A large imposing mural of Telugu Thalli welcomes visitors to the newly-opened heritage wing of Palm Beach Hotel, named Andhra Art and Craft Hotel.
With a kalasam in her right hand and harvest crop in her left, the mural signifies the prosperity of the Telugu lands. Glistening at a distance are warm yellow lights attached to two wooden bullock-cart wheels suspended from the ceiling.
The hotel’s interiors are a blend of contemporary architecture decked with traditional décor. The monotony of white walls is broken by brightly coloured doors. Choosing vibrant shades of blue, green, yellow and pink, the doors are in sync with the artworks inside.
The 24-room seaside property is divided into four wings. Each wing is dedicated to one traditional art form from the State, namely Etikoppaka, Budithi brassware, tholu bommalata (leather puppetry) and kalamkari.
Over 30 artisans from Visakhapatnam have worked for over a year to create 70 sculptures and 50 art installations for the hotel. Every room has a customised headboard, study table and wardrobe that are designed following the art form.
“While the planning and implementation took us over a year, it was the research about these art forms that took three to four years. The idea for the hotel is inspired by Le Sutra, an Indian Art hotel that is a sister concern of Palm Beach Hotel.
Le Sutra is designed on three gunas — Tamas, Rajas and Sattva — that feature in Indian mythology,” says Ameet Mirpuri, a Visakhapatnam-based interior designer for Andhra Art and Craft Hotel.
Started with an aim to familiarise people with the traditional art forms of the State, the team chose four art forms that have been part of Andhra culture for decades.
Etikoppaka comes from a village of the same name situated in Visakhapatnam district. The village is renowned for its craftsmanship in making wooden toys from a locally-grown tree, Ankudu. Rooms designed according to this art form have a Pandiri Mancham, an Andhra-style bed with a headboard that has wooden carvings used to make Etikoppaka toys. “Traditionally, the artisans use natural dyes made with seeds, bark, lacquer, leaves and roots. In keeping with this, the Etikoppaka murals that we have in the rooms also are coloured with natural dyes,” says Ameet.
The rooms themed around Budithi brass work have headboards inspired from sculptures of women adorned with jewellery, commonly seen in the carvings of local temples. Drawing inspiration from the Uyala (swing) found in old houses, the sofas in these rooms have meticulously-carved brass chains replicating the swings.
Taking visitors on a creative tour of the underwater world are the rooms designed with kalamkari paintings. Headboards here are a splash of bright colour, painting ocean-related scenes using traditional motifs like leaves and flowers.
Explaining the idea behind choosing the ocean theme, Srinivasa Rao Kanumari, the artist who made the paintings, says, “Usually, kalamkari paintings draw heavily from mythology. However, since this project was about an innovative take on traditional artforms, I took the creative liberty to paint quirky scenes like a man taking a whale on a walk or a shark blowing a trumpet.”
He adds that going beyond the conventional reds, greens and blacks used for kalamakari, he used vibrant colours like blue, turquoise green and yellow. It took him six months to paint the six paintings displayed in the rooms.
The rooms that are inspired by tholu bommalata have been designed to create a local fair, as traditionally this puppetry was widely seen in these fairs. The headboards have huge leather puppets against a painted backdrop. The sofas in these rooms remind you of soda carts with colourful glasses and stationary wheels attached to them.
However, it is not just the rooms that display the State’s rich art forms. Even the room numbers have been customised to stand up to the tag of an art and craft hotel. The numbers and alphabet used on the plates have been specially created by art graduate Krupanand Kartik, who used an amalgamation of English numericals and alphabet with graphics inspired from temple architecture. The hotel is surrounded by garden lined with wall murals.
Rooms in the heritage wing are priced higher than the other rooms in Palm Beach Hotel. Spending a night in the company of these artworks will cost you around ₹7,500. As an added incentive, you can get a quick class on each art form and its origin from the hotel staff, who have been trained to educate guests.