Famous Dhokra art fading in its traditional village

By-Manish Kumar

Sadeibereni (Dhenkanal) May 3: Collecting metal scraps from nearby towns and villages and converting those into decorative masterpieces are now an integral part of the livelihood of around 150 households in Sadeibereni village, around 65kms from Bhubaneswar. This projected rural tourism site in the Dhenkanal district, known for its Dhokra craftsmanship, has been attracting domestic and international tourists for the last few years.

Dhokra art, which is believed to be 5,000-year-old, is a folk craft form based on lost-wax metal casting technique. The Dhokra craftsmen combine their understanding of the metal with their sense of artistry. The artists here use clay cast and bee wax threads that would go on to create minute intricate designs on metals, among other things. They melt scrap metals, usually brass, and pour the liquid metal into the hollow clay casts to make attractive figures, which vary in designs, shapes and sizes. Dhokra designs are in great demand in the domestic and the international market.

On an average around three persons from each household are directly involved in the work and almost every house in the village is engaged in this traditional work. Known globally for keeping alive the ancient art form, the village, however, has been grappling with myriad problems, which are eating into the vitality of the villagers and hampering their growth prospects. Although several foreign and domestic tourists often flock to the site, many villagers feel lack of basic infrastructure in the village is preventing them from attaining optimum success.

“Marketing of our products is a major challenge for us. We have to visit Bhubaneswar and other big cities to sell our products, as the local markets do not have much room for those; neither do we get the best price for our work here. Lack of government assistance in selling our products is proving to be a hurdle for us. We are struggling to keep our tradition alive and we desperately need a market link to sell our work,” said 54-year-old Ramesh Pradhan, a craftsman from the village.

Like other villages connected to rural tourism, this village in Sadar Block too, lacks a dedicated workshop and a museum/gallery where the craftsmen can either work or display their creations. “We do not have any proper place to work in our village. Most of the people work in their small courtyard and often spread their tools on the common cemented village street. This often interferes with the free movement of the tourists and visitors, who come to our village. I think the government should build a workshop for us where we can work properly without contemplating on other things,” said 22-year-old Manas Pradhan, a craftsman living in the village.

Many in the village, however, are concerned about the monsoons, which is likely to hit Orissa in a couple of months. “Monsoons and rains badly affect our work. We all stop our Dhokra work for the 3-4 months at that time due to several reasons. The wax does not catch the clay during monsoons properly; it also becomes difficult to operate blast furnaces as water clogs inside and therefore, drying up clay casts becomes unmanageable. At that time we shift to agricultural work,” said Vishwa Pradhan, another craftsman from the village.

Another villager, on condition of anonymity, said, “Many tourists come to our village; we, however, feel embarrassed due to non-availability of some basic amenities such as public toilets, seating arrangements, roads, signboards, a common selling point, etc. I think we have huge potential but we need some basic infrastructure that will help us accommodate and entertain the visitors  betters.”

The villagers, however, are enthused by some of the government interventions. Kokila Das, a 65-year-old woman, from the village said, “We used to face a little bit of electricity problem in the village. So, most of the people in the village worked on Dhokra art outside their houses. But now we have been given free solar lamps. Every household has received it. It has helped us to work even during nights. We charge it during the day and use it in the evening. We are really happy and grateful to the authorities for the same.”

The state government, meanwhile, is planning to develop the village to boost rural tourism in the state. Talking to Orissa POST, Manjulata Dalai, deputy director, state department of tourism said, “We are planning to boost rural tourism in the state. The government has already sanctioned Rs 5cr for Sadeibereni; Rs 2.5cr has been disbursed to the collector of Dhenkanal to execute development work there. Meanwhile, the state tourism department has prepared a detailed project report and has sent it to the Central government for granting of funds for the development of the village. We are now waiting for their reply.”

