Mombasa when summoned by The Royal Cruise Line. Another trip to Israel saw her conduct workshops and proffer advice on crafts. In Scandinavia she participated in a workshop on modern furniture design.

Equally involved with the commu­nity’s award winning artistic efforts, she was in charge of costumes and art direction for Vijaya Mehta’s film Pestonjee, starring cinestars Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Shabana Azmi, and for Pervez Merwanji’s film Percy, starring Ruby Patel and Kurush Deboo. At the exhibition Parasika, organized by the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute at the Prince of Wales Museum in 1991, she was among those mainly responsible for projecting the history and achievements of the Parsi community. The enormous panorama had been compartmentalized by Kalapesi under six heads starting with the early roots in Persia and extending up to the early 20th century which witnessed the mushrooming of philanthropy in Bombay. She had made a good study of the Zoroastrian religion and was considerably knowledgeable about the community’s customs and traditions, recalls her sister marvelling at how she could make an abstract subject interesting and appealing for the youngsters.

Daily prayers were a routine for Kalapesi whose faith in the religion had made her write and direct plays like The Splendoured One (on the life of Zara­thushtra), Cyrus the Great and others. She formed a theater group called Act where actors could learn the basics of stagecraft. Her own interest in stage productions was nurtured when she joined the Theatre Group, taking part in Ebrahim Alkazi’s productions. She would act, dance and sing in many productions in America, Europe and Asia. She was invited to a theater workshop in the south of France with luminaries like Alan Jay Lerner of My Fair Lady fame and was ever willing to direct plays with her sister for the productions staged by the Calcutta School of Music.

After her schooling at the Clare Road Convent and graduation in science from Bombay’s Elphinstone College, Kalapesi was expected to carry on her father Khanbahadur Minocher Kalapesi’s business of manufacturing essences for aerated water factories (Duke’s lemonade was one of them). Until the end she fulfilled this obligation to Shannon Chemical Work as the business was known while pursuing her other interests. After graduation she worked at Chemould Frames where she helped to sell frames and paintings of promising artists. She had studied western music, both the piano and vocal and learnt modern ballet. She was tutored in design and color psychiatry by Eric Dust of London.

A fountainhead of ideas and support for various causes Kalapesi was among those who fought for the creation of Priyadarshini Park at Bombay’s Napean Sea Road when there were proposals to develop this property. "She should have been born a man,” maintains Madan giving her sister credit for stoically shouldering the responsibilities both at home and outside. A keen cricket fan who would never miss out on matches especially when India was playing, Madan remembers that even as a schoolgirl, Roshan’s studybook would lie open before her vying for her attention while she was engrossed in the radio commentary on cricket matches!

Not academically inclined, she always maintained that we should be teaching crafts to our children, states her sister. The grant she received from the National Council of Rural Institutes was utilized to finance five master craftsmen of Paramparik Karigar to write books on their field of specialization. These books, she hoped, would be used as manuals to teach craft in schools.

The patron of arts and crafts is survived by her sister Katayun (Kitty) Madan.