Wip craftdoc 2 by Sumit Patel

CHAPTER 2 | 22 - 31 Inspiration and Symbolic representation Mythological Inspiration Daily life Flora & Fuana

CHAPTER 1 | 6 - 21

CHAPTER 3 | 32 - 55

Introduction Inspiration to work with the Dariyapur Dhokra cluster Migration Location Transportation & Travel Flora & Fuana

Lifestyle of the cluster Daily routine of artisans Food Entertainment Clothing Ornamentation Animals & Birds

CHAPTER 4 | 33 - 75

CHAPTER 6 | 110 - 119

Rituals and Beliefs Marriage God and Celebration Language Old stories

Tools and Equipment

CHAPTER 7 | 120 - 127 Panchayat

CHAPTER 5 | 76 - 109 Raw materials and Process Raw Materials Process Modeling Casting

CHAPTER 8 | 128 - 135 Market

Chapter 1

Introduction

Tiny pebbles along river banks, water flowing through tiny streamlets creating the subtle mystic blue all around, tree barks some withered and some young, rocks that form ranges and stand so high are some of nature’s splendid gifts to man. As gentle they seem on the outset, they are harmoniously tough and resilient on the inside. One such similar resource of nature is metal and the various ores that find a repeated conscious and unconscious existence in our lives. Amidst its inevitable industrial existence, a niche form of its presence is in a unique craft of casting the metal brass into figurines with intricate detailing, popularly referred to as Dhokra casting. The craft of lost-wax casting also referred to as Dokhra casting is an ancient one in India. It appears to have existed with an uninterrupted tradition from the earliest days of settled civilisation in our sub-continent. Dhokra is an ancient craft that dates back

to 4000 year and is commonly referred to as Lost Wax Casting. A significant nucleus of the craft clusters are found in certain parts of the country. These groups of nomadic craftsmen, scattered over Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh (now Chattisgarh) in India, applied themselves to create a variety of beautifully shaped and decorated brassware products created by the cire perdue or ‘lost wax’ process. The traditional themes of these cast metal sculptures include images of Hindu or ‘tribal’ gods and goddesses, deities riding elephants, people around bowls, figures of people, musicians, horse and rider figures, elephants, cattle, animals and birds. Two raw materials that form the foundation of any Dhokra casting are brass and wax. Ironically, both these materials complement each other in the process of casting, but are radically opposite in their material properties, one being one of the toughest materials’ and the other soft, tender and frail. This delightful realization struck upon us after spending twenty one days in the cluster with the Dokhra artisans and seeped in gradually, but forever.

Inspiration to work with the Dariyapur Dhokra cluster

One of the most spontaneous observations that people have about the things around them, is the touch and feel of surfaces. It is vital to understand the value of surfaces in terms of their physical and visual appeal and effect on the observer. The craft of Dokhra casting has its independent and unique characteristics & qualities as it travels across state borders. The castings in Chattisgarh, former Madhya Pradesh, are larger in size with a small amount of detailing and more simplicity in terms of surfaces, than the ones found in West Bengal that are intricate, focussed on all smaller and larger details that are an outcome of the inspirations, from the day to day lives and stories of the craftsmen.

With our inclination towards studying and understanding the beautiful surfaces and the techniques used to acquire them, we were extremely motivated to study the Dokhra craft of Dariyapur West Bengal. Beside the forms and characteristics of the craft, we also wanted to probe deeper into the influence of migration on the craft and the society of the craftsmen, the economic impacts it had and the reasons that led to the cluster being recognised as a scheduled caste than a scheduled tribe, which was their believed origin. Interestingly the various forms of inspiration have their roots backs with the roots of the village inhabitants

Migration

The dhokra artisans do not, originally, belong to Dwariapur, Pashchim Bangla. They have never been the permanent residence of the place. Stories from their forefather, transferred verbally are a sort of testimony that they are nomadic in nature. Their origin, as understood is from Vastar, Chhattisgarh. This respective set of people initially moved to Orissa. Due to their long stay in the region the people gradually adopted the culture and language of Orissa. Slowly, they spread over various portions of Pashchim Bangla, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar etc. Particularly in Bengal they moved to districts like Bankura, Burdwan and Midnapur. We chose selected Dokhra of Burdwan, as they have a colloquial history and background of changing their location for betterment and primarily for their livelihood. They have also changed the location in same district repeatedly. It is estimated that the artisans arrived in a village near Galsi in Burdwan district, around 1942 which hence are regarded as their first footprints in Burdwan. They came here when India was parallely facing a tough time in terms of national tension and the disrupting British rule with the vibe of independence blowing in the air all over.

It was in this situation that five artisans arrived here and their names are: a. b. c. d. e.

Manohar Hem Rajani Babulal Nagendra.

They were economically unsound and landless people. They were searching for a place where they could settle down for better habitation without leaving their traditional occupation. Their craft was in a dying condition, when they were shifting from their homeland. Galsi, they found was a region with suitable clay for moulding. It is said that the local zamindar (landlord) was impressed to see their Jatra performance (a theatre. Especially by Manohar was the leader of the theatre. As a result finally they got a small strip of land in Dwariapur, prior to which they had spent some days near a liquor shop and then a cremation ground. After the fortunate incident of land allotment by the zamindar , they got a place for their residential stay and work, without having to pay any rent, in Dwariapur.

Location

Dokhra artisans are found in Bankura, Birbhum and Purulia, three major regions of West Bengal. We narrowed our focus on the Dokhra metal casting craft, being practiced in Bardhaman district. Our destination was Dariyapur, a small village at a distance of 2 hours from Bolpur (Shantiniketan). The village Dwariapur is in Ausgram-I Development block in Barddhaman district. Its location is 12 km south-west of Guskara. Shantiniketan is 25 km away from Guskara. This distance is covered in 25 minutes by a local train. The adjoining villages of Alulia, Lakshmiganj, Jadavganj, Gonna, Bhatgonna, Aligram, Deyasa and Gopinathbati are located within a paddy growing belt in the various subdivisions of this district.

Transportation & Travel

The travel is extensive and stimulating, for there are enormous natural treasures that get unveiled all along the way. The varied flora and terrain that changes gradually from region to region and the uniqueness of the sky stirs ones spirit to explore the mysteries of the journey that lies ahead. Green fields, dry lands, flowing grasses, yellow dots created by flowers in the midst of nowhere are a few of the unexplainable visuals that one cannot miss. The sun shines upon the flowing waters making it look like tiny mirrors floating from bank to bank. All of this is just a fraction of the funnelled view one gets from the window of the fast moving train heading towards West Bengal. 17

Travel track from New Delhi to Kolkata Kolkata is extremely well connected by the Indian Railway network. Air transport is also a convenient way to commute as Kolkata has both, an international and national airport. This turns to be an advantage in linking the entire country to the state. New Delhi to Kolkata is a 17 hour journey by rail, where one covers a distance of 1450 km. The other key metro and semi-metro cities that are extremely well connected to Kolkata are Mumbai, Ahmedabad Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Durgapur are some of the dominant cities one passes during the entire train journey. While travelling by train from New Delhi after crossing Uttar Pradesh & Jharkhand, one reaches Kolkata, West Bengal which thus is the beginning of the explorative journey towards understanding the Dokhra art and the cluster.

Village connectivity from Kolkata As mentioned above, the respective â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dokhraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cluster is based out of Dariyapur (village), Bardhaman District, West Bengal. The key landmark city to begin the travel towards the cluster is Kolkata, West Bengal. Regular local trains from Kolkata are the most convenient and economical mode of transportation till Bolpur (Shantiniketan). Due to convinient railway connectivity, a local train from Bolpur to Guskara, the closest town to the cluster is the best way to begin with. Reaching the cluster from Guskara often turns to be a unique journey. The public transport network is not very effective. The three prime modes of transportation are vans used as taxis, cycle rickshaws and a chakda a four wheeler passenger cart. It is open form the top and can accommodate about 8 people at a time. The structure resembles a bullock cart, with the bulls replaced by an automobile scooter. These elements, typical of this region, make the journey increasingly interesting and arouse curiosity.

Flora and Fauna

The recorded forest area in the state is about 11,879 km2 . This is 13.38% of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s geographical area. A Part of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, is located in southern West Bengal. The distribution of vegetation in northern West Bengal is dictated by elevation and precipitation. For example, the foothills of the Himalayas, the Dooars, are densely wooded with Sal and other tropical evergreen trees. However, above an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), the forest becomes predominantly subtropical. In Darjeeling, which is above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), temperate-forest trees such as oaks, conifers, and rhododendrons predominate. Wildlife in these protected areas includes the Indian rhinoceros, Indian elephants, deer, bison, leopards, gaur and crocodiles. The state is also rich in bird life. Migratory birds come to the state during the winter. The high altitude forests like Singalila National Park shelter barking deer, red panda, chinkara, takin, serow, pangolin, minivet and Kalij pheasants. In addition to the Bengal tiger, the Sundarbans host many other endangered species like the Ganges River Dolphin, river terrapin, estuarine crocodile etc. The mangrove forest also acts as a natural fish nursery, supporting coastal fishes along the Bay of Bengal.

With a gist of West Bengalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scenic beauty, the spirit of the people, the cultural richness and eagerness to explore the Dokhra craft, one can be rest assured, that the land will unravel a number of mysteries and tales of the artisans on working closely with them. Documentation of a craft brings about a metamorphosis in ones in our perpetual perceptions, processes that we follow, our conventional beliefs and understanding of human emotions. It enables us to empathize and think of feasible solutions for existing scenarios. It brings about in a person, humility and modestly. The entire journey of documenting a craft makes a person strong as one is unexpectedly exposed to numerous harsh realities of our own parallel societies, which we unconsciously neglect in our routines. The idea of documenting a craft, staying with the cluster as a part of the craft family is a tool that leaves our minds in a fertile state to think and reason constantly. It opens avenues for us to decide and make our professional choices that are inevitably lined for most of our futures. It is the one and only mean, that enables us to look deeper, observer, record, assimilate all that we see in a sensitive but unemotional manner.