The close proximity of Sadeibereni to other craft and heritage villages and the nearby tourist sites amplifies its prominence. According to tour operators, a person visiting places close to Athagarh such as Nuapatna, Dhenkanal, Manibadha, Ansupa, Naraj etc. can easily visit the village, en route, to get a holistic experience of the dhokra
craftsmanship.

(Published in Orissa post newspaper on May 4th, 2015)

Most test tube clinics in Odisha unregistered

By-Manish Kumar

Bhubaneswar, May 27: Under the absence of stringent laws, many unregulated Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics from the state have started flourishing. Many of them are working and treating infertile couples by taking exorbitant prices but hardly care about informing the centre about their functioning.

Many such undeterred private clinics have been blatantly flouting Ministry of Home Affairs 2012 notice to get them registered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) besides violating the Union health ministry’s National Guidelines 2005 for Accreditation, Supervision & Regulation of ART Clinics in India which talks about a national registration of human reproductions through ART.

An RTI filed by this correspondent with ICMR reveals that merely two ART clinics from the state out of six have till now registered with the central body. The only two registered clinics from the state according to the RTI reply are-Swarnajayanti Infertility Clinic based in Chandrashekharpur and Centre of Human Reproduction, IMS and Sum Hospital based Kalinga Vihar. Both hail from Bhubaneswar.

Dr R S Sharma, Senior Deputy Director General, ICMR said, “If an ART clinic is not registered with ICMR, they cannot entertain any foreign couple for treatment of infertility. Though as per the provisions of the proposed ART (Regulation) Bill, it is mandatory for all the ART clinics to register with the ICMR National Registry but the bill has not yet been passed by the Parliament.”

Many IVF clinics seldom register with ICMR because there are hardly laws made which can nail the offenders. Defaulters say MHA 2012 notification says it is ‘necessary’ and not mandatory, thus not binding to them. Moreover, no agency has been entrusted with the task of taking legal actions against offenders.

Many infertility experts from the city too opine that due to lack of stringent law and legislation, many unregulated and unprofessional ART clinics are flourishing in the state. Dr Veena Panda, an infertility expert from the city said, “Lack of a strong law is giving many unscrupulous elements from the medical fraternity an opportunity to exploit the technology to make it a business. Many a times, several ART experts play with ethics and often do unethical things like using gamets from outside without the consent of the parties among others to make quick money.”         

Another IVF expert on anonymity said, “Giving data related to ART births to ICMR is crucial to maintain a national database on the success and failure of the technique. A central data repository can give a picture about the effectiveness of the technique in the local population and further research can help in strengthening it.”

Meanwhile, buoyed by these lacunae many ART clinics have allegedly conned infertile couples. Two months back, a group of nine infertile couple moved to State Commission of Women for registering their complaint relating to cheating by city-based Srusti Test Tube Baby Centre. Their contention was fraudulent promises made by them. A copy of the complaint is in possession with this newspaper.

One of the complainants, Swapnil Patel (name changed) said, “I went to undergo IUI at Srusti Test Tube clinic, but the doctors there forced me to go for IVF which is much costlier than IUI. Moreover, they assured that there is 100% success rate through IVF. Twice I underwent it and spent around Rs 7 lakh but to no yield. My contention is how they can advertise false claims.” According to experts the maximum estimated success rate of IVF is 40%.

None of the unregistered ART clinic from the state responded to calls, SMSs and emails made by me. Orissa has around six ART clinics as of now. Keya fertility centre from the city said their registration process is under process but they are already registered with Orissa government.

According to the experts the only solution to the menace is the ART (Regulation) Bill 2010 which talks about mandatory registration, legal action against violators, grievance redressal body, national and state monitoring bodies etc. The bill has been sent to wider consultation with the experts after which it will be introduced in the Parliament for enacting a stringent law to regulate ART clinics in the country.

---

What is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)  

Assisted Reproductive Technology refers to the medical interventions used to produce offspring in infertile couples. It varies from simple Intra-uterine Insemination to complex ones like In-vitro-Fertilization (IVF) commonly called as test tube baby technique. Other techniques involve-Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection and Gamate Intro-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT). Many a times IVF (test tube baby) is used interchangeably with ART.    

