Assistant Professor

Amity School of Fine Arts

Amity University,

 Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India 

Abstract:

India is one of the most vigorous and culturally rich, countries in the world that has sustained its old roots in the form of its phenomenal arts and crafts. The verity & richness of traditional craftsmanship are the backbone of the Indian culture that not only gives recognition to our nation worldwide but also is the root cause for floating tourists to the country. Every part of India is differently nurtured in terms of their beliefs and livelihood. According to the habitats and availabilities ‘of their resources, each corner of India has an indigenous type of handicrafts that attract attention not only district level but also at national and international levels. Besides the lots of government initiatives, some of the excellent craftsmanship of the rural belt needs to flourish need justify attention. The major objective of this research is to give adequate limelight to the poor rural belt artisans who dedicated their whole lives to flourishing a particular art or craft form that transferred from their forefathers.        

It’s very difficult to judge between several arts and crafts forms that would be practiced by some of the artisan’s family across India. Each of the works performed in various places is different in terms of its forms, color palate, design, subjects, and mostly the belief behind performed that particular art or craft practices is unique. Henceforth, my selection of this topic is spontaneous without denying other existing indigenous art and craft forms of India. Henceforth, my research is based on one of the richest and most culturally diverse states Odisha, and the topic on “Khairapadar wooden crafts”. 

Key Words:  Adequate, Artisan’s, Backbone, Craft, Culturally, Floating, Flourished, Habitant, Handicrafts, lime-light, Phenomenal, Resources, Rich, Verity, Vigorous, worldwide.

1. Introduction:

Odisha is known for its variety of remarkable arts and crafts. Mesmerizing stone carvings and Hindu architectural temple design state and defend the standard itself. It is the fertile land for creativity and the craftsmanship’s. The artifacts and the handicrafts are an integral part of their rich cultural heritage. According to government data in Odisha at present, more than 1.30 lakh artisans are practicing more than 50 different types of works. Due to the phenomenal craftsmanship of the Odia artisan the state has been honored with the highest National Awards including Padma Awards.  

The state generates a handsome amount of corpus amount of funds from the handicraft sector though it is a well-recognized and self-sustained sector that employs both urban as well as rural belts with minimum capital investment. Blended with the digital marketing and simple technological shift offers to lead its value addition.    

The promotion and development of handicrafts in the state are directly handled by the Director of Handicrafts & Cottage Industries (DHCI). For the development of handicrafts, the DHCI forms two state-level organizations such as.

1.1. Odisha State Co-operative Handicrafts Corporation Ltd. (Utkalika)

It started in 1965 under the affiliation of Stare Co-operative Societies providing a Co-operative organizational setup for promoting handicraft & art textiles products of the artisans of the state on a commercial basis. With certain measurable objectives such as serving the poorest of the poor artisans and weavers of Odisha and also committed to organizing marketing facilities for the artisans of rural Odisha and hence giving them incentive to produce more products. Due to practicing high ethical standards in its business, it has been placed 2nd highest revenue-generating handicrafts & handlooms company in the state with the largest artisans & weaver network.

Due to its highly success role business model now It has 15 sales branches all over India along with Exhibition sales where both the handloom & handicraft products of the artisans/weavers of Odisha are sold. Such as Market Building Branch BBSR(UTK01), Airport Branch BBSR(UTK02), Cuttack Branch (UTK03), Rourkela Branch (UTK04), Puri Branch (UTK05), Jeypore Branch (UTK06), Sambalpur Branch (UTK07), Pipili Branch (UTK08), New Delhi Branch (UTK09), Kolkata Branch (UTK52), Pune Branch (UTK53), Hyderabad Branch (UTK54), Mumbai Branch (UTK55), Bangalore Branch (UTK56), Exhibition Branch (UTK95).

1.2. State Institute for Development of Arts & Crafts (SIDAC)

The State Institute for Development of Arts & Crafts (SIDAC) is an autonomous Govt. of Odisha organization registered under Societies Registration ACT 1860 bearing no.21959/137 of 2004-05 dated 15.10.2004 with a mandate for all-round development of the Handicrafts sector in the State. The Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Handlooms, Textile & Handicraft Dept. is the Chairperson of the Organisation. SIDAC is managing the training courses, Design Cell, Museum, and International Marketing Cell. Besides, they are implementing the following schemes/programs of State Govt. and DC (H), New Delhi.