Chapter 2

Inspiration and Symbolic representation

The human mind is highly impressionable. Our surroundings play a huge role in influencing our understanding of situations, objects, and people around us. Everything that we do is a result of our past memories and experiences. Some find a repeated existence in our daily life and some get washed away from our minds but they do get reflected in what we do, consciously or sub-consciously. Members of the Dokhra cluster do not have a history of receiving any formal education, but their knowledge is attributed completely to their practical experiences. These include the games they used to play as children, the stories they heard from their grandmothers, the farming techniques they observed, the travels that they undertook to new lands, the failures they experienced while at work, the joys of festivals, the learning of their own children and a number of other unaccounted elements. What we noticed was that the figurines of divinities made by the Dhokras usually conform to orthodox iconographic requirements in regard to the number of heads, eyes, arms and mouths. But in stylistic representation those differ widely from the orthodox iconographic types.

Their traditional themes are location-specific driven by the local culture and economy which include images of Hindu gods and goddesses, figures of the tribal people (adibasi), musicians, horses and rider figures, elephants, cattle and other figures of people, animals, and birds. Figurines of women dancing constantly reappear in their work. Beside these flat frames, attractive tree motifs framed in rich textured gold colored flames that accentuate the look of the pieces. The Dhokra motifs are inspired by indigenous folk culture. There is a primitive simplicity and imaginative use of designs and patterns. Untaught and unqualified academically, the artistic talent of the craftsman is instinctively evident are unbeatable. There are many stories related to their culture and traditions from which Dhokra craftsmen take their inspirations from. Some of them are as follows:

Mythological inspirations

The craftsmen of Dwariapur village worship many ritual deities like Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Krishna which are seen there. There is a Bengali proverb (baro maase tero paarbon)which means they celebrate thirteen occasions in twelve months. The fact is that the people of Bengal are more into celebration, so in this case idols are more in everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homes and lives. Their work shows their attachment with Hindu mythological stories.

Tribal people (Adibasi or maji er chhele): One of the artisan named Arun Karmakar explained that their ancestors came to Dwariapur, where there was jungle near the village and the local people mostly tribals were staying whose lifestyle attracted them a lot, so their daily activities are still shown in their Dhokra work like hunting birds and animals.

Daily life

The daily lives also vary from culture to culture and state to state. Inter-cultural differences, always bring with themselves a diversity in routines and lifestyles. The artisans consider this variety of routines as a mode of inspiration as well. For instance, in the morning children going to school, them reading books, some market scenes, cutting of fish, children playing in their motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lap, little ones accompanying their fathersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; till the market are represented beautifully in their work. Fish is an important item in the main course of the Bengalis. The artisans notice these activities carefully, picture them and replicate some of the gestures with utmost perfection, almost bringing the figurines to life. As these are the inspirations as well as an image of a person, so it becomes a marketing strategy for a dhokra piece, as everyone likes to see their own images reflected in an artifact. Fauna: Not only civilized human life style, the various details about the animal kingdom have also been introduced to them via Dhokra art, like the use of images of owl, swan, peacock, mouse, lion etc. They used to see domestic animal life around them made stories out of them. Owl plays a vital role. They are fond of Lakshmi Devi, and her medium is owl so in earlier days, people bought the Dhokra idol so this one of the ancient Dhokra piece.

Flora and Fauna

Flora is also an integral part for their inspiration. They take insights from the living world like moving leaves, flowers and transform it into shapes and patterns. This not just gets reflected in their work but also in their garments and ornaments. 31

Chapter 3

Lifestyle of the cluster

Daily routine of the cluster (artisans)

The cluster craftsmen are all artists. They have immense creative potential. They have ideas that they work on constantly, just to see them materialize into products. But the process has too many realms. The daily routine being the foundation all layers, is the one that envelopes the inspirations, ideas, possibilities, predicaments and limitations present in the lives of the artisans. On observing the Since from morning to night their everydayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s routine is same. They work in their home only. This is a group work of men, women and kids also. Each and every person has a different and important role in craft. The parents are playing both role parent and as well as teacher also. They are milestones, who are carry forwarding the tradition of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s craft via generation. There is no proper official training to teach them but now a day some people are taking initiative like Mr. Goutam from Bonobhilla gave training for 15 days. Especially the oldest artisan of the cluster Motor Karmakar, National award winner he trained a lot and stills now he gives training to develop new design. From the very first morning 5:00am they wake up and after get fresh they start work. Most of the males prepare wax and loban or make models and females start working with clay to make moulds or

layering the models with clay. About 7:00a.m female start making breakfast and serve to the family and by 9:00a.m they have it. Then again they return back to work. If firing is happening then by 10:00a.m male start firing and female help them. And some female prepare lunch which has to serve between 2:00p.m. The roles of the kids are, they are playing for the entire day, and Very few of them go to school. But some kids help their parents like to prepare clay or they are sitting beside their father to learn. After taking bath they take lunch. Female always take meal after male. And side by side they clean houses, clothes and other works. Then after lunch male take nap and if extra work is left then they work only for one hour. Then male play cricket or play card. Female normally gossip. Then in the evening male like to have alcohol. And then female are again start making dinner and then have dinner by 8:30p.m to 9:00p.m with enjoying television. And go to sleep end of the day. In the daily still some difference are there like woman are not allowed to cook to pray God during menstruation. Winter is season of this craft, so working schedule is changed because of the over work load. And in summer it is difficult to work in front of the fire and the fair is not happened during this time so the work load is less than the other time, so this is a relaxation time.

Food

As fascinating as it seems and the beauty the artefacts reflect, is not the mere truth of the livelihood of the Dokhra artisans. The prime reason is to earn their daily bread and butter, fuel of life needed for existence. As mentioned earlier, intermingling cultures do affected the food habits. Food habits more or less, depend on what is available in the land in terms of crops and the climate of the entire belt. As Bengal and Orissa are neighbouring states, there is a distinct similarity between their food habits, food culture and cooking styles. For instance, rice and fish are the staple diets for both the states. What one must remember is that the Dokhra artisans are originally the migrants of Chattisgarh. The influence of Bengali food is evident in their routine and cooking culture. There are barely some strains of their original culture visible in their recipes and choices.

The seeping in of the qualities of their environment is testimony to how quick and adaptive these people are. As much as the adaptability surprises us, it also reminds us of instances in our personal lives where getting used to new situations is the only resort. Where we see a major drift form their home cultures, what is noteworthy is the uniqueness that their eating habits and food culture have still managed to conserve. Bengal has various types of cooking styles varying from one district to another. The characteristic of Burdwan is that the food is juicier and low in its spice content. Spices are referred to as masala. Spices used are made at home and are used in varied concoctions. A paste of red chillies, ginger, garlic, mustard seed, cumin and sesame seed are amongst the common masalas prepared by them. They always cook their food in mustard oil. Use of refined oil, which they commonly call white oil, is rare. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the standard meals of their day, like in the other parts of the country.

Breakfast: Breakfast is generally served at around 8:30 to 9:00a.m, before the artisans begin working. At times due to the workload it gets extended to 10:30a.m, which is quite late for them. The breakfast includes the following • •

Tea known as chaa: They take tea with milk or without milk. The tea without milk is called raw chaa/laal chaa and the one with milk is called dudh chaa. As noticed amongst most people from Bengal, the artisans and their families do not prefer too much tea. Panta bhaat/ baashi bhaat: Here bhaat means boiled rice. There is a special way to prepare it. Earlier there was no refrigeration facility. People were left with no option other than to let their extra food get fermented and consume it later. Eating fermented food used to be extremely inconvenient. Do resolve this issue they would put water into the boiled rice, so the temperature fall down in summer months. Now in the morning they would have this soaked boiled rice as breakfast. Preparation and consumption of this dish is still practiced. In order to enhance itstaste they have would it with uncooked onion, green chillies and salt. Drowsiness was a side effect of consuming this dish.

•

Parsed rice /Chire, Muri: This is a variety of uncooked rice. Chire is white coloured and thin in its consistency. It is eaten with milk,sugar and sometimes common fruits like bananas and mangoes. Another recipe is frying the rice in oil that makes it stiff but not crisp enough to be called crunchy. Muri, in the same way is consumed with milk. At times it is eaten raw without any preparation. In that case it is simply mixed with uncooked mustard oil. It is white in colour and crunchy. It is generally prepared as a snack when eat raw as mentioned.

• Loochi: It is made of flour. It is a deep-fried flatbread made of wheat flour. It is fried in refined oil. • Ghugni: This is a spicy chick pea based dish. It is eaten with loochi.

Tiffin: In the Tiffin time they like to have Muri with oil and Beguni (brinjal fried with besan coating), aloor chop (stuffed potato fry) sometimes tea. This entertainment is also offered to us from a village shop that makes tea and these kinds of fry. Lunch: Lunch is important as it gives the artisan a window to take a break from his work. They generally bathe before lunch. They break from work at around 2p.m to 3p.m. Generally women make food for the entire family and serve the members as well. • Rice known as bhaat: It is the main dish and especially in lunch.

•

Neem er chhechki: This is a very special dish. It is prepared by using the azadirachta indica (neem) leaf. It is bitter in taste. Potatoes are stir fried in a utensil at low flame. They are then sautéed in the paste of crushed neem leaves. It is dry and sometimes had with rice. It is made repeatedly as it is considered to possess extremely high and vital medicinal properties.

•

Curry known as Tiyon: Cuuries apparently find a special position in their foods. They eat different kinds of curries, especially on Thursdays and Fridays. Some are like aloo posto (potato with poppy seed preparation), aloor daam(potato curry prepared in steam on a low flame).

