Forest dwellers in Ganjam village under threat of losing their rights

By-Manish Kumar

Icchapur (Ganjam): On a cold morning of Sunday (December 14^th) I embarked on a four-hour road journey to Icchapur village under Polsara block in Ganjam district from Bhubaneswar. I had earlier heard about the threat the villagers have been facing from local authorities. 

The people living in the remote village have now received letters from the local authorities saying the villagers don’t have any rights over the local forest area and all their claims of land rights have been rejected by them. Saddened by the whole affairs the villagers have now roped in their hopes on some local NGOs and community leaders to avert the possible plights the villagers may face in the near future.

However a personal visit to the site was an enlightening one and an eye opener. I believe deliberations and discussions on forest rights, adivasis, poor and other dimensions in an urban area in a big hotel do not hold much significance if you cannot realize the gravity of any situation which could be achieved more effectively if you personally see the problems in hand.

A visit to the small remote village will reveal that at a time when the country is pushing to be into the United Nations Security Council, many villagers and parts of the country is still living in a pre-independent state like situation. The maverick fact about the remote village that can flummox many visitors is the literacy levels of the villagers. Most of the villagers are either illiterate or if literate have not studied beyond standard V.

Under such circumstances, the people eye on the literates from the village and on some activists, journalists and other social workers who can raise their issues to the concerned authorities and help their voices and plights to be heard. 

Once I and some of my friends entered the village we were garlanded and given flowers nicely tied up by the villagers, mostly STs, dalits and other traditional forest dwellers.  It was a very different kind of feeling as for the first time I received such a warm welcome by a group of people with hopes in their eyes.

A local meeting of aggrieved villagers was organized to ponder over the conundrum and to eke out future course of actions to avert the damages. During the meeting it came to the fore that the local government has sent them letters in January 2015 rejecting their claims of forest rights. The villagers were meanwhile asked to respond if they want to object.

However, the villagers reported that they received such letters only after the time given to them to respond exhausted. Literate persons from the village say that letters relating to land rights never reach the persons through post man but it rather gets delivered by some office person working in local offices.

Later the interpretation of the letter takes time as they search for literate persons to read it and paraphrase it. However thumb impressions on receipt letters are often taken from them and they give it easily without understanding the content of the letter.

A 5^th pass villager from the village said, “We also never see any official coming to the village and talk directly to us or rather demonstrate the consequences and their plans. However we can see local MLAs, gram panchayat leaders and other coming to our village during election. But no one come to help us at the time we need it.”

The Forest Rights Act, 2006 mandates verification of the local forest land by the forest rights committee, role of gram sabhas, role of elders in verifying the facts of their existence in the area for more than 3 decades and others. However most of them according to the villagers seemed to be a Utopian job.

A septuagenarian villager told me that his family has been living in the village for the last 7 decades but the letter has been threatening their occupational and economical rights. They also fear that the authorities may do the same thing with their village too anytime, bolstered with the dearth of literacy and awareness levels of the local villagers and nonexistent knowledge of the villagers about the legislation made to safeguard their interests.

The historic Forest Rights Act,(FRA) 2006 came in the country after the 60 years of India’s independence and was a landmark constitutional reform. It was a result of a long struggle of the Adivasis (ST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) depending upon the forest for their basic livelihood needs.

The draft act placed in the Parliament in 2005 was only for STs. But later it was realized in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in 2006 that along with the STs, there are large number of Other Traditional Forest dwellers, which comprise a number of Dalit population living in and around the forest and depending upon it for their very survival.

Accordingly, the name of the act was also changed and it became “The Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition) of Forest Rights Act, 2006 and OTFDs other than tribals are also recognized rights over forest.

Ghasiram Panda, Programme Manager of ActionAid, Bhubaneswar who is well versed with forest right issues told me, “FRA is very clear in respect of providing forest rights to OTFD along with STs. Ironically most of the states including Orissa has shown step-motherly attitudes towards the OTFDs while there is no such conflicts at the village levels in the grounds. Despite possession of forest land by the OTFDs, verification of that by FRC and recommendation of Gram Sabhas, submission of evidences certifying three generations by the elders and gram sabha, the other executive bodies Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLCs) and District Level Committee (DLCs) at the district are arbitrarily rejecting the claims of the OTFDs. “

He also added, “It is because the officials at higher level have issued informal direction to these bodies (SDLCs and DLCs) on not to approve the claims of OTFDs.  In Orissa, only in very few districts have very minimal claims on IFR of OTFDs have been sporadically recognized while in rest of the districts OTFDs have filed IFR claims, shown to have been approved by concerned Gram Sabhas but their claims have been arbitrarily rejected by the SDLCs.”

The Act and Rules make responsible the sub divisional committee to provide evidence and necessary support. The amended rules in 2012 also clearly spell out that no one can reject the claim except GramSabha. However in this case the Subdivisional level committee of Bhanjanagar has arbitrarily rejected the claims of OTFDs which is a clear violation of FRA.

 

The famous bell metal work of Kantilo in Orissa under threat due to govt apathy

By-Manish Kumar

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)

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)

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