(Published on May 28th, 2015 in Orissa POST newspaper)

Most test tube clinics in Odisha unregistered

By-Manish Kumar

Bhubaneswar, May 27: Under the absence of stringent laws, many unregulated Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics from the state have started flourishing. Many of them are working and treating infertile couples by taking exorbitant prices but hardly care about informing the centre about their functioning.

Many such undeterred private clinics have been blatantly flouting Ministry of Home Affairs 2012 notice to get them registered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) besides violating the Union health ministry’s National Guidelines 2005 for Accreditation, Supervision & Regulation of ART Clinics in India which talks about a national registration of human reproductions through ART.

An RTI filed by this correspondent with ICMR reveals that merely two ART clinics from the state out of six have till now registered with the central body. The only two registered clinics from the state according to the RTI reply are-Swarnajayanti Infertility Clinic based in Chandrashekharpur and Centre of Human Reproduction, IMS and Sum Hospital based Kalinga Vihar. Both hail from Bhubaneswar.

Dr R S Sharma, Senior Deputy Director General, ICMR said, “If an ART clinic is not registered with ICMR, they cannot entertain any foreign couple for treatment of infertility. Though as per the provisions of the proposed ART (Regulation) Bill, it is mandatory for all the ART clinics to register with the ICMR National Registry but the bill has not yet been passed by the Parliament.”

Many IVF clinics seldom register with ICMR because there are hardly laws made which can nail the offenders. Defaulters say MHA 2012 notification says it is ‘necessary’ and not mandatory, thus not binding to them. Moreover, no agency has been entrusted with the task of taking legal actions against offenders.

Many infertility experts from the city too opine that due to lack of stringent law and legislation, many unregulated and unprofessional ART clinics are flourishing in the state. Dr Veena Panda, an infertility expert from the city said, “Lack of a strong law is giving many unscrupulous elements from the medical fraternity an opportunity to exploit the technology to make it a business. Many a times, several ART experts play with ethics and often do unethical things like using gamets from outside without the consent of the parties among others to make quick money.”         

Another IVF expert on anonymity said, “Giving data related to ART births to ICMR is crucial to maintain a national database on the success and failure of the technique. A central data repository can give a picture about the effectiveness of the technique in the local population and further research can help in strengthening it.”

Meanwhile, buoyed by these lacunae many ART clinics have allegedly conned infertile couples. Two months back, a group of nine infertile couple moved to State Commission of Women for registering their complaint relating to cheating by city-based Srusti Test Tube Baby Centre. Their contention was fraudulent promises made by them. A copy of the complaint is in possession with this newspaper.

One of the complainants, Swapnil Patel (name changed) said, “I went to undergo IUI at Srusti Test Tube clinic, but the doctors there forced me to go for IVF which is much costlier than IUI. Moreover, they assured that there is 100% success rate through IVF. Twice I underwent it and spent around Rs 7 lakh but to no yield. My contention is how they can advertise false claims.” According to experts the maximum estimated success rate of IVF is 40%.

None of the unregistered ART clinic from the state responded to calls, SMSs and emails made by me. Orissa has around six ART clinics as of now. Keya fertility centre from the city said their registration process is under process but they are already registered with Orissa government.

According to the experts the only solution to the menace is the ART (Regulation) Bill 2010 which talks about mandatory registration, legal action against violators, grievance redressal body, national and state monitoring bodies etc. The bill has been sent to wider consultation with the experts after which it will be introduced in the Parliament for enacting a stringent law to regulate ART clinics in the country.

---

What is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)  

Assisted Reproductive Technology refers to the medical interventions used to produce offspring in infertile couples. It varies from simple Intra-uterine Insemination to complex ones like In-vitro-Fertilization (IVF) commonly called as test tube baby technique. Other techniques involve-Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection and Gamate Intro-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT). Many a times IVF (test tube baby) is used interchangeably with ART.    