•

Fish: Needless of a mention, it is included in the dailymeals. Different fishes are prepared differently. The enhancing ingredients are onions,tomatoes and a mustard seed paste. Some popular fishes are Hilsa, Prawn, Catfish, Rohu etc.

• Meat (chicken, mutton), known as mash: Cooked meat is generally spicy, just the way it is preferred. It can be chicken or mutton. • Pulses, known as Daal: They regularly consume musoor daal, but in especially they like gram one. • Chaatni: It is consumed regularly in summer. It is sweet and sour in taste. Mango chaatni is very famous, especially among the children. Chaatni is an important dish as it is believed to beat the heat due to the content of mustard oil. • Egg, known as aara: They have it mostly in curry preparation. Sometimes fried and boiled also. Dinner: The lunch and dinner is almost same. But they don’t prefer leaf kind of preparation in dinner. Sometimes they eat ruti (kind of a very thin baked bread made of flour) also but very rare. Dinner time is 8:00 to 9:00p.m. 41

Addiction: They like to enjoy their life with some habit, which is relaxation. Most artisans’ view is being addicted is not mistake, it is an entertainment to get relaxation from the work pressure. In any celebration they get addicted. The woman is also the follower. • Tobacco/ khayini: Men women both are addicted to it, especially aged woman like to have it with chert/ lime. •

Poachai moad/kaachi moad(kind of alcohol): this is made by them only. Very special kind of alcohol made by rotten rice of 2 to 3 days. It has typical smell of fermented rice.

• Betel nut/supari: As they have betel nut tree that is very easily available. And almost everyone have it. • Tiranga: this is available in packet. This is kind of a betel nut mixed with some ingredients. In working time they continuously eat. • Alcohol: some are addicted to alcohol like beer other also. But amount of this people are very less.

Source of food: There is a market close to the cluster. It is about 3 km away from where the artisans stay. They buy all the food items such are vegetables, fruits and other condiments and ingredients from there. On some days vegetable vendors from Gushkara visit the cluster. In spite of the fact that there are milk giving animals within the cluster, they do not indulge in animal husbandry. A milk man visits the cluster every day and people buy milk from him at Rs. 20/liter. The chickens and hen in the cluster are the source of both eggs and meat. In their leisure time they fish in a nearby pond called Jayguru. This pond is adjacent to the cluster and is a home for local river fish, which the people often relish.Trees planted within the cluster boundaries also act as a vital and convenient source of raw food. These include mango, jack fruit, coconut, betel nut etc. In a world where everybody is working conscientiously, towards the consumption of organic food and also making it the buzz word, here in the lap of nature, lies a small land cocooned and blessed with the riches of flora, that they too, probably, are blissfully unaware of.

Source of water: Water is essential to all beings. The government has worked on this cluster in terms of providing them with certain basic amenities. Amongst the most crucial ones, was the installation of bore wells in the cluster.People use the water from the bore wells for all their daily chores and activities. Water for cooking, bathing washing clothes and watering the plants is all taken from the wells.

Oven style (choolha): This is traditional style oven and is placed in the open i.e. their courtyard or under a temporary roof, but not in the kitchen. The oven is made up of a mixture of clay and cow dung. It has an opening on top and has four, hill like mud structures that make it easy to place the containers. At the bottom there still is another opening to add fuel. The overlay needs to be re-done every day.

Fuel: None of the families in the cluster use gas as an amenity in their cooking. The following are the fuels used: Coal /koyla: They make their own coal from cow dung and rotten leaves. This mixture is ground well and then turned into small balls of around 1 inch in radius. These are then dried in the open by spreading them on the ground. Once dried, they are ready to be used as a fuel. Jungle wood: They get it from the neighbouring jungle. The wood is cut and then used as fuel. Kerosene: Sometimes they use kerosene for better firing.

Entertainment

Entertainment is an act by which it holds the attention and engages them in a fun condition. After a long hectic day entertainment can drive mind towards the relaxation. The medium can be anything to enjoy. It can be a joyful activity and it can be distractive activity too. In this small cluster people engage them to get some excitement and the sources are:

Television: In many house they have Television technology with cable connection so they enjoy all kind of channels. And not only Bengalis serious they like to watch as well as Hindi also. Movies, series, news and especially they are fond of Bengali modern song. Not only elders, the kids are more into this, day and night they are singing these kinds of songs. As an incident one day we have also watched ‘Sholay’ with them. This is one of their favourite movies. The woman elder’s choice is always heartbreaking serials, and during this they constantly commenting on the villain and sometimes they can’t control tears. 47

Singing: The cluster gets many brilliant singers as a gift. The songs are about their life, some incidents which alive in their memory and now immortal in their song. Song of a story, song of a relationship which admires to listen more and more. The tune is so melodious without knowing anything anyone will be able to understand the expression. This song is in their language. ‘‘Utha – utha – beti kiri nao Uday bhalag Kaise kaise nidda nircanjan bhel Kaise bihan halag Maa tora kande rasaiyn baithe Baba tora kande sabhay baithego Charo bhaya kande chamra harke Ebar bihin pounchha lago.’’ Games: A list of game comes under this category. They are like board game, cricket, cards, catapult and etc.

Cricket: In the evening time young artisans and other people, neighbour of the cluster come together and play cricket; this is the best part to connect with other world and to carry forward the friendship.

Cards: Middle age people play card mostly. Sometimes an entire family is playing or sometimes a group of people are playing under the open sky. Board game: Young to middle all like to play board game. Sometimes they play a tournament also. Circus: Season of the Circus is winter and summer. They enjoy a lot even they book a car and group of a people will go by this. Three to four they go for same circus, especially kids are fond of it.

Catapult: Especially kids are like to play with this. And even they make it and play. They use it to pluck small fruits like: mango etc. and to target any bird or animal.

Mobile: Most of the young people have multimedia mobile set with connection though those are not from the renowned branded company but it has all the services. Not only to talk, they use it as an entertaining device also, they play song, playing games, clicking pictures. Not only young stars the little are also using this service. When the children start crying their parents gave the mobile let song play. Immediately they stop crying. Anything they like or to pass time they click picture then show to others.

Clothing

Women of Dwariapur wear saris as their daily attire, though unmarried girls wear suits in the village. Generally cotton in nature, the saris worn follow the cultural customs. They prefer wearing saris in bengali style called aatpoure. This style has less folds and tucks and easy to wear. It was observed that the saris come till ankle length. so that they can perform their daily activities with ease. Old women in the village wear saris without the blouse. Whereas unmarried girls wear suites with dupatta (a stole/scarf) and small girls, dresses.

Men in the village preferred wearing comfy garment so that they feel comfortable and relaxed while working. They usually wear dhoti (a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth wrapped around the waist) with t-shirt. Modern attires are being preferred by the young artisans of the village but the elderly still continue to wear their ethnical garment. Their style of wearing dhoti resembles a long skirt. It is seen that they usually use gamcha to tie their dhoti. Gamcha is a thin, coarse, traditional cotton towel that is used to dry the body after bathing or wiping sweat.

Ornamentation

Sindoor is red in color which is applied on the parting of the hair. Usage of sindoor by a woman implies that she is already married. They believe that wearing these could ward off bad omens. Whereas the men in the village do not flaunt any kind of accessories or jewellery. Though some of the men wear chains or one- two rings in their fingers. Tattoos were also observed among few artisans. Some do wear string of beads and stones as a necklace or armlet. Widow women do not wear shakha pola in their hands. Here women were seen wearing metal bangles and sometimes toe-rings too. Even children used to wear small beaded or chain necklace around their neck. Small girls look cute and adorable wearing bindi (a decorative mark worn by Indian women in the middle of their forehead).In general, the culture of Dwariapur displayed simplicity and straightforwardness in the way they ornament themselves. The distinctive appearance of Dhokra craft is due to its antique finish and rustic look - both of which are widely popular in domestic markets. Their aesthetic sense and skills have undergone a lot of evolution over these long years. Their ornaments and jewellery reveals the high workmanship of the artisans and their flair for innovation. Their works include: Bracelet, earrings, anklets, necklace, rings, armlet, toe-rings and pendants. Symbols are powerful expressions of human culture. They convey various implications by the people. Dwariapur women wear certain symbols of marriage, like shakha, pola, loha and sindoor. Shakha are white bangles of conch-shell and pola are red bangles made of red corals. Loha is a bangle made of iron It is worn only in the left hand. It may or may not be covered by gold. 53

Animals & Birds

In Dwariapur cluster, we noticed a lot of animal and birds. These included goats, dogs, hens, sparrow, crow, squirrel. During our stay in the village, we came across the birth of baby goat. The diet of goats incorporated almost anything, including husk and cardboard boxes. But the people used to feed them milk. Also, cock and hen roam around with their seven kids, covering the whole cluster. Besides these, birds like sparrows and crows were also seen.

Chapter 4

Rituals and Beliefs

Research before beginning the actual field work proves itself to be a critical source of understanding the backgrounds of respective cultures. Various state government documents help provide authentic knowledge about the path various clusters have had to tread before they actually reached their final destinations. This passage travel from one region to another is the outcome of various circumstances. This move from their own native homelands to another is known as migration. As per various references and verbal communication with the people of the Dhokra cluster, it seemed prominent that all the craftsmen and their families have undergone migration in some form or another. This makes them naturally, nomadic in nature. It is the tribal metal craft of Vastar, Chhattisgarh that has travelled different states and districts, like in Paschim Bangla, Burdwan and is today, popularly being known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dhokra metal casting craftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

On closer introspection it comes to our notice that the shift didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just pertain to a cultural and geographical shift but an unnoticed fact comes to the surface that explains the change in their identity. It is related to the identity transition that the migrants went through. As a part of Chhattisgarh, they were considered as a tribal community. During their phase of migration the government identified a serious issue that this group of people were destined to face. This was the loss of their identity as metal workers. There was a fear that they would slowly lose touch of their expertise and skill too.The central government of India notified them as a scheduled caste although they were originally recognised as a scheduled tribe in their native land.

