UAE | Heritage and Culture

A treasured heritage

Among the rice paddies of the Bastar district in rural India, e-mail inboxes ping with the arrival of bell metal art commissions from around the world.

  • By Chitra Ramaswami, India-based writer
  • Published: 00:07 July 4, 2008
  • Friday

  • Bell metal is an ancient Indian art, in vogue long before the Harappan civilisation.
  • Image Credit: Photos by Chitra Ramaswami
Image 1 of 4
1234

At first glance, it looks like a mundane soda opener and you wonder why it should cost the fancy price of Dh30. On closer inspection, you'll find intricately sculpted figures of Jhitka and Mitki, the adivasi or tribal man and woman. Keep browsing, and you will spot an ashtray that relates the fable of men making merry.

Further along, a walking stick speaks volumes about the community that has given it life and shape.

We are in the land of bamboo, bell metal and terracotta crafts. Looking at the blue-white, brick and thatch huts nestled in expansive rice fields in a remote tribal area of central India, the last thing one expects to find is the internet. But this is Kondagaon village in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, one of India's infant states.

The hamlet and its surrounds are savouring the fruits of success, thanks to some of their bell metal craftsmen, a handful of whom have had no formal schooling but are computer-savvy and use the internet to stay in touch with their clients at home and abroad. Thanks to them, Indian village art has gone global, making its way to fashion stores all over Europe and the US in particular, and stirring fascination among world art connoisseurs.

The artisans are crafting a variety of creations to cater to small, but niche export markets, acquiring knowledge of the latest product designs from abroad. They have become shrewd enough to change their product line to create a rich amalgam of the traditional and contemporary while at the same time maintaining standards of high quality to cater to these choice customers.

We enter a room that is obviously a workshop-cum-storehouse, scattered with a range of artefacts of all sizes and shapes. What arrests our attention is the story-telling quality of these works.

Just like the soda opener and walking stick, there's a candle stand that narrates the tale of a tribal man, feverishly beating drums with two huge sticks to scare away animals, or perhaps usher in a festive event.

While most of the figurines are essentially traditional and ethnic, the contemporary modern creations reveal the villager's discerning and adaptive disposition too.

The master craftsman

There are over 10,000 families in Bastar that depend on crafts for their living and bell metal art or Dhokra or Gadwakam metal craft is one of the foremost styles. Internationally renowned master craftsman Jaidev Baghel is the man who has done his village proud with several State and National awards to his credit – including being conferred a Doctorate by the Ravi Shankar Shukla University, Raipur in 2003.

In fact, his name is almost synonymous with gadwakam metal craft (bronze metal casting), both within India and overseas.

In 1976 Baghel won the first prize in the State Award Competition of Madhya Pradesh Government. In 1977 he received the National Award for Master Craftspersons from the President of India. He was the youngest recipient of this award at that time. And then began the rain of awards and more exhibitions around the world.

The first craftsperson to display bell metal art abroad, Jaidev began attending a spate of workshops and seminars on metal casting in India and outside. In 1979 he was sent to Moscow, Russia for three months to conduct workshops and lecture demos.

A mighty opportunity presented itself to him during one of these workshops when he came in contact with an ethnographer from the Australian National University who showed profound interest in the traditions of the Gadwa community of Bastar. Baghel received an invitation
to Canberra where he demonstrated his art to the students of Canberra School of Art. Today his crafts are exhibited in museums and galleries all over the world.

Jaidev's innumerable solo and group exhibitions across the continents – in London, Moscow, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Oxford, Rome, Paris, Switzerland, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Singapore – have evinced great interest in this art form from people. So much so that groups of foreign students have been flocking to him to train in it since 1970. Hailing from an aboriginal artisan community of Bastar, Jaidev lives in Kondagaon village of Bastar.

His home-cum-workshop, a humble brick structure painted white and blue, lies strewn with a plethora of figurines and carvings made from metal and clay. Bang in the middle of this scatter, members of his family are engaged in giving shape to a pair of figures, each working on different stages associated with the craft.

There is friendly banter as the ladies and men wrap the clay-moulded figures in beeswax. Jaidev walks in as we are watching the process. He is a tall figure, but slight stooped – probably an unconscious shy mannerism that he has developed over the years.