(Published on May 28th, 2015 in Orissa POST newspaper)

Papier mache mask art faces extinction

By-Manish Kumar

Karadagadia (Khurda), May 12: Mohan Nayak, a 35-year-old carpenter from Karadagadia village in Durgapur panchayat of Khurda district, is satisfied to be making ends meet with his newfound profession, and vows never to go back to making paper masks (papier mache), a traditional art that has been the identity of the village for several generations but is now on the verge of extinction.

The village, 44 km from Bhubaneswar and home to more than 300 households who have been making the masks for generations, seems to have given up on the decades-old art form due to dwindling profits.
“Earlier, a large number of people from the village were involved in this work. But now hardly a handful of households from the village are directly involved in the business. Many have already left the traditional art as people have lost hope of the business picking up. Lack of basic support from the government added with our everyday problems in running the business is far too much to handle,” said Dibakar Mahapatra, a 48-year-old craftsman who has been working on paper masks since he was a 10-year-old.
However, Mahapatra said he was not too keen on abandoning his art for a few extra pennies. “I cannot quit my work. I have seen many people leaving it, but the tradition has been running in my village for ages. My family used to happily work on it. I too get ample satisfaction by making masks of gods and goddesses which are often dispatched to cities and are later used in religious jatras and other rituals,” Mahapatra said.
The uniqueness of the art form lies in the skill of developing utilitarian objects with the help of wastepaper and clothes. Nevertheless, it also uses natural substances like tamarind powder and natural adhesives from tree bark which help in making the masks sturdy and durable. In the process, a paste of wastepaper and clothes is mixed with tamarind powder and adhesive and is applied on a clay-made mould to give desired shapes. Earlier, the entire process would be done in the village but locals say it has now become market-based.
“Earlier tamarind powder and natural adhesives were made in the village itself but now we get readymade material at shops at Khurda. We visit these shops in Khurda, around 12 km from the village, to buy it and we then only craft the masks. This business is however not helping us earn enough. We are just able to feed us and our family. People in the village are now ditching it for other profitable fields,” says Reena Mahapatra, another craftsman from the village.
The village meanwhile lacks basic amenities to help existing artists carry out their traditional art form, which has the potential to turn waste around us into useful craft. “We have heard that villages like Raghurajpur and Sadeibereni have received government grants in order to preserve their traditional arts, but we have got nothing. No government officials ever come here. Rarely some journalists like you come to visit us. They talk to us and take our photographs but nothing has changed on the ground level,” says 72-year-old Nishamoni Moharana from the village. There are however a few bright areas. “Roads from the village to Khurda are in a good condition. The 12-km smooth stretch to Khurda helps us buy important commodities required for our daily activities. Moreover, power cuts are not very common here,” says Manasama Mahapatra, a student of Class XII from the village.
The lack of interest on the part of the government is evident from the fact that there are hardly any signboards directing visitors to the art-rich village, no concrete roads in the village, and few avenues for artists to exhibit their talent at art and craft competitions.
Unlike other craft villages, the villagers here have to sell their products on their own as very few people come to give the artists contracts for their work.
The government meanwhile also seems reluctant to lend a helping hand to the struggling artists. Talking to Orissa POST, a deputy-director level officer from the state tourism department said there are no plans to give any grant or any other help to the village. The official however refused to list details for the same.
Travel and tour operators from Orissa however are sceptical about developing the village as a potential site for rural tourism. “Many villages like Raghurajpur, Sadeibereni and others are getting prominence from government because of their proximity to famous tourist sites. Raghurajpur is close to Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark while Sadeibereni is close to Dhenkanal, Ansupa, Maniabadha, Naraj, Nuapatna and others. In the case of Karadagadia, the nearest tourist place is Atri water spring which is also not very popular among tourists. The government often develops rural tourism sites which have a cluster of tourist attractions nearby,” said a tour operator.