Marriage

Movement from one region to another means interacting with new people, new cultures and new exposures. With this comes introduction to new professional alternatives as every region has its own opportunities. These may or may not be the same as ones homeland. Adaptability is the virtue that then enables one to sail through. Over a passage of time, a migrated group of people become a cluster, a cluster forms a part of a neighbourhood and a neighbourhood thus forms the foundation of a society.

One of the most important realms of society is marriage. We learnt that after widening geographically to several place in Pashchim Bangla, the metal smiths began to be known as the ‘karmakars’ or ‘kamar’. Karamakar which essentially means the doer, derived from the word karam. They made their niche in the society of craftsman and then universally. They explained that marriage to them is more than a means of taking forward the culture from a generation to another. The nitigrities may be tough to explain verbally but there are multiple realms that are noticed only visually on spending time with the people.

What is noticed is that both, the husband and the wife care deeply for each other in any and every fragment of life. Gender biases are close to invisible. The virtue of equality is what helps both partners to acquire their full status of being humans that are responsible and autonomous. Small instances like when the men are working on their daily orders the wives keep hovering around just to see whether their husbands are taking breaks regularly. They do this to ensure that the men do not inhale the smoke constantly. Around lunch they dotingly come and remind them to take a bath and the men abidingly follow. They keep bringing knick knacks to the work place from time to time. However the care and concern is

strongly reciprocated too. During a conversation with one of the craftsmen, Arun Karmakar was mentioning with great concern that in the summer their wives get a tan due to working outdoors. It worried him not because it concerns her beauty, but because of the discomfort it causes. What he tried to highlight was that the women work so hard so they do not get ample time to take care of themselves in terms of looks, which can be significant for a woman. This is just a mere example that shows how marriage transforms into a relationship that makes a spouse so concerned that it goes beyond physical appearances and is actually a strong long lasting bond.

Marriage traditionally was essentially carried out within their caste only due to similarity in their occupation. In Pashchim Bangla Karmakars are spread over several places and all metal smiths are referred to as karmakars all over the state. Mostly all the metal workers are distantly related to one another and marriages are carried out within themselves. The marraiges were tied up by the parents including selecting the boy or girl. However today we see the families getting more and more liberal. People are allowed to choose their own partners. An example in the cluster was Sanjay Karmakar married to a Bengali girl Priya Karmakar although she did not belong to a cluster of metal workers. Most men also have their wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s names tattooed on their arms reflecting the soul of their relationships.

In exceptional cases some of them had got married to more than one woman illegally. This is new to the community. In such cases the men have to abide by certain Panchayati laws put before them to lead a normal life in their existing cluster. which is informed by Panchayat that in case of domestic violence, if one is beaten up by a male will be charged by 1001 rupees as a compensate amount and in another case when a man gets married to more than one woman illegally, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s liable to pay Rs.5000/- as compensation to the first wife. Earlier the rule was different that in case of this kind of crime they are punished to stay in one house and not to socialize entirely to the society.

God and Celebration

Festivals in India are characterized by colour, gaiety, enthusiasm, prayers and rituals. India being a society of may religions there are a lot many festivals. Indian Festivals celebrated by varied cultures and through their special rituals add to the colours of Indian Heritage. Some festivals welcome the seasons of the year, the harvest, the rains, or the full moon. Others celebrate religious occasions, the birthdays of divine beings, saints, and gurus (revered teachers), or the advent of the New Year. A number of these festivals are common to most parts of India. However, they may be called by different names in various parts of the country or may be celebrated in a different fashion.

The Bengali proverb “Baro Mase Tero Parbon” (“Thirteen festivals in twelve months”) indicates the abundant of festivity in the state. In West Bengal throughout the year many festivals are celebrated. The festivals of West Bengal embody the composite and robust cultural heritage of India. Because of the diverse culture they believe in various idols from Orissa’s Rathayatra to Paschim Bangla’s Durga Puja, and many more idols in large manner. Some of the significant festivals and Gods that form an integral part of their lives are as follows:

Biswakarma puja: Vishwakarma Day is celebrated to worship Vishwakarma, an Indian god. Vishvakarma was the divine architect, and one of the fourteen precious things born of the Samudra manthan. The metal workers have not just been an integral part of our craft heritage but have also been a witness to the growth of the country. In certain parts of our country, metal workers claim their descent from the Vishwakarmas. The Vishwakarmas regarded, as the framers of the universe since eternity. Our mythological accounts are extremely vital in transfer of culture from one generation to another. They account for the fact that the Lohar community was created by goddess Bhavani. The myth goes that Lohar,, the black smith was made to discuss and kill a demon who extremely powerful. However the lohar was blessed by the

goddess and by proof, strongest and most resilient against all other weapons. What is surprising is that there are multiple texts that stand testimony of the might of the lohar and countless tales that appreciate and hail their existence. One of the legends says that once a mighty demon rose to power and drove away the minor deities from their celestial possessions. Taking pity on fugitive Gods, lord Shiva thus created a man to fight this demon. The man was sent down upon earth. He was completely equipped with the blacksmithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tools. Upon meeting the demon, the man challenged him to combat, defying him to enter his furnace. With customary stupidity, the demon readily compiled. The man began to bellows hard, but the stubborn demon refused to leave the furnace. In no time, his body was reduced to molten masses of iron, copper and other metals. This was the origin of metals and metal workers.

Kali puja:

Poush Sankranti:

It is one of the most noteworthy pujas’ among all. The puja is held only in the night, after sunset. The artisans organise everything within the cluster The idol of goddess Durga is installed with lush decorations around it. This is referred to as the pandal. During the puja they gather together to celebrate and to enjoy as they eagerly wait for occasions as they are a break from their monotonous routine. Though the scale of the festival is very minute in terms of their budget, but the thrill is at its peak. It is held in the monthof October or November.

It is celebrated in mid-January. This season is important as new paddy grows across the state. Rice is considered as a staple diet In Pashchim Bangla (West Bengal). This season is celebrated to express respect to the first grain of the year. It is also the time of the year when the people thank the lord almighty for bestowing his blessing in the form of the harvest. A large variety of dishes are made by using rice. ‘Ataap chaal’ is one of the most popular dishes. People enjoy the offset of winter with different foods made out of rice, both raw and cooked. They dance, they sing, they enjoy all the day and night. Mostly the people play the flute. This is a very uniqu flute. It is made using a leaf known as ‘patar bnashi’ .The people indulge in the celebrations and pamper themselves by buying new clothes.

Saraswati Puja: Saraswati is the goddess of education. This is festival is celebrated with great fervour in Pashchim Bangla(West Bengal). Now due to the influence of different cultures within the cluster, there has been a decrease in the fervour of celebration. It is generally celebrated in the month of February. The date is predicted as per the astrological calendar.

Poush Sankranti:

Lakhmi Puja (lokhhi puja):

Goddess Lakhmi is known as the giver of fortune and incarnation beauty. Sharad Purnima is known as Lakshmi Puja in Bengal. It is held on Kojagori Purnima, which is the day of the full-moon in the month of Ashvin. It is generally the around the month of October. Lakshm’s vahan is the owl, (pnecha). The owl has a key role to play in giving inspiration to a lot of artists in Bengal. This is undoubtedly reflected in the crafts of Bengal. Its influence is widely seen in Dokhra as well.

During this puja people enjoy the celebration practicing vegetarianism (in Bengal being vegetarian refers to abstaining from non-veg, onion and garlic).Thursday is believed to be the day of Lakhmi. So, the whole colony allots Thursday as a day of celebration by practicing vegetarianism and welcomes her with prayers and creating an Alpana (a painting decoration on floor).

Tulsi manch:

Anukul Thakur (a rector):

Like most cultures in India, tulsi is regarded as the purest and is worshiped as a goddess. Each day, both men and women water the plant, perform rituals such as lighting a lamp and offering a sweet, after taking a bath. However menstruating women do not perform the following rituals. Not only do they keep away from the tulsi but also refrain from entering the kitchen and touching the cattle, which the cluster particularly meant cows as cows are considered a vahan, i.e. vehicle of Lord Krishna.

He is not God but a holy soul who is very famous in Bengal. His main temple/ashram is in Deoghar, a village in Bengal. The cluster craftsman used to worship him widely. They would pray to him on Fridays by being a vegetarian. Sometimes to fulfil their wishes (manosik) they go to Deoghar, to offer their prayers. Manasa debi (goddess): She is regarded as the goddess of snakes.

Tulsi manch:

Anukul Thakur (a rector):

Significant Occasions:

Mukhe bhaat:

Saadh: It is the ceremony performed to bestow blessings over pregnant women also referred to as baby shower. The women in the cluster get together to perform this ceremony, in the presence of a local priest. It is performed in the 7th month of the pregnancy. Women from the neighbourhood, gift the pregnant lady with new clothes and fruits.

This occasion is celebrated when the new born baby consumes a grained food and fish for the first time. Before that the baby feeds only on milk with certain minimal supplements. This occasion held when the baby turns 6 months old. All the relatives come together and maternal uncle of the baby feeds the baby and the relatives bless the baby after the prayers, with sandal paste and paddy.

Language

Language is to speak, language is to express, and it builds communication between two banks of the core. At Dwariapur people speak in various languages. The Dhokra craftsmen brought this variety as a gift and gave this place a striking identity. The main language here is Bengali as it is in the whole of Bengal. However, in the cluster there is a difference observed from family to family. The craftsmen are travellers in nature. They have had experiences of different places and hence the diverse languages influence them a lot which is noticeable in their lifestyle. They are like the meeting point of two states i.e. Bengal and Orissa, through language. The artisansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first language is Oriya which is the main language of Orissa and second language is Bengali. In their daily lives, among themselves, they speak in Oriya and in Bengali with outsiders from Bnegal. Now days due to mixed cultural marriages they have begun to speak fluently in Bengali too. Bengali has now began to influence their ancient culture of talking in Oriya.

