Initially reluctant to carry on with his family business, Liladhar Wahane discovers later that the art passed down through generations holds more potential than a job
The story of 29-year-old Liladhar Prahlad Wahane, a craftsman from Nagpur, is quite an unusual one.
Although his family had been in the business of creating handmade wrought-iron wall hangings for generations, this was not something that Liladhar had planned for himself. So it was only natural that after finishing school, he started working as a sales representative in a popular confectionary company. Little did he know, however, what destiny had in store for him.
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“Fourteen hours a day, and a mere Rs 3,000, made me realize soon enough, that it just was not worth all the sweat and toil I was putting in,” he says. Fast forward to many years later, and what do we see? Liladhar spotted at a popular crafts mela, in the midst of wrought iron wall hangings; the same that he had so firmly rejected once upon a time.
There is not even a hint of sadness in him. Instead, the passion he has for his work not only reflects from his eyes, but also in the way he deals with his customers. “Instead of deciding on a wall hanging that looks pleasing here, I suggest you pick one that suits the décor of your house, the color of your walls,” he advises a customer who has just walked in.
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Ask him where all the passion comes from and he says, “It is not that I wasn’t interested in the work. As a child, I used to watch my parents make the wall hangings and helped out in whatever way I could. But it was only when I took up the business full time, about ten years ago, that I realized that there is so much scope for creativity in this craft, and the passion came automatically.”
Besides Liladhar, his family of six, including parents, brother, sister-in-law, his sister and a friend are the creative heads behind these beautiful iron wall hangings.
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