Different festivals — Durgapuja, Ganeshpuja, Kalipuja, Viswakarmapuja, Luxmi Puja, Saraswati Puja and Kartikeswarapuja — in the 1,000-year-old Cuttack city give an opportunity to clay artisans to be at their creative best.

Skilled artisans relive interesting episodes from Indian mythologies with interesting details. They can make an angry God look so natural that his eyes, wrinkles on the forehead, muscles, veins, body language, the horse he rides, weapons and attire are in tune to express the emotion. Similarly love, sympathy and curiosity are depicted with amazing accuracy.

Prithviraj Kapoor impressed

Senior artisans innovate mythological subjects to make it a visual delight. Veteran clay artist Mayadhar Behera, 84, no longer makes clay idols. People still remember his clay model “the wedding procession of Shiva-Parvati” in Nayasarak puja mandap. In his composition, the ghosts formed the wheel, Nandi as charioteer and other ghosts fit into the canopy, flag and banners, while Shiva and Parvati enjoyed the chariot ride. Mayadhar’s clay models impressed Bollywood legend Prithviraj Kapoor at an exhibition in Hyderabad in 1959.

Prithviraj Kapoor invited Mayadhar to work for his studio in Mumbai. Mayadhar could not go but he still preserves the certificate from Prithviraj Kapoor. His clay models on Orissan tribal life are preserved in the Adivasi Kalakunja of Bhubaneswar. Another clay artist, Fakir Parida, has made Haridwar his second home. He has built many temples in Australia, the US and Europe.

Eighty per cent of the mythological subjects in Haridwar were made by Fakir Parida.

Dwindling interest

Time has come full circle for the clay artisans. “Puja committees spend more on decoration than on clay idols,”says Purna Sethi, artisan. Disappearance of artistic sense among new generation, intellectual apathy and the State government’s inability to channel artisan skills into viable business models, have left clay artisans at the cross-road. Senior artisans have switched over to bronze and cement work.

“Skilled clay artisans can earn a modest income,” says Kedar, 58, “but the young artisans have to hone their skill.” Illiteracy and ignorance dogs their fortune. “In 2005, I made seven Ganesh idols in Hyderabad for Rs 30,000 when the idols were sold at Rs 3 lakh,” reminisces Purna Chandra Sethi.

An educated skilled artisan with marketing skill can earn more than Rs 5 lakh per annum. The demand for Cuttack clay idols is very high in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. The State government and civil society must act to preserve the clay art skill.

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