Its target objective is to manage and supervise the State level design center to promote design development, product innovation, and product diversification also conducts design development programs, and arranges competitions among craft persons for the development of new designers. It is also responsible for conducting surveys, studies, and research in the field of Handicrafts & publishing and promoting the publication of literature on handicrafts. Also develop a marketing intelligence network to facilitate marketing/export of handicrafts and conduct conferences, symposia, seminars, workshops, buyer-seller meets, exhibitions, awareness camps, etc.

To facilitate the organization of S.H. G.S / Co-operative societies / Associations of craft persons, promote their capacity building, and arrange the welfare of craft persons. To raise funds by way of grants, loans, and contributions including foreign aid, through and from Govt. of India, Govt. of Orissa, statutory corporations, bodies, financing institutions & other sources and to invest and expend funds to raise as per the decisions of the General Body.

2. Khairpadar a Treasure of Wooden Craft:
Odisha truly reflects the variety and versatile indigenous practices of arts and crafts from India. Out of many prominent places in India, Odisha is one of the key states in terms of producing quality artifacts whether it has stone carvings, Pattachitra of Pipli applique works wooden crafts, etc. 

The wood carving is an old art form practiced in different parts of Orissa in many unique ways. Colorful or painted wood carving is famous for Puri where the local skilled artists prepare the finished goods using vegetable colors as well as chemical colors. The prepared article is so beautifully done as every article is a unique piece. Colorful masks, wooden toys, chariot decorations, and idols of gods and goddesses are very famous but the Khairpadar wood carving is the next level of work which is not only a self-sustaining trade but is globally recognized. Kalahandi is a part of western Odisha, which is famous for its indigenous and unique wooden crafts. The specialties of this work are because here one can see the perfect blending of harmonious contemporary as well as classical folk forms. The skillful masterly artisans breathe life into carefully selected pieces of teak wood and transform them into beautiful objected arts.

Their imagination goes beyond in terms of variation of subjects and creativity. They are not limited to with experimenting the application as a result the deft artisans create a variety of wooden artifacts with varying styles and with different designs.  From the life-less log of teak, wood the craftsmen of the Kairpadar village transform into life statues of Sri Ganesh, Laxmi, Rhinoceros, Bullfighting, and Elephants by touching their magical skillful hands. Besides this statue, they also create some useful art for utility and tribal arts specimens with various shapes, sizes, and designs and sometimes they prepare customized items as per the requirements of buyers.

Some other carved wooden items include small shrines and deities, low carved stools for marriages, carved fans for the deity, fertility couples, and various small ceremonial containers. The carved panels of deities fixed to either end of a meter-long pole were the other ceremonial items. These panels are called kavadi and are carried on the shoulders of a person to fulfill the vow to Lord Murugan or Karthikeya. Household kitchen instruments in wood such as grinders, vegetable cutters, and serving ladle holders are items given in the dowry. From the marketing point of view, lathe-turned and lacquered toys in bright colors and at affordable prices are popular all over the state.

This craft village is treated as a cluster which means a particular region or a geographical concentration of practicing and producing similar products and facing common opportunities and threats. It is a typical cluster, here the creator (artisans) often belongs to a traditional community, producing the long-established products for generations.  As per the data of the state government, the Kairpadar has nearly about 529 plus artisans.
3. Methods and Applications of artisans:
All skill needs justify efforts and a fruitful environment for flourishing. The second most important challenge is to select of right kind of materials and once the selection of the material is done the right application is the only way to get classic final output. Henceforth here I give a details account of the different phases required for a good masterly work of wooden crafts. 

3.1. Wood Carving’s Raw Materials:

In Odisha wooden craftsmen use various raw materials such as bhurkul or gular wood, mango wood, green bamboo but Khairapadar wooden craftsman prefer Teak wood as a raw material beside this they need some more raw things. Other basic materials required are as gond (gum), potassium permanganate, chandras (lac grains in acid), harmach powder (for an antique finish), wood preservative, varnish, materials for embossing, fevicol, zinc, and colors. Natural colouring agent like Alta, Turmeric some time they use dye colours also. Colouring Material: Alta, turmeric. Also, for stuffing waste material, coloured papers, clay is required.

3.2. Wood Carving Tools:

Basic tools used are brushes for painting and polishing, knife, gouge, chisels, smoothening plane, hand drill and hammer. Saws are electric driven. Band saws cut off scrap wood effortlessly. Chain saws cut logs for large carving. Used to drill holes, drills are available with several attachments to perform sanding, sawing, mixing paint etc. Carving knives are used for whittling, chip carving, and smoothening wood surfaces. Wood-carving chisels have a sharp flat edge which is used to cut into the wood. They are available in bent, straight, and spoon shapes. U-gouges have curved cutting edges which form a 'u' shape. Craftsmen use them to remove large pieces of unwanted wood, to define large shapes, and to round out the edges. V-gouges/Parting tools are used to cut fine outlines while carving intricate patterns.

