It’s all about the weave

Jiyo is developing an exclusive range of furniture building on the strength elasticity and myriad weaving techniques of this natural fibre while mobilising the women in Bihar and Nepal into institutional framework building capacity to enable them to be the decision makers of their future.
It's the combined mesmerisation of 20 crafts-persons that designed ‘Jaali' with a combination of air and light passing through their bouquet of products. From UP and Agra in the North to Telangana in the South and Kolkata in the East, the artists come from various regions and backgrounds depicting their traditional art on different natural materials comprising of seven disciplines. The artists are also thoroughly dedicated to their unique arts which they want to preserve for posterity and also to make their objects of art contemporary.
"Sikki grass is the golden grass from Bihar which is grown in the wet and marshy lands of Madhubani and Sitamadhi districts of Northern Bihar. The humble grass gets transformed into various articles that are used every day at home and also for ritual and religious purposes. The result is the fine gold fibre which is used in weaving to make dolls, baskets and toys," informs Manjari Nirula, curator of Jaali art exhibition.
She explains that the Jaali exhibition has works of 20 artists including that of Narendra Varma's stone carving on pots and tablets, Iqbal Ahmed's Pachikari work in marble table tops, the sandalwood carvings and leather puppets from Telangana, Sanjhi paper art from Mathura, sikki grass and Madhubani from Bihar, Banaras weaves and Ajrak weaves, cane work, vegetable dyes on cloth, filigree on silver - all speak of the devotion that goes into the art.
Jaali has Chikankari too - an embroidery done with white cotton thread on fine white cotton material, which is also called shadow work. It grew out of the intricate carving patterns of Moghul architecture. Chikankari work of Lucknow is over 200 year old and was patronised by the Nawabs, it is believed.
The works of Mahesh Jangid, a specialist in miniature sandalwood carving are beautiful. Mahesh and his sons Rohit and Mohit, use the simplest tools like small iron sticks, knives and chisels to carve with extreme precision on very small objects. This tradition has been passed down from one generation to another and is something that we deeply honour. The family draws inspiration for its work from history, mythology and day-to-day life in India. They work exclusively with sandal wood because it is very malleable and has a pleasant natural fragrance.
"Our primary focus is to revive the Kagzi Pottery. At the same time we train poor and unskilled people through different programmes that the government and non-governmental organisations hold for the community," states Om Prakash Galav who is popularly known as ‘The Pottery Man' in the world of terracotta art.
Inheriting the art of pottery making from his ancestors as a part of their family traditional vocation, the fifth generation artist, Om Prakash has been playing with clay since he was seven or eight. Learning the basics of this art from his father late Fateh Ram Prajapat, a master craftsperson and state merit awardee, Om Prakash honed the skills soon with his dedication. "My father inculcated in me love for our family art and helped me to carve out my imaginations and emotions and vivid shapes and sizes," recalls Om Prakash, now 44.
Supported and applauded by Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jaipur, District Industry Centre Alwar and other government as well as private institutions, Om Prakash has made it a mission to train poor and unskilled persons in clay and terracotta art so that they can earn their livelihood. His enterprise, Ramgarh Clay Pottery enterprise, is located at Ramgarh in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
Om Prakash is the recipient of two ‘UNESCO awards of excellence for Handicrafts' for Jaali lota, T-Light of Kagzi pottery and terracotta small hookah by World Crafts Council. He also got government of India's national award for his work. The miniature products of terracotta made by him on potter's wheel need magnifying glass to be viewed. These miniature items include matka, tea-set, lantern, chain, bowl, kalash, hookah, stands, bell etc. He has also recreated and revive the extinct art of Alwar - Kagzi-pottery. He also received several state awards and felicitations for his contribution to this art.
Since the origin of the Kagzi pottery is Ramgarh and since Om Prakash wanted to save this ancient art he has named his enterprise, Ramgarh Clay Pottery, to give the rightful honour to Ramgarh. He along with his two brothers, Anil Kumar Prajapat and Chetan Prajapat, offer a blend of ancient and contemporary art, trying to enhance some of their products with various forms of tribal inspired by Warli painting art and Madhubani painting art from Maharashtra and Bihar respectively.
Another terracotta mural that catches attention at Jaali covers an entire wall. This is a replica of the Panaji church in clay, crafted by a senior terracotta artist Dineshchandra Kumhar from Udaipur in Rajasthan. "It took me two months to complete this mural," states Dineshchandra. Expert in crafting terracotta sculptures, idols of gods and goddesses, large wall size panels depicting mythological stories or village scenes, devotional plaques, wall tiles, murals and wall hangings, temple bells and domestic ware, Dinesh boasts of being the torchbearer of the art. His father Mohanlal still crafts and trains others in their workshop back home. He has won Padma Shree for his contribution to terracotta art. The murals and panels that he makes adorn the walls of railway stations, hotels and resorts, government buildings and museums in Rajasthan. Their village Molela is known as a potter's village as there are about 30 families from the Kumhar caste producing terracotta art.
The silver filigree exhibits the perfect blend of shining threads of silver and gold, giving the jewellery an exquisite appearance. Its beauty lies in the lace crafted in precious metals which makes it a mash of diaphanous threads woven together.
The enamel jewellery or the ‘meenakari' refers to the process of coating grooves or engraving in ornaments with coloured enamels. The legacy of leather puppet craft could be traced back to 200 years to an ancient folk world. Indian tradition and religion has had significant influence on leather puppetry. Evident from its mentions in the two great Hindu Epics - Mahabharat and Ramayan - the puppets have been an integral cherished part of the crafts of Southern India.