The handicraft items, carved out of coconut shells by P K C Mohammad Master, not only exhibit the skills he is blessed with, but they also attempt to dispel the conventional notion that coconut shells are useless.
Neatly carved and polished, there are hundreds of coconut shell handicraft items on display at Mohammed Master’s house at Earpona near Thamarassery. From spoons to pendants, there is a wide range of products in his collection.
Mohammed Master, 75, finds pleasure in the fact that his retired life is not wasted away.
For the past 35 years, this man is actively engaged in carving out various handicraft items from coconut shells.
Several products such as ornaments, miniature forms of chairs and tables, bowls, candle holders, vases, various flowers, lanterns, spoons and forks now adorn his house.
“The shells are dried before they are polished. It takes hours to polish the coconut shells. Then I cut the shells to shape various designs,” says Mohammed Master. “Every phase of the process demands care and skill. Though the job is tedious, I enjoy it very much,” he says.
“I know that the products I make are unaffordable for many. If I get the due price for my hard work, I am ready to sell the products. If I deliver them at no cost, my days-long efforts will go in vain,” he says.
“During my days with the Chantheri Mappila Lower Primary School at Kuruvangad in Koyilandi, I used to train the students to appear for various competitions, including science fairs,” the craftsman recollects.
“As a trainer at the Kozhikode District Institute of Education and Training, I could provide training to hundreds of students through work experience classes,” says Mohammed Master.
“To promote the skills in students, I used to attend the school-based science and handicrafts fairs with my products,” he says.
“Besides, I render all possible service to the Teachers Training Students and BEd students if they seek help to prepare various learning aids.”
The craftsman is glad as his grandson Shamil, a seventh standard student at Crescent English Medium School, Omassery, is passionately following in the footsteps of his grandfather.
Shamil often extends a helping hand to Mohammed Master.
“The new generation may not be willing to take up such tedious jobs. But it is a pleasure to watch grandfather doing his work and it is a privilege to be the grandson of such a passionate being,” says Hasheem Earpona, a postgraduate student and grandson of Mohammed Master.