For instance: English Bengali Oriya Leaf Pata Potoy Mat Madur Majuri House Ghar/bari Ghar/Gharchu

Other than that they are comfortable wih Hindi, as they have to attend exhibitions and fairs in other states like Delhi, Mumbai and etc. This makes them bound to speak in other languages too. Sometimes English words also find a spot in their talking which expresses their urge to learn and connect with the world outside.

Old stories

Old stories always blink to generate a memory of pride history, a history of golden days. A reason to love the life again, a reason to love the sunset of life, a reason to spread breathe more and after within the future. White hair proves those are brilliant and immortal, those are identity of a culture. Those are still alive between two trembled lips to share with young blood. A full box of antique fragrance is spread over the culture to enlighten them, silently uttering to take the tradition forward, love them again, let them live again within our soul.

A story of hunting in Poush Shankranti: There was a time when this celebration was held in a slightly different manner with more ceremonies. Back then the people of the cluster were divided into gotras. ‘In the Hindu society, the term gotra means clan. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Pāṇini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram, which means “the word gotra denotes the progeny (of a sage) beginning with the son’s son.” The Gotras were Kerkata, kachap, choudhary, morol and nagpuriya. Motor Karmakar, the oldest male in the cluster and his entire family belong from Choudhary gotra. This is the upper class gotra and were known as the kings. On Poush Sankranti people used go the nearby jungle, hunting. They would hunt any small animal or bird and bring it to courtyard of the home. Then their wives greeted them by washing their feet with turmeric and loban mixed water. In the evening they cooked the chicken and had it with rice and celebrate the day by serving Hariya, a drink made of boiled rotten rice. There was another carnival part, where the person who would get the first mango bud was awarded with Rs 501/- from the king.

Rituals related to work:

Funeral (shraddho):

They pray to God every day before starting their work. This is done without fail at the place where they make wax models. This is done by offering Hibiscus flowers.A detailed prayer is done where the firing process is carried out, before the first firing of the week.

Funeral is a part of everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and everyone has to go through this. No one can avoid this being immortal. No immortality rises over a period of whole life, this is the transformation to the blank world. This is a celebration to respect that person to remember them and to give breath in the person again after death in our memory. Ceremonies, celebrations are made for get together to take some break from busy life, sharing thoughts, sharing life and gossiping. A prayer for the immortality of soul is the key element of the funerals.

There is no firing carried out on Thursdays because it is the day of Lakshmi Puja, so they start firing on Friday again. Early in the morning on Fridays, they pray to God with Batasa (white coloured sweet made of sugar), dhup (agarbatti), munda (one kind of sweet made of sugar), Narkel (coconut). The cycle of firing thus starts from a Friday till the next Wednesday.

This ceremony is different from the others. It is not for sharing joy and laughter but is the very moment when the soul has the liberty to leave the bloodless body, leaving behind memories to recall and to whimper for his or her nearest one.

Rituals after death: Immediately after the death the personsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; body is laid down on the floor with the head pointing towards the south. The family member clog the nose, eyes and mouth of the body with cotton and align the arms straight. A small lamp is always lit beside the body. Then the body is moved to the burning bank with the slogan of God (Bolo hari, hari bol) and parched rice and copper coins are sprinkled on the road, after reaching their relatives bathe the body and apply ghee on it. And sprinkle the water of the holy Ganges into the mouth for peace of the soul. After this the body is burnt.

After all this rituals, the close ones return back to their homes and almost for thirteen days the son and his wife have only boiled vegetables with Ghee (the food is called Hobishyi) and no oil. The food is cooked at home essentially in a closed room. What one needs to be particular about is that no one should watch the cook while the food is being cooked. The clothing for males is two pieces of a white dhoti. For women it is a white unpolished, raw saree with a red border. Shraddho is another ceremony that is held 13 days after the funeral. The males have to shave their heads bald and get their nails cut by the barber before the ceremony. Both men and women give the clothes they wear in the ceremony to the barber. The next day another ceremony motsyamukhi is held to include fish in a meal.

Chapter 5

Raw materials and Process

Dhokra metal casting is also referred to as lost wax casting. Brass, the metal used as the raw material, is non- ferrous in nature. The figurines and forms are made using â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lost Wax Techniqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. A very distinct observation that was made was that the Dhokra artisans are artists first and then metal workers. The most vital elements of design such as form, shape & size, scale with respect to environment, weight of the artifact, determining the surficial properties, come almost instinctively to all the artisans.

Talking of the history of the process, Dhokra is originated as a tribal craft. It was a combination of metallurgical skills and wax usage techniques. The forefathers of the Dhokra artisans were highly proficient in extracting the metal ore for brass and refining it to obtain brass which would further be used to practice the art. The ill-fate of the craft is hidden in the truth is that over the decades the art has lost one of its most astonishing strengths, which was the technique of extraction and refining of the ore into refined brass. The current practice is to use miscellaneous scrap of other metals available in the form of, used non-ferrous utensils or any other brass products e.g. candle stands, small boxes etc., which incidentally contribute to the antique look of the artifact. The metal used, thus is not pure brass.

Raw Materials

The basic raw material used for making Dhokra articles is brass as mentioned above. The village Dariyapur is approximately 12 km away from the closest town Guskara. All the required raw materials are conveniently available at the hardware stores and respective traders at the Guskara local market. In peak periods of work cycles, the artisans procure raw materials once a week. As the artisans have no personal mode of conveyance to procure the materials required, they cycle up till Guskara and hire a ‘van’ back home and interestingly transport their cycles back in the same vehicle along with the raw materials.

The average weight of raw materials purchased in a trip which is about 175 kg. The transportation cost of the ‘chakda’ (a four wheeler passenger cart) for 50 kg brass+100 pieces of brick: Rs.100 Certain raw materials are ready to use just the way they are purchased. Some of the other ones require processing and mixing with other components to give them the correct properties before the process begins. A lot of other raw materials are always procured from the surrounding environment of the artisans.

Brass (Pital)

Ghute (Dried cow-dung)

The Dhokra of West Bengal is unique to the exclusive use of the metal brass, which is the primary component of the casting process.

It is mixed with river soil, which allows the wax to melt out of the cast.

Costing (Rs / Kg) - 320

Costing (Rs / Kg) - 12

Mome (Wax)

Sohaga (Flux)

The wax used is candle wax. The beauty of this wax is that it breaks easily. It is then mixed with tar.

It acts as a flux which stimulates melting.

Costing (Rs / Kg) - 170

Costing (Rs) - 30 (for 250 gms)

Jongol er Mati (Riverside Soil)

Bhoosa (Husk)

It is obtained from the riverbanks. Jongol er Mati, means clay from the jungles. The clay got its name, as the people procured it from the jungle that had a river flowing nearby. This name was passed on from one generation to another. In due course of time, the jungle spread decreased and what remained was just the river. Today, the essence of the jungle is visible only in the name of the clay, which has remained unchanged over the years.

Husk is essentially dried grass that is shredded smaller into size for mixing purposes. It is mixed with the clay as clay tends to crack while drying if used alone. Cracking can lead to the breaking of the outer clay coating on the figurines. It also prevents the cracking of mould, during firing. Costing (Rs / Kg) - 5

Tar (Peach)

Koyla (Coal)

A dark, oily material produced by the destructive distillation of coal.

Coal bed is created during firing process.

Costing (Rs/Kg) - 100

Costing (Rs) - 10 - 11

Lal Mati (Red Soil)

Dhuno (Loban)

Generally this soil is available above the ant hills. Although it is river side clay still it is called Lal Mati. There are two rivers flowing through the village. One has greyish colored soil and another has red colored soil along its banks. Clay from both the banks is called jongol er mati. The clay comparatively reddish is called Lal mati. It is observed that certain chongs in the cluster have red layers.

Peach is added to dhuno to make it more flexible and twist it easily. Costing (Rs) - 250

Process

The craft is called Lost Wax casting, as the wax that is used, is lost completely, i.e. burnt/vaporizes completely in the furnace during the process of firing.

The procedure begins with making a model of the required product in wax. The wax model is an exact replica of the expected deliverable.

The process begins with the ideation of the form that has to be made. Most commonly, the artisans work on client orders. The client provides the artisans with colored, internet pictures and sketches of the required deliverable. The feasibility of the product development is discussed and decided upon before the model making begins. In certain cases the artisans provide the clients with limited prototypes, in order to bring about clarity in terms of the requirements .Once the design, patterns, textures, surface details and dimensions are finalized, the artisan begins with the multi-step process.

A very important component that we need to understand is the clay core. A clay core is a clay model of the product to be made. It does not have any detailing. It is mock-up that is same in dimensions as the deliverable.

There are two model making techniques for Lost Wax Casting: • • •

Solid casting - Where a solid piece of wax is used to create the model (entire required product) instead of a clay core, e.g. tribal figurines. Semi solid casting or mati casting – Where the clay core is capsuled within the details created by wax or dhuno. The clay is permanently trapped within the metal body of the product. Although this method is cost effective, it makes the product heavier. It gives the product a feel of being completely solid casted. However this is not disclosed to the consumer. Hollow casting - It is a more traditional method which involves the use of a clay core. The wax model/detailing and surfaces are then created on the clay core.

Making of key material for modeling Wax, one of the most important components, is not a ready to use material at purchase. It needs to be of a specific composition before the artisans begin making the models of the same. Wax needs to be mixed with certain other ingredients to get obtain its usable form.

Loban is a locally available material. It is hard in nature. Loban is sensitive to heat but it takes longer for it to melt than the other ingredients. Loban also forms an important ingredient of the masala of various other products such as dhoop and agarbattis. Scented varieties of loban also find their application in certain other industries. The variety of loban used for making wax and dhuno, for Dhokra casting is raw in its form i.e. not highly refined and is not scented.

