By Bikash Kumar Das
Bhubaneswar: The sculptures are life-like. Go near them and they seem to talk to you in the language of silence. They come alive through the meticulously sculpted eyes that make contact with humans in the language difficult to comprehend if you are not one of the creators or connoisseurs. Each stone is broken and chiseled into gods, legends and monuments in the deft hands of the artisans who spend hours, days or even months and years to chisel them into masterpieces that get pride of place at museums, offices and public spaces or even as decors at houses.
But across the workshops in Odisha, the sound of hammers have grown fainter with each passing day.
Stone carving, Odisha’s centuries-old artistic tradition, is slowly losing sheen. Reasons include shortage of stone of good quality, lack of patronage, and fading interest among the new generation. “There is demand but unavailability of stones and rising prices are sending them away to other states,” say artisans.
Muguni or black stone, once available abundantly in places like Khurda, is now being sourced from distant states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The transportation adds to the costs and more importantly delays in receiving the consignment push prices so high that buyers do not agree. Even the artisans do not want to work in hurry with tight deadlines. Thus, once a flourishing artistry, stone craft now has very few creators and takers.
Padma Vibhushan sculptor Sudarshan Sahu, a living legend of Odisha’s stone carving legacy, has seen the art grow and now seeing it withering slowly. Born in abject poverty in Puri, 86-year-old Sudarshan took to making sculptures after his father’s death when he was barely nine years. With time he became a name to reckon with and shifted to Bhubaneswar in 1991, where he set up a workshop that was a rice godown. None imagined then that it would become the cradle of a world-renowned sculptor’s creations.
Over the years, Sudarshan’s creations were the most sought after with orders coming from Japan, Germany, the US, and 35 other countries. He was conferred the Padma Shri, the Padma Vibhushan, and accolades from Japan and the US. "Accolades are fine but do these give a certainty about the future of the art and craft? The work has stopped, there is no stone and artisans are leaving. What would be more unfortunate," he questions.
From thousands of sculptors who ruled the stone carving scene in Odisha, only a handful remain. Many have switched to carpentry, some took up auto-driving, and others preferred menial jobs. Training centres are mostly empty. "The children of artisans are not being taught the trade because they show no interest and it is not self-sustaining. This won’t survive unless it becomes a community movement,” Sudarshan warns.
Even though the demand for Odisha’s stone statues has multiplied tenfold globally since the 90s, the exports have almost ceased. “Everyone wants the stone-carved statues, but no one wants to pay for the rising cost. Stones have become so expensive and fetching it also costs us dearly, Under such limitations, creativity has to take a back seat," laments an artisan, working at a workshop near Khandagiri in the city.
They cried foul about the payments they receive from master craftsman if they are not working independently. "We risk our lives by breathing dust of the stones, fall sick, give days for a piece of work but do not get good remuneration," said one of the artists refusing to comment on the money he gets for sculpting.
Stone statues priced at Rs 100 to those worth lakhs are available but not in large numbers. “If the government does not start thinking about the art, it is difficult for the artisans to continue the work. At least the government can ensure access to affordable stone,” say the artists who allege that there is no regulation on stone quarrying. "This allows high-quality raw stone to be sold off to other states, leaving Odisha’s artists without any material," they rued.
The artists expressed fear that without stones and artisans even temples cannot be renovated. "Fetching stones from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bangalore is not the solution. Making these available at an affordable price is," they said.
Speaking on the process of creation, Sudarshan said there is no time limit. "At times something is made in two days and there are many occasions, when one piece of art takes 10 years," he added.
“The future of the artistry lies in availability of stone and government support. Unless these two are ensured, the sculptors will cease to be,” the octogenarian artist said.
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