Kushmandi mask makers seek bigger market

Balurghat (West Bengal), Nov 15 (PTI) The artisansmaking the traditional wooden masks of Kushmandi in SouthDinajpur district in West Bengal are see...

Balurghat (West Bengal), Nov 15 (PTI) The artisansmaking the traditional wooden masks of Kushmandi in SouthDinajpur district in West Bengal are seeking a bigger marketfor their artefacts to boost income.

The makers of the traditional masks lament that theyget fame by creating 'mukha', as they call it locally, forgenerations but practically no money.

"I had made a mask of 10-headed Ravana which is now ata museum in London. But I was not much financially benefitedfrom it. Fame is good, but it will not help meet my dailyneeds," said veteran mask maker Sachin Sarkar.

A London-based organization had arranged for sendingthe Ravana mask to the museum in 1987 after a member of themuseum liked the artefact at an exhibition held in Kolkata.

The 'mukha' makers are concentrated in Mahisbathanvillage in Kushmandi block but their main source of livelihoodis agriculture.

"We do not get good price for our masks locally. Ifthe government can arrange for marketing the masks outside, itwill help us immensely. The masks fetch good price fromoutside the state," said another artisan Paresh Sarkar.

The masks made are traditionally of goddesses likeDurga, Kali, Lakshmi; mythological characters like Rama andRavana, besides those of animals and birds, said PareshSarkar, who is also president of the Mahisbathan HastashilpaSamabay Samiti, an organisation of the artisans.

The masks are generally made of 'chhatim' or 'gamar'wood. Spme bamboo masks are also made.

"Our masks are priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 30,000.

But the job of making masks is not readily available," saidSachin Sarkar.

"People buy the masks as showpiece items. They arealso used in some folk dances," Paresh Sarkar said.

For the past four years, a fair on Kushmandi masks isorganised by the state government in association with theUNESCO and a private body, Banglanatak.com, at Mahisbathan.

Nirmalya Roy, an official of Banglanatak.com, said theorganisation had sent an artisan, Shankar Das, to take part ina handicraft exhibition in France in 2015.

Das said, "I did not have the slightest idea that ourmasks would be so sought-after in the exhibition. Whatever Ihad taken there were sold out," he said.

He also visited London, Edinburgh and Glasgow lastyear with Kushmandhi handicrafts and those too were sold out.

Tapas Kumar Roy, a senior official of the SouthDinajpur District Industrial Center, said efforts were on tocreate a larger market for the mask makers.

"We have also sent a proposal in this regard to thegovernment," Roy said. PTI CORR NNJM.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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