CUTTACK: On any given day, silver filigree artisan Sridhar Prusty could be seen twisting delicate silver wires and intertwining them to craft beautiful pieces of art, be it an item of jewellery or a showpiece, round the clock. But that was before coronavirus struck. Today, the 55-year-old filigree artisan sells Idli, Guguni or Dahi Bara Aloo Dum near his workshop at Alisha Bazaar. In the evenings, he home delivers snacks across the city to make ends meet.
Another artisan Anant Sahu has shifted from his hereditary vocation to sell vegetables at Chandi Chowk.
The Covid-19 health pandemic has been brutal to Cuttack’s 1,000-odd silver filigree artisans who have now shifted to other professions to eke out living. While 400 of them are skilled, the rest are semi-skilled. A majority of the filigree workshops can be found at Mansinghpatana, Alisha Bazar, Mahammadia Bazar, Buxi Bazar and Bania Sahi.
Usually during festivals like Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja and Kali Puja, the demand for silver filigree is high. Money earned during these five to six months of work helps the artisans sustain for an entire year. Every year, more than 500 artisans are involved in making ornate silver backdrops for Durga Puja pandals and designing ornaments for the deities.
However, with Covid restrictions on religious gatherings during the festivals, the celebrations are muted thereby snatching away income opportunity from the artisans. “We have not been able to receive a single order for filigree work either from the local market or from outside since March. The puja committees who were planning to come up with silver tableaux for Durga Puja this year have now set aside their plan with uncertainty looming large over the celebration”, said filigree artisan Pradip Prusty of Alisha Bazar.
With price of silver skyrocketing, people are unwilling to purchase silver ornaments, said Pradip, adding that he would no more encourage his on to adopt the profession. Expressing concern over the plight of filigree artisans, Utkal Swarna Ropya Shilpi Sangha president Brahmananda Moharana said filigree artisans are in dire straits due to lack of State Government’s sponsorship.
“Government should come forward to help these artists who are now struggling to make ends meet. The Covid pandemic will also be further detrimental to the dying silver filigree craft if artisans are not provided any aid to deal with the crisis”, he said. Even as the State Government had planned to establish a filigree hub at Cuttack under the Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE), it is yet to be executed.