BHUBANESWAR: His art studio at Pokhariput resembles a mini potters’ village replete with sculptures of mythological figures. Amid the earthy fragrance of wet clay, artist Saroj Kumar Rout works on a potter’s wheel installed on the premises, attempting to revive the lost heritage of traditional terracotta craft and creating masterpieces in the process.
One such masterpiece is ‘Nabakalebara Nandighosa Rath Yatra’ which was the biggest draw of this year’s Mruttika exhibition that concluded on Thursday.
Unique about the 3.5 ft tall and 2.5 ft long intricately designed work is the artist’s craftmanship showing all the rituals related to the Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannath, beginning from handing over of the ‘agnyamala’ to Badagrahi of the deity to Brahma Parivartan and Nabakalebara Rath Yatra.
Known for his life-size artworks in both ceramics and terracotta, ‘Nabakalebara Nandighosa Rath Yatra’ is the third creation in Saroj’s series on Jagannath Culture.
The first was a 3-ft high replica of Nandighosa chariot of Lord Jagannath which fetched him the State Award by Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi in 2017.
“This Nabakalebara Nandighosa Rath Yatra work is a refined version of my first work”, says Saroj, who is currently a supervisor at the Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi here.
For the sculpture, he used a special variety of terracotta clay and refined it several times to improve its elasticity before beginning work on the design four months back.
Last year, Saroj had created another masterpiece - wheel of a Rath Yatra chariot. The 7-ft high sculpture depicted all 32 besha (costumes) of Lord Jagannath. Mastering the craft for over two decades, the 39-year-old uses muted colours in all his works to bring out the beauty of clay.
A native of Marsaghai in Kendrapara district, his relationship with clay began at an early age. He started pottery after completing his matriculation and joined State Institute for Development of Arts & Crafts (SIDAC) to learn the basics of the craft.
A 2008 alumnus of the Dhauli College of Art & Craft at Bhubaneswar, Saroj did his masters in sculpture from Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, in 2012. At a time when pottery artists are switching over to contemporary issues, Saroj believes in blending his craft with tales from the mythology.
He will soon begin work on his next piece of art - Rath Yatra of the Trinity. Through terracotta, he plans to create the entire Bada Danda (Grand Road) of Puri showing the Jagannath temple with the three chariots parked outside the Lions Gate.
“My series on Jagannath culture will continue and with my next work, I am aiming for the National Award”, said Saroj.