Recipe of wax (local name: mome)

Process of making wax:

The ingredients of wax have a high sensitivity towards heat. This property acts as a key factor, for a variation in proportions of the ingredients of wax, in both summer and winter.

The first step is to heat loban. Loban is heated first because it is hard so it takes time to melt. This is done by heating the loban in a korai (utensil used over flame). Once the loban melts completely in the utensil, wax is added to it. The mixture has to be stirred constantly. The stirring is done with a pati. This gives the artisan a hot viscous liquid. Further, the mixture is sieved through a cotton cloth. Four people hold the cotton cloth from all four sides. The liquid being sieved is made to fall into a large clay pot which contains water. The temperature of the pot containing water is lower than room temperature. As the liquid falls into the pot of water the liquid cools down gradually, evenly and becomes harder. Dropping it into the pot of water makes the entire liquid coagulates into one mass.

â&#x20AC;˘ Recipe for wax (summer month) Yellow was (paraffin wax- yellow): 1.0 kg Loban: 1.0kg â&#x20AC;˘ Recipe for wax (winter month) Yellow was (paraffin wax- yellow): 1.0 kg Loban: 600 gm The function of loban is to make it the wax hard due to its own property of hardness as wax is softer and the model would collapse on use of wax alone. Beside its property of being hard, loban also takes longer to melt under the influence of heat. Due to this reason a larger amount of loban is used to make wax, in summer than winter. However, lesser use of loban in winter does not affect the wax models, as the room temperature is low enough for the model to survive for a few days.

Recipe of loban (local name : dhuno)

Process of making loban(dhuno):

Note, that tar is also referred to as loban, although loban is just a constituent ingredient in the entire process. Tar, black in colour is used to add texture, surfaces and features to the models. It is the same tar used in road constructions. Tar is hard in nature, but softens and begins to melt almost instantly in presence of heat. Loban however, is more hard and does not begin to melt easily when close to heat. In order to signify that the tar formed, is a material of high strength, it is referred to as loban. This is done as strength is an inherent independent characteristic of loban.

The process of making loban is the same as the preparation of wax. The difference lies in the substitution of wax with tar or mustard oil. However use of tar is preferred over mustard oil. Tar is extremely cost effective as compared to the use of oil. Moreover, it was observed that use of tar gives loban of a superior quality than oil, which is essential for model making.

â&#x20AC;˘ Recipe for loban i.e.tar (summer month) Tar / mustard oil: 2.0 kg Loban: 500 gm â&#x20AC;˘ Recipe for loban i.e.(winter month) Tar / mustard oil: 1.5 kg Loban: 600 gm

Modeling

Dhokra casting is carried out in an extremely systematic way. Each step is inter-connected to the next one and none of them can be by-passed. A lot of models have to be prepared before obtaining the final artifact. Prolonged working with wax and loban makes their fingers sticky, which they get rid of, by washing their hands with soap and water at certain intervals. The different types and stages of modeling pursued by the artisans are as follows: â&#x20AC;˘ Clay modeling (preparation of clay core to prepare model) â&#x20AC;˘ Wax modeling â&#x20AC;˘ Creating channels

Clay modeling (preparation of clay core to prepare model)

Wax modeling

A basic model is prepared by using roadside soil mixed with husk in appropriate ratio. A soft dough is made by adding water to it. A basic model of the required product is made and dried in the sun. For second layer, cleaned riverside soil is used. It is applied all over the dry model & again left to dry in the sun. The hard & dry model is filed & shaped with metal files to achieve a proper shape with respect to the specifications of the deliverable.

Wax models are also made in a similar manner. The wax model is an alternate to the clay core. The wax-core model is then wrapped with tar to give it a more ornamented and surfaced look. So for any piece, one of the two modeling (clay/wax modeling) is followed. Later decorative features are added with additional wax and loban.

Tar is essentially used to bring about the intricate detailing in a model. Thin tar threads are wrapped closely around the model. It determines the artistic quality of the work according to the design requirement. After drawing the tar into strips and then thin wires, the artist wraps them around the clay core to produce a replica. It is constantly taken close to the flame and removed instantly to make the surface smooth and to do away with any undulations as even slight heat helps soften the wrapped tar. The same method is used to join elements made out of wax and tar, to the model being created.

Note: Both clay and wax models of the required product are collectively known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Creating channels Construction of the channel is a critical step and an interesting technique too. A channel can be described as an extrusion of tar, which is connected to the model after it is completely finished. The channels, during the firing of the models in the furnace, act as a freeway for the molten metal. The channel is essentially made of tar. The channels are about 1.5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2.0 inches in length.

For firing of single products, each product has a separate channel attached. The size of the channel is dependent in the size of the model. A very unique technique is used to create the channels when there are multiple identical small sized products to be casted together. Then a wax tree is constructed, with the same number of branches as the products. Each branch of the tree is connected to a single product. Every branch acts as an independent channel for every product. This enables the artisans to fire these identical products together with a common single raw metal source.

Method of measuring metal, for casting The artisans have immense experience in developing a vast range of products. Their experience has contributed in sharpening their sense of judgment about form, aesthetics, material sensibility and measurements. Without any formal training for any of the aspects, their practical knowledge acts as their on school and guide. One startling example of the same is the technique used by the artisans, to measure the amount of metal that needs to be allocated to each chong, for each figurine. As explained by the artisans, the amount of metal required for the casting of each figurine is determined by pure observation only. Mostly the amount of metal for a figurine is equal to the size and surface area of the figurine. This visual analysis is carried out by placing the estimated metal quantity and the wax figurine side by side. Hence appropriate approximation plays a dominating role in the decision making process.

The cluster has a weighing balance and one weight of 500 gm. The artisan first weighs 500 gms metal on the balance. In order to weigh 250 gm, they remove the standard 500 gm weight and place the metal weighed (500 gm) on one pan. This leaves the other pan vacant. Then, they begin dividing the existing 500 gm metal into an exact visual half. The reduced metal is placed on the vacant pan, till the balance sways with both pans at the same level. This indicates the exact division of 500 gm into half, i.e. 250 gm. The technique is also helpful when only 250gm have to be measured for any particular figurine. As the cluster is small, their resources are limited and are shared among a large number of people. The main reason to divide or measure the metal in the above mentioned fashion is extremely unassumable. The artisans just happened to misplace their standard 250gm weight which incidentally is the general jam that most of land up in. What is noteworthy is the best that the artisans made out of the circumstance. It clearly exhibits their strong sense of logical thinking and analytical bent of mind.

Mould making (Local name : chong) The different layers of the chong are constructed as follows: Layer 01: The process of making the chong begins once the wax model is ready with all the detailing. A mixture of roadside clay and dry cow-dung is made. The artisans prefer roadside clay, as its organic content is comparatively lower than other clay. This has its advantages while the clay acquires the impressions of the model. Over the time, the people have observed that vehicles running over the clay make the grain size smaller. This process is slow and gradual. It is helpful to them as they do not have to crush the clay any further as it is already granular and ready to use. Before mixing it with cow-dung the clay is sieved a final time through a cotton cloth, locally called kani. This is the first clay layer on the model. It is then left to get sun dried. Note: The first layer is the most critical for casting the artifacts with accuracy. On drying, this layer takes up the impressions present on the models. The dried layer thus acts as a mould with the appropriate detailing in it, for the molten metal, that will flow into it via the channel, on firing.

Layer 02: The next layer is of riverbank clay containing silt. This clay is called jongol er mati which mixed together with sand. A thick coat is applied is on the same after the first dried layer. The sand is always sieved before mixing. The sieve used is the typical flour-sieve which we use in our daily lives. This layer is then sun-dried.

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Layer 03:

Layer 04:

This is the beginning of the making of the chong. The wax model is clad with multiple layers of clay before it is fired for casting. This clay structure that encloses the wax model with raw metal for casting packed in the same is known as a chong. It is a one-time use mould. The completed structure of the chong resembles a clay-clad body that has a bowl like structure on top of it which is packed with metal inside. The mouth of the chong is clogged with a cotton cloth, to prevent the metal from falling out. The cloth also acts as a separator between the metal and the wet clay, if any.

This layer is a mixture of jongol er mati and sand. It is different from the other layers due to its high sand content. Large amounts of sand used further contribute to making the chong brittle, which helps in breaking it faster after firing. Jongol er mati is used with sand as it is plastic in nature. The plasticity helps in creating larger chongs in a neat and clean fashion.

The third layer is the beginning of the construction of the chong. Before that the base is wound with a galvanized iron (GI) wire to add stability. This layer is commonly known as lal mati, irrespective of the fact, whether the clay is greyish or reddish. This layer comprises of a mixture of clay and husk. Use of husk makes it easy to break the chong post-firing. It makes the clay body brittle. It also makes the process efficient as it does not require a very high firing temperature.

The bowl like structure that creates the chong head, used to pack the metal for casting is made during the construction of this layer. The head is formed in two parts. In this layer only a semi-circular bowl is formed and made to dry in the sun.

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Layer 05: The same mixture of clay used in the layer above, is used to clad the entire chong from top to bottom, including the cover of the semicircle. There is a very small opening left in this circular structure which is about 1.5 inch in diameter. The opening is finally packed with a cotton cloth. In the process of firing the cloth and flux burns out leaving the mouth of the chong open for the artisans to poke the rod that helps to check the status of the molten metal.

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Alternate chong- drying techniques Besides sun-drying the chongs, the other methods used by the artisans to do the same are as follows: â&#x20AC;˘ At a distance less than 10 inches from a furnace where the firing is in progress. â&#x20AC;˘ Keeping the damp chongs close to burning cow dung cakes.

