When we go on vacation we visit the sights, try the local cuisine, and buy a few souvenirs.
I have my share. Papier mache Masks from Nepal. Brightly colored wooden animals from Oaxaca, Mexico. Intricate miniatures from Bali.. All handicrafts bought from a souvenir shop in some tourist town.
But on a trip to Dhenkanal in the eastern Indian state of Odisha recently we saw the hands that make the craft. Our friend Milena led us into the home of a weaver.
MILENA1: So there are different looms in this house, come in come in, this is a frame, room, these are all handloom
This is Sandip Roy in Dhenkanal
Odisha is famous for ikat weaves. Its a resist dyeing technique, a geographically tagged product of the state, a way to dye textiles with patterns, the forms deliberately feathered, the edges almost hazy and blurry.
In Nuapatna where we went almost every home resounds to the clickety clack of looms, some of them operated by foot pedals
LOOM NOISE
Anamika Debnath who teaches at the National Institute of Fashion Technology points out the footwork as the weaver ties and dyes the yarn, making designs of birds and fishes, turtles and lotuses.
AN1: two sets of yarn, third set goes in. Motifs Turtle. I can see turtle.
One weaver shows off a labour of love. He is recreating the patterns inside the famous ancient Jagannath Temple in Odisha. Photography is prohibited inside the temple, so he goes and memorizes one panel, comes out, draws it and then goes back and memorizes another panel. In 3 years he has done about 18-19 inches. He thinks It will take him 15 years to finish
WEAVER1: Puri temple. Athara unish inch yoga. Teen saal ho gaya
Another one shows the life of Buddha painstakingly woven by hand. Look the weaver says, it shows how the Buddha had a dream. How his mind changed after he met a king and a beggar , an old man and a mendicant.
WEAVER2: , Samrat, bhikhari, buddha aadmi, shob leka rsadhu. Mind change ho giya,
Silks with elaborate patterns like these have taken several years to weave and won national awards. But they are not displayed in museums. They are just kept at home.
Painstakingly handwoven, now they are also using natural colours. Yellow from turmeric, Blue from indigo, dyes from lac and jackfruit trees. And one that’s maroon on cotton but blue on silk.
WEAVER3: yeh jo colour hai cotton mein maroon, silk mein blue aayega
The weavers village is well organized, the master weavers know how to roll out the carpet for tourists, giving us a little tour spiel and then finally bringing out the saris and fabrics tourists can buy. Their smartphones accept digital payments.
At another village nearby, the story is a little different. These craftspeople specialize in dhokra, metal cast in brass using the lost wax method. Initially this was the forte of a nomadic tribe.
As soon as we walk into this little village, they start putting out their wares. Human figures, dogs, elephants, gods, lamps all looking as if made with with an intricate web of wires. Anamika Debnath explains
AN2: they will melt it, thats why its called lost wax, one hold, liquid thing will come out, there is one point where you need the sand
These are humbler craftspeople. The houses are more like shacks. Chickens wander around. They display their wares on a sheet on the ground.
Sarita Pradhan sitting by her dhokra objects says its slow painstaking work with many stages.
DHOKRA1: Mom hua. Mitti diya woh bhi sukjha, bhaut kaam bahut time laga
They live where they work. Its hard to tell whether someone is cooking dal or melting wax. The coal or wood fired stoves are used for both. No one has a smart phone. Digital India seems far aware here.
But even amidst the old school tradition there are signs of the new. Like the turtles on the Ikat saris there are dhokra turtles here too. But this one is holding a coin.
It comes from no ancient Odisha tribal tradition but Feng shui. Even this little village is learning that handicrafts have to move with the times with an eye on the global market.
SHOPPING SOUNDS
I pick up a dinosaur that seems to be eating a man. Not very traditional but sometimes thats what you need for old handicrafts to find new lives.
This is Sandip Roy in Kolkata for KALW