(Published in Orissa Post on May 13th, 2015)

Karadagadia (Khurda), May 12: Mohan Nayak, a 35-year-old carpenter from Karadagadia village in Durgapur panchayat of Khurda district, is satisfied to be making ends meet with his newfound profession, and vows never to go back to making paper masks (papier mache), a traditional art that has been the identity of the village for several generations but is now on the verge of extinction.
The village, 44 km from Bhubaneswar and home to more than 300 households who have been making the masks for generations, seems to have given up on the decades-old art form due to dwindling profits.
“Earlier, a large number of people from the village were involved in this work. But now hardly a handful of households from the village are directly involved in the business. Many have already left the traditional art as people have lost hope of the business picking up. Lack of basic support from the government added with our everyday problems in running the business is far too much to handle,” said Dibakar Mahapatra, a 48-year-old craftsman who has been working on paper masks since he was a 10-year-old.
However, Mahapatra said he was not too keen on abandoning his art for a few extra pennies. “I cannot quit my work. I have seen many people leaving it, but the tradition has been running in my village for ages. My family used to happily work on it. I too get ample satisfaction by making masks of gods and goddesses which are often dispatched to cities and are later used in religious jatras and other rituals,” Mahapatra said.
The uniqueness of the art form lies in the skill of developing utilitarian objects with the help of wastepaper and clothes. Nevertheless, it also uses natural substances like tamarind powder and natural adhesives from tree bark which help in making the masks sturdy and durable. In the process, a paste of wastepaper and clothes is mixed with tamarind powder and adhesive and is applied on a clay-made mould to give desired shapes. Earlier, the entire process would be done in the village but locals say it has now become market-based.
“Earlier tamarind powder and natural adhesives were made in the village itself but now we get readymade material at shops at Khurda. We visit these shops in Khurda, around 12 km from the village, to buy it and we then only craft the masks. This business is however not helping us earn enough. We are just able to feed us and our family. People in the village are now ditching it for other profitable fields,” says Reena Mahapatra, another craftsman from the village.
The village meanwhile lacks basic amenities to help existing artists carry out their traditional art form, which has the potential to turn waste around us into useful craft. “We have heard that villages like Raghurajpur and Sadeibereni have received government grants in order to preserve their traditional arts, but we have got nothing. No government officials ever come here. Rarely some journalists like you come to visit us. They talk to us and take our photographs but nothing has changed on the ground level,” says 72-year-old Nishamoni Moharana from the village. There are however a few bright areas. “Roads from the village to Khurda are in a good condition. The 12-km smooth stretch to Khurda helps us buy important commodities required for our daily activities. Moreover, power cuts are not very common here,” says Manasama Mahapatra, a student of Class XII from the village.
The lack of interest on the part of the government is evident from the fact that there are hardly any signboards directing visitors to the art-rich village, no concrete roads in the village, and few avenues for artists to exhibit their talent at art and craft competitions.
Unlike other craft villages, the villagers here have to sell their products on their own as very few people come to give the artists contracts for their work.
The government meanwhile also seems reluctant to lend a helping hand to the struggling artists. Talking to Orissa POST, a deputy-director level officer from the state tourism department said there are no plans to give any grant or any other help to the village. The official however refused to list details for the same.
Travel and tour operators from Orissa however are sceptical about developing the village as a potential site for rural tourism. “Many villages like Raghurajpur, Sadeibereni and others are getting prominence from government because of their proximity to famous tourist sites. Raghurajpur is close to Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark while Sadeibereni is close to Dhenkanal, Ansupa, Maniabadha, Naraj, Nuapatna and others. In the case of Karadagadia, the nearest tourist place is Atri water spring which is also not very popular among tourists. The government often develops rural tourism sites which have a cluster of tourist attractions nearby,” said a tour operator. - See more at: http://www.orissapost.com/papier-mache-mask-art-faces-extinction/#sthash.ZbxyyblL.dpuf

