Kantilo
(Nayagarh district), June 10: There was a time when the famous Kantilo village in
Nayagarh district was recognized by a passerby through the sounds of collective
beating of metal by the traditional artistes emanating from a number of houses
there.
However, many families and houses in the traditional village have now opted out of the traditional art of bell metal work, for which the village is known in Orissa. Many veterans blame it on the government for their apathy for the village and their art work.
Sudarshan Sahoo is a 64-year-old bell metal veteran artist from the
village. Giving final touches to one of his products he says, “Earlier, there
were many families and houses from the village directly involved into the
business of bell metal work, but now many have opted out of the business and
have turned to more profitable business as they see a bleak future from our
traditional work. I feel very sorry seeing the tradition art form of our
village dying a premature death.”
Similar apprehensions are also expressed by many other veterans who
have devoted more than 15-20 years into the profession. Most say they are not
getting ample profit out of the arduous and painstaking art form. “The work of
bell metal is very painstaking. But we have been pursuing it as it has been our
traditional art form and people reckon Kantilo with the art form,” said Bydhar
Sahoo, another veteran artiste from the village.
He also adds, “Most of artistes get up at 3am and start working on
brass. The whole process involves heating a hard mass of brass and then beating
it by around 3-4 people together to flatten it. Later we mould it according to
the shape we want. Lately, final touches are given to make it more lucrative.”
Many people who are directly involved into the art form and toiling day
and night to produce lucrative metal items for the masses are also saddened by
the luke response the government has shown towards the art form.
58-year-old Laxuri Dutt says, “We have often heard about government
supporting painters and weavers, but they seldom think about our welfare. Isn’t
our work contributes to the glory of Orissa, aren’t we too artistes? Earlier
collective sounds of beating of brass used to come from a number of houses in
the village but now only few are left who are continuing with the business. It
is really unfortunate.”
Kantilo, situated around 80 kms from Bhubaneswar is famous for bell
metal work. The work includes buying a bulk of hardened brass metal from
markets. According to the villagers, now they buy the bulk at the rate Rs
700/kg.
The artistes often wake up early in the morning and heat the brass
metal into the kiln. Later around 3-4 people beat it collectively to flatten it
and later artistes give it they shape they want. Final touches are given lately
to make it more attractive. Now the artistes there produce metallic containers
which are often used for religious purposes. However, they are also used in
kitchens as cutlery.
The state tourism department meanwhile says some steps have been taken
to help the art form flourish. An official on anonymity said, “We have a
dedicated bell metal craft display gallery near the village. Moreover,
accommodation facilities have been arranged by the government near the village.
The gallery is managed by the tehsildar of the local area.”
However, a visit by me exposes government’s ‘paper works’. The bell metal craft display centre was
found locked and it was used to make arrangements for a wedding. A shopkeeper
near the gallery said, “Government does many things just to show off. This
gallery is also an example. It is often closed and this is mostly used for
marriage purposes. The managers of the gallery are making money out of the
gallery by renting it out during marriages.”
However, many experts opine that to be in demand, artistes need to make
their art form more acceptable to the public. KCS Ray, Director of NIFT,
Bhubaneswar said, “Artistes need to adapt and change according to the demands
and tastes of the buyers. Demand and tastes often change with time. With minor
changes and adaptations we can potentially make these products more attractive
and appealing to the masses. Few of our teachers have already tried their hands
with this. This makes it more diverse in use and also increases its prospects.”
Many experts from the field of tourism say rural tourism has huge
potential and sites like Kantilo could be a good spot for ‘experiential
tourists’. They say government need to make full use of these potential sites
from Orissa to attract tourists.
Himanshu Das, Vice President of Travel
Agents Association of Orissa said, “We are getting enormous response towards
rural tourism and many people are now keen to visit these traditional art
villages to see and experience these things. This is also nowadays called
experiential tourism, but we need to make it more organized to make it
successful.”
Das also says that services should be strengthened to widen its
prospects. According to Das, the experiential tourism has been quite successful
in Tibbet, Ladakh and Uttarakahand and has huge potential for tourism sector.
(Published in Orissa Post newspaper on June 13th, 2015)