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Casting

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The furnaces are classified on the basis of structure and form. They are both traditional in approach. After the firing, the furnaces are dismantled and the bricks are stored in the household areas of the artisans, after they cool down. This is done to protect them from the effects of dew, rain and other climatic conditions. The artisans purchase bricks from the local market. The bricks available, range from Rs.5 to Rs.12. Mostly the artisans use bricks costing Rs.12 due to their superiority in quality. The bricks are re-used for future firings as well. The capacity of each one varies. The different furnaces are as follows:

Making of rectangular furnace: First the bricks are aligned horizontally side by side with certain gaps. The gaps are to enable the circulation of air for the firing. Then in the second layer, bricks are aligned horizontally onto the first layer. The cost of rectangular bhatti (one time use): Rs.450-500. The dimensions of the furnace are as follows: • Length: 54 inch (4.5 ft.) • Height: 11.5 inches • Breadth: 18 – 20 inches

• Rectangular furnace or Small (capacity: 10 to 12 chongs) • Circular furnace or Big (capacity: 22 to 25 chongs)

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Firing process: Further, the form of the furnace is enhanced by adding greater height to one side than the opposite one. This makes it easier to design the inner side of the furnace. Dry cow dunk (ghute) is burnt in the middle of the furnace. The burnt dung is then spread over the remaining area. Then a thick layer of new unused coal is spread over the base. This is the first layer of coal added to the furnace. Fresh coal burns well and produces a good amount of heat. Next, a layer of burnt coal is spread over the first coal bed. The burnt coal is obtained from previous firings. One batch of coal is generally used for multiple firings till it turns to ashes. This is done to make the process of firing cost effective.

All the Chongs are aligned horizontally so the mouth of each one is upright. The positioning makes it easier to check the condition of metal which the artisan does from time to time, as the moulds are being fired. At times dry cow dunk is sprinkled over the top layer to prevent a drop in temperature. This results in a release of excess smoke. Almost after two and a half hours the flame level needs to be checked. The melting status of the metal is checked by inserting a rod almost 3 ft. in length. The poking into metal helps ensure if the metal has melted or not. By now the wax has already got burnt out and the first clay layer has taken the impression of the details and shapes that were developed in the model. Making of Circular furnace: Generally this kind of furnace is not easily seen in the cluster,most of the time. Knowledge about the same has been gathered verbally from craftsmen. During phases of high product demand, the artisans choose to construct this furnace as a large number of artifacts have to be developed in a limited time frame. The capacity of this furnace is approximately, 22 to 25 chongs per firing. Dimension of furnace: â&#x20AC;˘ Length: 2.5 ft. â&#x20AC;˘ Diameter: 1.5 ft.

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This is essentially a brick furnace. The bricks are placed in a circular fashion at a gap of approximately 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2.5 inches. The entire structure is then raised to the appropriate height. There are gaps only between adjacent bricks of the first base brick layer. The rest of the structure is absolutely packed with bricks placed, touching each other. The outer wall of this structure is layered with a mixture of clay, cow dung and water, thick in consistency. This prevents the wall of the furnace from collapsing. Iron rods, 2.0 ft. in length are thus made to pass from one side of the circular brick layer to another. This is only done in the base layer. An average of about 12 rods is made to fit in. The base resembles that of a barbeque. The gaps from the ground are maintained to allow the passage of air during the firing. The rods are covered with cow dung cakes, till the rods are not visible. The coal bed is created on the dung cakes. There are two consecutive coal layers of new and burnt coal, respectively, that are made, before placing the chongs on them. Then same layers are repeated again after placing the chongs.

Further, three to four visually equidistant points, on the furnace wall, at the chong height are selected. Bricks from these selected points are carefully removed, without disturbing the entire structure. This creates cavities in the furnace walls. The chongs are now placed vertically, in such a manner, that the mouths of the chongs face these openings. These openings help the artisans to verify the condition of metal during the firing is in progress. This is done by inserting a rod into the mouth of a chong, through the wall openings. After firing the chongs are removed with the help tong from the upper opening of the furnace. One such firing cycle gets completed in about an hour. This is quicker than the rectangular furnace as the required high temperature is acquired faster, due to the reduced open surface area that is attributed to the cylindrical shape.

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Process after removal of chong from furnace (common for both furnaces) After melting the metal the chongs are taken out with the help of long-arm tongs. This is the most crucial stage in the process of casting. The moment the chong is taken out of the furnace, it is turned up-side down completely. This upturn has to be extremely quick, almost with the wink of an eye and requires immense skill to balance the chong in the neck of the tongs. The chong is reversed to let the metal flow and fill the vacant space which further takes the required shape with details imprinted in the first clay layer. After about 2-5minutes of the molten metal flowing into the spaces through the channel, water is sprinkled on it to bring down the temperature.

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Note: After the first layer of new coal, the second layer is of burnt coal. Cow dung has the property to burn for a longer time. The new coal on the burning cow dung, catches fire faster than the used coal would. It also produces larger amount of heat that rises upward. On the other hand, the used coal gets converted to ash rapidly. If used as the first layer, it would get extinguished sooner and thus stub the heat source. This explains the priority of placing new and used coal in their respective layers. New coal in the first layer, is also responsible for creating an equal dissipation of heat throughout the furnace.

Finishing and Polishing After removing from the furnace, the chong is cooled till it comes to room temperature. The chong is then broken gently by tapping at its surfaces. The artifact is taken out for cleaning and polishing. Files are used to clean the burnt clay and later filed gently. Then it is rubbed and cleaned. These finished artifacts are then polished using buff machine. A single buff attachment cost approximately Rs. 130/piece. It is understood that blackish colored product were more in demand in the past which give the products an antique look. It was a finish that was given to the products on demand, so use of a buff machine was not a popular practice. The transition seen today is that the customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; request for the golden sheen on artifacts, making the use of buff machine unavoidable.

A common predicament faced is that the products break, during the process of cooling the chongs and sometimes while they are being removed from the chong. The broken or damaged parts are carefully welded and the joints are filed to make the abrupt surfaces smoother. Another recent finishing that is being seen popularly in the products is an oxidized look, which is acquired by etching the pieces with acid. However, this is not a common practice among the cluster. It is done only on special client requirements. The market thus becomes a home for Dhokra products with varied finishing styles.

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Chapter 6

Tools and Equipment

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A tool is any physical item that can be used to achieve a goal, especially if the item is not consumed in the process. Tools use by humans date back millions of years. Here tool has been referred to a device or an instrument, esp. one held in the hand, used to facilitate a particular function. The Dhokra craftsmen of Dwariapur make certain instruments from their experience and understanding that help them in carrying out a task. Almost all the tools are made by the artisans either themselves or with the help of the local blacksmith or carpenter.

The tools and equipments can be divided into different segments according to the different process and steps of Dokhra casting. These segments are as follows: a) Making of key material for modeling b) Modeling c) Moulding d) Firing and Casting e) Finishing and Polishing

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a)Tools used for making of key material for modeling: • •

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Korai (utensil used over flame): It is used to make the appropriate mixture of wax and loban. korai is used over the flame as a container to melt and mix the two components. Pati (stirrer): The mixture mentioned above is stirred constantly. This stiring is done while it is being melted in the korai. This stirrer is called pati.

•

Kapi (a big cotton cloth): Kapi is used to sieve mixture that has been prepared. This is done so as to get a liquid of even consistency. It also helps to separate any dirt or unwanted particles from the molten liquid.

•

Clay pot: A large clay pot containing water is used while sieving liquid. The liquid being sieved through the kapi is made to fall in the pot containing water. This cools the complete molten mixture down which then turns into a huge coagulated mass. This mass is now ready to be used in the respective required process.

b)Tools used for Modeling: â&#x20AC;˘

Ketni: Ketni is a tool that is about 3.5 x 1.5 inches in height. It is a metal strip. It is made up of stainless steel generally taken from scrap. Its shape resembles that of a kidney or bean. This tool is used to cut a strand of wax or loban used for making a model. It is mostly used as a knife. However the large surface area has two essential purposes. It gives the artisans a better grip while working with it and the large surface area is sometimes run of patches on the wax models, making them smoother in texture.

â&#x20AC;˘

Fingers/hands: The beauty of Dokhra craft is that there is very little intervention of tools and industrial materials during the process. What goes un-noticed is that the greatest tool that the artisans use is their hands. It brings out the essence of how capable man is and even the most complicated, intricate and unique designs are developed by the use of hands and fingers only. The details that seem to get our brains working to figure how they have actually been acquired are actually the result of skillful use of hands and fingers only.

Use of fingers gives an impression to the wax/ loban model. The channels for the models for the easy flow of molten metal are also made by rolling the loban by hand. Drawing loban/wax threads that are used to add detailing is done by steadily heating and pulling the longer, is also done by hands without the use of any assisting tool or mechanism.

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c)Tools used for Moulding As mention above, hands and fingers play a vital role in the entire process of moulding and model making. Application of the layers of clay over the wax model is also done by hands. Another critical process is that of measuring the metal to be used for each figurine. A standard 500 gm. weight and a two pan weighing balance are used to measure the brass. The weights and the weighing pan are common for the entire cluster.

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d)Firing and Casting: â&#x20AC;˘

Iron rod: A long iron rod is used at the time of firing, to check the melting condition of metal by poking it in the open mouth of the mould. The detailed process is explained in the next chapter. The rod is made up of iron and is about 3 ft. in length. It is long enough for the artisan to get a comfortable grip and also helps maintain safe distance from the heat released from the furnace.

â&#x20AC;˘

Long tong: A long tong is used for gripping and lifting the chong (model) from the furnace. This tool has the capacity to withstand high temperature. It is made of wrought iron. The tong is about 2.5 ft. in length. It has a round mouth which helps grip the chongs when they have to be taken out of the furnace.

e)Tools used for finishing and polishing: â&#x20AC;˘ Filer: The filer used in Dhokra casting is the same as any other regular metal file. The Dhokra casted piece is placed on the floor or the artisan places it on his lap for support. This helps in easy filing of the artifact. The dimension of metal file being used in the cluster was (32x3.5) cm.

