Dhokra was a dying art even where it had originated. It took just one man like Subhash Arora, an urbanite, to redefine it
If you are a regular visitor to any arts and crafts fair or if you are a connoisseur of traditional arts, chances are that you would have come across grotesque imagery of man and beast cast in metal, like the ones shown on this page.
Dhokra, as this tribal craft form from Orissa is called, has its origins amongst the Dhokra Damar tribes that extend from Bihar to West Bengal, Orissa and even parts of Madhya Pradesh. Been practiced for over 4000 years now, it is one of the oldest traditional metal casting techniques in India. However, due to the craftsmen’s inexperience in marketing and their wretched economic condition, Dhokra as an art form has remained static.
It is unlikely to find a non-tribal, born and brought up in Delhi to even have heard of Dhokra casting. But such is the story of Subhash Arora, a Dhokra craftsman who has been in the business for almost three decades now. At eighteen, he was just like any other regular teenager, studying commerce in Delhi. But now, at the age of forty-eight, he is not only a full-time Dhokra craftsman, but also a National Award winner.“I had a keen interest in craft and used to enroll myself in clay modeling and various other creative programs from the National Bal Bhavan, whenever I had the time,” he says. At the age of twenty, however, Subhash realized that craft was more than just a hobby for him. It was his passion. It was at that moment that Subhash decided to go all the way to pursue his dream. “I was learning about Dhokra casting at that time and just decided to pack my bags, to live amongst the tribal community in the district of Bastar in Chhattisgarh. Having lived in New Delhi all my life, my family and friends thought I wouldn’t last a day there. But I did, for four years,” he says with a gleam in his eyes.
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| “Living in a forest amongst the tribals, who don’t speak your language was difficult. Also, initially, many were not open to the idea of teaching me, a foreigner, their skill, which had been passed on to them for generations. After a lot of perseverance, I managed to convince one tribal to guide me through the process.” Subhash Arora |
It took four long years for Subhash to master this technique and create many figures like masks, animals, gods, and other motifs depicting tribal life, in the process. But that is not to say that he did not face any problems. “Living in a forest amongst the tribals, who don’t speak your language was difficult. Also, initially, many were not open to the idea of teaching me, a foreigner, their skill, which had been passed on to them for generations. After a lot of perseverance, I managed to convince one tribal to guide me through the process,” he says.
Even so, after learning the process thoroughly, when he returned to Delhi, life was a struggle. For the next couple of years, Subhash was making artifacts, but he wasn’t very successful in selling them. “I used to constantly ponder upon what I was doing wrong and what I could do to make people interested in buying my work. I realized that merely imitating tribal craft was not going to fetch me anything. I realized that things had to change.”
“My true inspiration came from when I first saw a piece of Dhokra craft from Orissa. The piece was disfigured, the features were exaggerated and it was all very grotesque. That is when it dawned upon me that art was not only about detailing and finishing. It was also about being innovative. Luckily for me, I had it in me,” he says.
Subhash started working from a basement in Lajpat Nagar, a business hub in New Delhi, where he would spend many sleepless nights pondering over unique designs for his work. “Since the basement wasn’t equipped for such craft making, I used to make sketches and send them back to Chhattisgarh, and have some of the tribal craftsmen make it and send it back to me,” he says. It was extremely challenging for him, as the craftsmen could not deliver the piece as he had imagined. Also, it was hard for him to track the pieces and a lot of times his designs were imitated and sold to others. “I did not let all this dishearten me though, as I too, was once just an imitator,” he remarks.
His business started picking up in 1990 and in 1993 he was even awarded the National Award by the Ministry of Textiles for his “craftsmanship and contribution to the development of Dhokra craft." Some of his own unique designs, like a very long nosed Ganesh, a long and flat backed horse with several riders and elephants with hunch backs are being imitated by Dhokra craftsmen everywhere. Even as we spoke to him, he was conceptualizing a mask that would have lizards as eyebrows and a snake as the nose. As he puts it “I like to leave my own personal and unique touch in everything I make.”
Subhash’s crafts are bought by wholesalers and sold in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and are even exported to European countries. His work can also be found in the National Museum of India, Cottage emporium and in Dilli Haat, with prices ranging anywhere from between Rs 25 to Rs 60,000. Just about two years ago, Subhash moved to Faridabad and now has his own workshop there, where he has hired about twelve workers, including five tribal craftsmen from Chhattisgarh. He claims to make around 20 pieces per day. “They have the hand to create, whereas I have the head to visualize and guide them. Together we make a great team,” he says in reference to the tribal craftsmen.
If Dhokra is dying as an art form, how has it affected his business? “There are many people who have an eye for art and appreciate it, so if you are unsuccessful, the onus lies on you. You have to understand your customers and give them something unique. If you have this basic understanding and loads of passion towards your work, nothing can stop you from scaling great heights.”
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written by Bhawana Dubey, November 21, 2010
written by tom thomas, September 28, 2010
on Jan 2011. Is it possible that i fix a meeting with you to show the beauty of this craft & how
it is made. she wants to Promote the same through her very numerous contacts..
please give me your phone nos, contact email etc.
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Sir plz give me your mail id or your phone no. for the same.
Thank you...