Karadagadia (Khurda), May 12: Mohan Nayak, a 35-year-old carpenter from Karadagadia village in Durgapur panchayat of Khurda district, is satisfied to be making ends meet with his newfound profession, and vows never to go back to making paper masks (papier mache), a traditional art that has been the identity of the village for several generations but is now on the verge of extinction.
The village, 44 km from Bhubaneswar and home to more than 300 households who have been making the masks for generations, seems to have given up on the decades-old art form due to dwindling profits.
“Earlier, a large number of people from the village were involved in this work. But now hardly a handful of households from the village are directly involved in the business. Many have already left the traditional art as people have lost hope of the business picking up. Lack of basic support from the government added with our everyday problems in running the business is far too much to handle,” said Dibakar Mahapatra, a 48-year-old craftsman who has been working on paper masks since he was a 10-year-old.
However, Mahapatra said he was not too keen on abandoning his art for a few extra pennies. “I cannot quit my work. I have seen many people leaving it, but the tradition has been running in my village for ages. My family used to happily work on it. I too get ample satisfaction by making masks of gods and goddesses which are often dispatched to cities and are later used in religious jatras and other rituals,” Mahapatra said.
The uniqueness of the art form lies in the skill of developing utilitarian objects with the help of wastepaper and clothes. Nevertheless, it also uses natural substances like tamarind powder and natural adhesives from tree bark which help in making the masks sturdy and durable. In the process, a paste of wastepaper and clothes is mixed with tamarind powder and adhesive and is applied on a clay-made mould to give desired shapes. Earlier, the entire process would be done in the village but locals say it has now become market-based.
“Earlier tamarind powder and natural adhesives were made in the village itself but now we get readymade material at shops at Khurda. We visit these shops in Khurda, around 12 km from the village, to buy it and we then only craft the masks. This business is however not helping us earn enough. We are just able to feed us and our family. People in the village are now ditching it for other profitable fields,” says Reena Mahapatra, another craftsman from the village.
The village meanwhile lacks basic amenities to help existing artists carry out their traditional art form, which has the potential to turn waste around us into useful craft. “We have heard that villages like Raghurajpur and Sadeibereni have received government grants in order to preserve their traditional arts, but we have got nothing. No government officials ever come here. Rarely some journalists like you come to visit us. They talk to us and take our photographs but nothing has changed on the ground level,” says 72-year-old Nishamoni Moharana from the village. There are however a few bright areas. “Roads from the village to Khurda are in a good condition. The 12-km smooth stretch to Khurda helps us buy important commodities required for our daily activities. Moreover, power cuts are not very common here,” says Manasama Mahapatra, a student of Class XII from the village.
The lack of interest on the part of the government is evident from the fact that there are hardly any signboards directing visitors to the art-rich village, no concrete roads in the village, and few avenues for artists to exhibit their talent at art and craft competitions.
Unlike other craft villages, the villagers here have to sell their products on their own as very few people come to give the artists contracts for their work.
The government meanwhile also seems reluctant to lend a helping hand to the struggling artists. Talking to Orissa POST, a deputy-director level officer from the state tourism department said there are no plans to give any grant or any other help to the village. The official however refused to list details for the same.
Travel and tour operators from Orissa however are sceptical about developing the village as a potential site for rural tourism. “Many villages like Raghurajpur, Sadeibereni and others are getting prominence from government because of their proximity to famous tourist sites. Raghurajpur is close to Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark while Sadeibereni is close to Dhenkanal, Ansupa, Maniabadha, Naraj, Nuapatna and others. In the case of Karadagadia, the nearest tourist place is Atri water spring which is also not very popular among tourists. The government often develops rural tourism sites which have a cluster of tourist attractions nearby,” said a tour operator. - See more at: http://www.orissapost.com/papier-mache-mask-art-faces-extinction/#sthash.ZbxyyblL.dpuf