â&#x20AC;˘

Hammer (haturi/martul): A metal head hammer with a wooden handle is used to tap the pieces and separate them from their clay core. The hammer used by the artisans was 25cm in length and had an 8cm wide head.

â&#x20AC;˘

Metal weight(batkhara): It is iron weight that is used to weigh the metal before the casting. What was observed was that not a very wide range of tools is used for the respective processes. Often, a single tool finds multiple varied uses in different processes. Similarly, the metal weight is later used in a process after the casting. The figurines are placed on this weight to file and clean it. This weight then acts both as a base and support. It is approximately 6.5cm diameter.

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â&#x20AC;˘

Cold chisel (cheni): This tool is used often by driving with a hammer on a brass piece. The chisel is used to remove the deposited burnt clay from the figurines. The artisans used a chisel that was 10.5cm long and 4cm wide.

The cluster uses two buffs for this purpose:

â&#x20AC;˘

Buffing machine: It is used to polish the artifacts. It is also known as the polishing machine. It consists of a motor base and stone or cotton wheel attachments that spin fast to polish metals. They are run on electricity.

â&#x20AC;˘ Goggles: The artisans wear them for safety to protect the eyes and the area surrounding them. Goggles are essential in order to prevent small metal splinters and particulates from entering and harming the eyes, during the process of buffing as the artisan is just at a distance of about 1ft. from the buff.

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I.Stone Buff: This is used for a smooth finish of the artifact. II.Hard buff: The hard buff consists of stainless steel wires to finish and polish hard surfaces.

We observed that none of the tools are complex in nature. They are all tools that are conveniently available at any hardware store. Most of them were self 窶電esigned by the artisans themselves. The noteworthy fact in the indigenous tools was that all of them were ergonomically designed. Although the artisans are probably not even aware of the term and importance of the term ergonomics, but all their self-made tools reflected that element greatly. The tools were simple in form and were not difficult or uncomfortable to use and almost any angle. Prolonged use also was not a problem. We realized that certain virtues of design come innately to them and must be attributed to their rich experience of generations, consistent working patterns and dedication. A true example of their human sensibilities was the way the tools were shared and used with responsibility along the entire cluster.

Not all artisans had all the tools. There was this unsaid mutuality amongst people regarding sharing of tools. People used the tools with utmost responsibility and returned them after cleaning them, to whoever owned them. This happens harmoniously and everybody treats every tool as a resource that they need to take care of. This leads to maintenance of contact amongst various people. It was seen, that since everybody had a symbiotic relationship with the other, most of the people were extremely humble and helpful. The buff motor wheel for instance was commissioned to the cluster by the government as a part of a workshop that was help in the cluster. It is common for the whole cluster. Everyone has their own attachments for the same. However, the responsibility of the machine is vested upon the entire cluster. Due to this mechanism, all the tools and machines are never mal-used and everyone takes sincere ownership of all the assets.

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Chapter 7

Panchayat

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Panchayat is a village or small town council in India. After visiting the entire village we went to Panchayat. From there some information is collected. They are the talented identity of India and as well as of that place. Government preserves them by providing many facilities. As an identity they have voter identity card and Artisan Photo Identity Card provided by Office of the Development Comissioner- handicrafts (Ministry of Textile).

The chief of the Panchayat is Mrs. Monika Goswami. This survey report is done 01/14/2012 to 31/03/2012 by Panchayat on Accommodation facility: • • • •

Land: without rent. Cluster area 6 bigha. House: 30 cemented house. Others are hut but they get money for accommodation but not house. Washroom: 4 washrooms are provided those are cemented and tin door. One Indian pans in each washroom no other facility like water supply inside the washroom. Tap: there is are bore wells provided to enable supply of water in the cluster.

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The cluster: Family population

Ratio of birth and Death: 72 250

In Dwariapur: DESCRIPTION DWARIAPUR family 615 population 3004 male 1538 female 1466 Total S.C. 1189 Male S.C. 596 Female S.C. 585 Total S.T 344 Male S.T. 163 Female S.T. 181 Total children (0-6) 405 Male children (0-6) 191 Female children (0-6) 214 Forest area 327.87 acre

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Birth and death both has to be registered within 21 days to the local Panchayat and after 1 year respective certificate has to be collected. Ratio of 1 year according to official registration: Total birth 49 people Total death 58 Male 27 people Male 35 Female 12 people Female 23

Physicians: This is provided by Panchayat but the hospital is situated in Gushkara where people go for their big issues and especially for pregnancy check-up and delivery. And other hospitals are also nearby like Bana Naba Gram, Dignagar-1. Homeopathy Centre Post Timing Arindam Khna Doctor Started 1:00 p.m Dipak Konar Compounder Closed 6:00 p.m Allopathic Centre Post Timing Sourav Ghosh Doctor Started 1:00 p.m Badal Chandra Compounder Closed 6:00 p.m

Centre for health Conscious: ICDS and Health department centre ICDS and Health department ICDS and Health department

Gopinathbati Bauri para Sub Sukanta pally Sub centre Dwariapur Bauri para Sub centre

Education: In Dwariapur the education culture is mixed. Like some people is teacher, professor, LIC agent etc. But scenario is very different. In earlier day 4th standard is maximum level. But now it has increased and only one boy is in 10th standard. Educated Male Female

10-12 % 7-8 people 10-12 people

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Other developments: In Dwariapur the education culture is mixed. Like some people is teacher, professor, LIC agent etc. But scenario is very different. In earlier day 4th standard is maximum level. But now it has increased and only one boy is in 10th standard. Category(inch) Within 3’’ Within 6’’ Within 12’’ Within 15-24’’

Weight(gm) 250 500 1500 to 2500 2500 to 5000

Weight final(gm) 100 to 200 Approximate 400 1000 to 2000 2000 to 4000

• Free electricity by West Bengal Board of Electricity Co. Ltd. • 1 rice mill. • Other job provided by Government: 100 days.

100 days job is an important part time job in off season. Panchayat include some people instead of money. The work is to digging, road making, construction etc but it is not a permanent job, they hire people on the basis of connection.Male and female both can join. The salary is fixed, 160rs./day.

Future planning: • • • • • •

More Concrete Road. Make an entrance with the name of Dhokra craft. Increase the order and Government help of Dhokra craft. Increase the education ratio. More quick reaction as a reply to the arrival problem regarding services. More loan facilities.

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Chapter 8

Market

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Order placing: Situation from earlier perspective: In this scenario there was a private office named Dwariapur Dhokra Office, it is initiated by the craftsman of the cluster, it was in working condition for 20 years, but now unfortunately it is closed from 5 years. The in-charge of the office was Mr. Sidheshwar Banarjee, from 10 months he didn’t get any salary. This problem is arrived because rate of the order was decreasing day by day and by the end of the day they were not able to provide proper salary to the artisans. The work process was the client will directly contact with the in-charge of the office and he will distribute the work to the entire artisan’s family. And per month they got salary. And the amount was quite well than the current condition because all were involved but now client contact to the artisan whom they know so the respectively the order placed to their relatives only, not to the entire cluster. And another difficulty is whatever client charges for the order artisans agree without any argument because they are devoted to Dhokra, so no other option is left for them.

As it is discussed before, now many groups are involved and even ways are also different. • • • • •

NGO got the order from any emporium then contacts to the artisan. Artisan and NGO shall decide the rate. Then the artisan distributes work to the family and relatives. Sometimes emporium has the direct contact to an artisan. In the case of exhibition and fair they contact with the cluster because order is large. In fair, artisans also go as a seller and made artefacts there only with their raw materials. In puja or festival they contact to the artisan and hire them for a certain time, and after work they come back. In a case of local market or nearby market, the shopkeeper has personal contacts to the artisan to order.

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Market area: • • • • • • •

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Emporium: Government or non-government. Like Bangashree, Majusha, INDIRA Gandhi Bhavana they have given order of seventy three thousand. Project of One lakh twenty five thousand rupees with accommodation, food and vehicle rent from Bangashree. Job under NGO: some people work in Orissa in NGO as a job holder. Fair in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and etc. Sometimes people like the wax model also, they buy it in higher price. Now the high rated market is Shantiniketan fair, Poush mela in winter season. Local market and Amar kutir emporium in Shantiniketan. Delhi Hut, Delhi Pragati Maidan, Bombay bazaar, Bombay Hut, Kolkata Science city- these are the place where they have to go often.

Achievements: â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

In Saraswati puja festival Asaam Karmakar got an order of five thousand rupees to make idol of Saraswati idol. The famous actor Mr. Mithun Chakraborty came there and appreciated him for his brilliant work. And he got a ticket to see the program also from him. In Kolkata, Behala a group of 20 artisans went there to make a 6ft Durga idol, so everyone got five thousand rupees each where the cricketer Mr. Sourav Ganguly and his wife Mrs. Dona Ganguly came there to see their work.

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Products: There is an example of earlier and current products: Examples of earlier products Pai Hindu goddess Lakshmi Hindu god Narayan, Ganesh, Jagannath Small elephant Owl Bell for worship (ghanta) Anklet for live stock (ghunur) Pradip- pancha pradip, Fruit tray, Solid plate, Bowl, container

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Examples of current products Folk figures Hindu goddess Lakshmi, Durga Hindu god Ganesh, Krishna Small elephant Story telling plates Different animals Jwellery: neck piece, bangle. Mouse Inspired by daily routine: cutting fishes, reading book etc

Product categorization according to material and height: Category(inch) Within 3’’ Within 6’’ Within 12’’ Within 15-24’’

Weight(gm) 250 500 1500 to 2500 2500 to 5000

Weight final(gm) 100 to 200 Approximate 400 1000 to 2000 2000 to 4000

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