Almost every handmade piece has a story behind it, a storyof a lineage that dates back at least 500 years, where the master craftsmen whoknow nothing else other than their trade, speak through their pieces of artwhile trying to make a living out of their almost extinct trade.
There are several forms of handmade craftsmanship that arefinding its way off the shelves of stores only because it is out of fashion,too expensive or not contemporary enough for consumers today. For instance,take the art of Tarkashi. Tarkashi, is a type of inlay work where burnishedcopper, silver, gold or brass wire is set in wood to create intricate patternsor designs. Craftsmen also make fine filigree jewellery. Ramsing Kumawat ofJaipur says that the art of Tarkashi is all he has ever known. “Tarkashi hasbeen the bread and butter of my family for the last 500 years. It is passed onfrom generation to generation. However these days my children are notinterested in learning this art. So it will die with me. I am not an educatedman but my children go to school, so they want to do something else.” Eachjewellery box takes almost 15 days to make as it solely depends on howintricate the design is.
The same goes for the art of Pattachitra (paintings onhandmade canvases), Tassor Paintings and Palm Leaf engraving and MiniaturePaintings. These canvases tell the stories of the Ramayan and the Mahabharata,made with natural colours and painted with brushes made of rat’s hair. Some ofthese paintings take eight months to a year to make. Dilip Maharana says, “Weuse natural colour and glue, and we even paint on old stamp paper as the kindof paper used during the British times is ideal for small paintings. I havereceived a national award for this in 1985. The art is dying, however there areplaces like the Taj Khazana that deal with us directly and sell our work intheir stores. They keep us in business and thanks to them we are not forced togive up our trade that has been with our families for hundreds of years”
For those of us who have now deviated from the traditionalpath, these crafts men have actually contemporised their work to suit the needof the day. You will now find the inlay work on bottle openers and corkscrews,and even ashtrays. As long as there is a support system in place these forms ofart will still struggle to keep up with the times.