3.3. Wood Carving’s Process:
The raw wood depends upon the size of the block. Then it was cleaned and smoothened. The design of the toy to be made is traced on this piece. Extra wood is chipped off according to the design. Fine strokes with the hammer are made on the chisel, which is placed on the area to be shaped. It is smoothened with a file and painted. Once it is completed the painting starts with coloring various body parts. Next, the dresses with specific designs are marked out by fine strokes of the brush. The facial features are added in the end. Sugga (parrot) are the wooden toys fixed on the marriage mandap. The mosara, (central part), charkhi, and sugga (parrots) are made by the same process These are joined by bamboo killi (screw). The marriage post is colored with yellow (turmeric), red (alta), and green colors.

The lacquering is done by pressing the lac stick against the revolving article. Oil is also applied at the same time to give a better polish. Leaves of a kind of flowering cactus are used for polishing. The articles are either in single color or in bands of different colors. The complicated designs and color schemes are affected by manipulating the lac turnery and using multifarious techniques. In Jaipur, the toys are made out of old cloth dyed afresh and stuffed with waste material. When they are gaily decorated with colored paper and tinsel, they look very alive, especially with their expressive faces.

Rag dolls are made out of remnants of cloth usually thrown away. These are painstakingly collected and dyed into different shades to work out a variety of color schemes. The eyes and mouth are indicated by a black line. In the case of a Rani doll, the clothes & body are fully decorated.

Technically wood carving has six different phases, such as

i.Sourcing: Sourcing and transporting raw material.

ii.Seasoning: The wood (planks) so obtained are numbered/dated and piled in shade. Passage of air between the planks allows seasoning of the wood which may be a process taking 1-4 years.

iii.Outlining: The seasoned wood is sent to the carpenter who carries out outlining on the log of wood using a template and cutting/chiseling the edges of the design.

iv. Carving: Dismantled pieces are then carved at the edges. The process includes inscribing (making motifs on wood), undercutting (creating 3-dimensional layers), open or latticework (creating see-through jali work), deep carving (creating raised designs carving of up to 5-inch depth), semi-carving (thin panel design along the rim with central motif); shallow carving (motifs chased in pencil to give a little depth)

v. Detailing: Making fine details using hand chisels.

vi. Nailing and Assembling: Assembling all parts using nails (in the case of large products, smaller pieces are joined together and then carved). Accurately made carpentry joineries; hinge joints, dove, and tail joints are used. Finishing Smoothening the surface, applying the protective coating, and finishing the product.
3.4. Wood Carving’s Techniques:
Each wooden piece that is cut to make an item is subjected to a process of slow heating to draw out all moisture. Every single limb is separately carved and joined to the body with an adhesive paste of tamarind seeds, and later passed through a coating of lime glue. The painting with colors is done with very fine precision with brushes made of goat’s hair. Water and oil colors are both used.
Lacquering is done on a lathe, hand, or machine-operated. For turning slender and delicate items, a hand lathe is considered suitable. In the lac turney method, lac is applied in a dry state that is the lac stick is pressed against the woodenware to be lacquered. While the latter keeps revolving, the heat generated by friction softens the lac, making the color stick. Lacquerware toys are produced in this way. It is with remarkable skill that the craftsmen manipulate the stick where several colors are used. Some of the lacquered pieces are painted with a brush.

Conclusion

Now we have multiple digital interactive media from which we can promote this indigenous craft forms of one of the backward underprivileged districts of west Odisha.

Due to the overgrazing of the information the impact of advertisement is not able to retain the attention of the target audience who are looking for a masterly work of mature artisans of that particular region. Most of the practicing artisans of that particular craft belong to lower or backward caste henceforth, they didn’t get the support from wealthy upper caste people for developing their craft enterprises.

Besides, the differences of casteism the artisans struggle with a lack of training they are facing problems in adopting the new technology of wood carving that has led the quick results with minimal manpower. Due to the low literacy, the craftsmen of Khairpadar village are not able to write government for grant-in-aid for long and sustainable projects. If the government declares this fertile land as a benchmark of wooden crafts and declared as Khairpadar, a crafts village associated with culture and tourist departments it would easily attract the attention of the target audience.     

References

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