Tuesday 22 May 2012

Dhokra art (using the lost wax casting technique)


                                                (measurements 4' 3")


                                             
                                                    (measurements 5' 3'')



                                              (Dhokra wall hanging)

Making a mound of earth, wax and frankincence paste, Sanjay applies it over  the clay surface. He draws inspiration from his surroundings. Sita, the village belle carrying a pot of water in her head, Radhika, the matriarch standing outside her hut with her child, Tiwari marching to his field with plough in hand or Pintoo and the village band of musicians are all cast into thin still metal figures. The process is lengthy but Sanjay is a master at it, he is a dhokra damar tribesman settled in Burdwan district of West Bengal where dhokra art has found its permanent root of resurgence. With a thread, he then makes a filigree of designs on his pasted models and then burns the clay on fire and beewax. A pot of molten metal (usually brass) is carefully poured by him into the clay cast and left to dry in the sun. After drying, the mould is broken and flawless metal figurines which are miniature imitations of his village brethren emerge.

 Dhokra is an ancient art form that can be traced back to the figurines found in the mohenjo-daro sites of the Indus valley civilization. It has been diminished to a dying art form but in the villages of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha certain tribes still practice this classical art. Sanjay Karmakar of Burdwan and Rajkishor Shou from Odisha are two such artists who have made this traditional Indian style their livelihood thus adopting the primitive vocation of their ancestors.

Paraja is the first realistic novel I read which describes the predicament of the tribes of Odisha. It poignantly describes through an epic tale the slow decline of a tribal patriarch and his family from subsistence livelihood to bondage to the local money lender. Gopinath Mohanty, a great Oriya literary figure was a government servant and witnessed the plight of these tribes first hand and penned it down his book. From having their land taken away by the government to the migratory lifestyle they have adopted to earn a livelihood...... exploitation at every aspect of their life as urbanity crept in.That is why it’s a wonder that some tribesmen have still retained their art and are trying to make a living out of it. Now, we at Kriya Kalash want to be a part of the resurgence process of dhokra art and bring a purity of intent to the creative commitment of these rural artists by exhibiting their works in our blog.
                                                                                
 If you would like to be a part of the process too and show your support by buying their figurines, kindly contact us on kriyakash@gmail.com  (price on request)