You do not need to travel the world to admire craftsmenship. Some of them are available in our own backyard. The ongoing Hast Karigar Society’s exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi showcases handiworks and craftsmenship of artists, most of whom hail from villages all across India. As it is the case with any craft in India, it’s all in the family.
For instance, as a young boy, Kanday Anjanappa, a leather puppet maker from Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh, remembers being fascinated by puppet shows in his village. He learned the intricacies of the trade from his father, a famous leather puppet maker from Nimmalakunta Village in the district. However, as the patronage for it declined, Kanday realised that he had to either reinvent the craft or give up. Thanks to craft organisations like Lepakshi’s intervention, Kanday began making utility goods such as lampshades and wall hangings.
Displaying his products at the exhibition, Kanday says, “Till about 20 years ago, my family and I only staged leather puppet shows across India during festivals like Ram Navami and Dussehra for a huge audience. When people stopped coming for the shows, Lepakshi intervened and asked us to make something more saleable. They said lampshades would sell fast and we didn’t have to give up our craft.”
Leather puppetry, which has its roots in Andhra, has a history of more than 500 years. Made from goat skin and with designs made of natural colours, these puppets narrate stories from the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharatha.
While Kanday, who won the State Award in 2011, and his family of five members, continue to make leather puppets, the utility goods have both mythological and contemporary designs like Hanuman and natural elements like birds and flowers. He is happy with the money he makes and the acknowledgement he receives for its craft. “Many people buy these things only because they know it’s a painstaking process,” he says. “But there are other attractive options for the future generations. They might have the interest to pursue it, but the returns in this field are too less when compared to other vocations.”
The leather handicrafts are priced from ` 200 upwards, depending on the size and intricate works on the lamps.
The other is Rajnish Nimbark whose works have to be ‘magnified’ to understand the challenge in creating them. You can truly enjoy his work and appreciate his skill ONLY if you see his creations using a magnifying glass. He specialises in miniature paintings.
Rajnish, a State Awardee (2006) in miniature painting, is the second generation artist. Trained by his father Ghanshyam Nimbark, a National Award winner (1988) and Shilpa Guru Awardee (2011), Rajnish specialises in pichwai and Mughal paintings.
Pichwai, meaning ‘at the back’, finds its origin in the temples of Nathdwara in Rajasthan and dates back to the period of Rana Sanga, the Rajput ruler. “These works, which depict the life of Krishna, are used as awnings for the lord. However, over years people have begun displaying them at their homes. Made of earth colours and metallic shades, we use pure gold in these works,” says Rajnish. Due to the Mughal dynasty reign in India, Rajasthan has a rich confluence of Mughal and Indian art. He says that his adaptation of the Mughal art represents the collaboration between the two forms of art. “Mughal paintings depict the lives of the rulers — palaces, harems, weddings, and scenes inspired by nature. We continue to use these elements even today,” he adds.
Straddling two art forms, Rajnish has taken his art to luxury hotels like the Oberoi, Taj and Leela Palace, apart from adorning designated spaces in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
However, Rajnish has one fear lurking in his mind — the absence of successors for the art form. He says the replicas for a pichwai or Mughal miniature painting comes at `100 in the form of printouts. “When I trained under my father, there were many youngsters who came forward to take up the art form. But today, there is nobody. We earlier trained some young artists under the government’s Guru-Shishya parampara plan, but even that is not finding any takers.” Rajnish Nimbark’s works are priced between `300 and `1,00,000.