The humble dhoti-kurta that he sports and the humility with which he conducts himself belie his monumental achievements. Palpably, fame sits lightly on this man who took to sculpting in childhood as a fish does to water. The formally "illiterate" man is both computer and angrezi (English) savvy today.

Bell metal through the ages

Bell metal is an ancient Indian art, in vogue long before the Harappan civilisation. Historically speaking, it originated with the Ghasia tribe who at one time made bells and trinkets for the royal horses, handcrafted through the cire-perdue or vanishing wax technology which is still practised in Bastar today.

The art later developed to include life size images of people, animals and masks. The objects crafted related almost entirely to the life of man and his journey from the womb to the tomb.

The sounds from the ghunghroo attached to a chain around its mother's waist served as a rattle to entice a crying babe to suckle. When the child became toddler, he would sport a kada on his wrist to ward off evil.

As the child grew up to reach adolescence he would adorn himself with ornaments suited to his gender. It would then be nuptials time which brought with it a host of rituals – one of the foremost being a special pot to carry beverages during the engagement.

The wedding itself was associated yet again with ghunghroos worn by dancers, the musical notes from the shehnai lending joy to the occasion, and special utensils used in the various pujas associated with marriage celebrations.

Old age brings with it the need for support of a staff to move around. This gave shape to yet another utility item in the form of a walking stick.

Bell metal art thus originated as an expression of man's sojourn through life.

The mahua tree is central to the tribal culture of Chhattisgarh. The marriage stage is cleansed with soil obtained from the base of this tree.

Even its dry flowers can be used as wholesome food along with the fruits of the tree when crops fail. This is why the 'tree of life' is celebrated in the art – especially by Jaidev and his ancestors. Regardless of the move of time, its home-grown, earthy appeal is conserved and preserved for posterity.

The art was almost lost for several hundred years before it was revived during the Premiership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru when the Dandakaranya Programme was under way to promote the culture of Bastar region. Bastar, then known as Dandakaranya was nothing more than a dense jungle dotted with a few houses.

In those days, the heritage value of bell metal art was ill known and whatever was crafted would be stashed away under the cover of bushes and shrub for safety. The artefacts – in the form of tribal utilities, jewellery and musical instruments – were often bartered away for routine household goods like poultry and farm produce, Jaidev says.

Bell metal today

Traditionally manufactured objects narrating tribal tales and folklore are still being created today, but with slight modifications. Some of the most popular creations are the Muriya drummers, warriors on horseback and animals shaped to look like boats or other utilities. Jaidev admits, "We are changing with the times and therefore we craft things as per customers' requirements or rather market demand.

These include several fancy, utility items that corporate houses use as gifts and the wealthy adorn their houses with. We have sold several pieces to the Jindals and Infosys as
well as other industrial giants in the country."

The charm of the tradition remains in tact, thanks in part to elite Indians and foreigners who take away statues, pots, figurines, hunting horns and other such items that were used by locals in their rituals in bygone eras. Needless to say, all these pieces have become embellishment to metropolitan décor.

Bell metal art continues

Committed to the art of his forefathers, Jaidev is very keen that the craft be kept alive through the ages. He has trained over 1,000 village youths in the art since 1976. Many of his students have set up on their own and are even pursuing their own modified styles.

Jaidev has also authored two books on the topic of bell metal art. His family of seven, including three sons and twin daughters, share this spirit. His wife, Lata, is actively engaged in helping him with the different stages. The Baghels also make huge, life-size sculptures and many of these are exported to Western countries.

Jaidev's son, Bhupendra, who took to the art completely after completing high school, is also a national award winner. Following in his father's footsteps, Bhupendra also gives demonstrations all over the world.

One of his most famed creations has been the bell metal chess set that he made for a client in Switzerland. The chess pieces ranged from one and a half to three feet in height. The son of the master is proud to uphold his father's legacy.

– Chitra Ramaswami is a writer based in Chhattisgarh, India

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

More from UAE Heritage & Culture

  1. Children's author honoured

  2. Replica of 13th century book features in fair

  3. Pictures: Khalifa tours Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, facilities

  4. World's longest painting on display at Al Qasba

All articles in Heritage & Culture

More from UAE

The complete magazine

Friday
Popular in UAE
Readers' pictures
Your pictures

Readers' pictures

The best reader pictures from around the UAE this week

Latest news
Community Reports

More from Community Reports

Weather

More from Weather