Walnut wood carving a dying legacy due to low wages
MASROOR AHAMAD
SRINAGAR: As per figures, there are more than eight lakh artisans in Jammu and Kashmir, dealing with different types of handicrafts. The crafts include Pashmina, Carpets, Papier Mache, Wood Carving, Crewel, Copper Antique, Needle work or Sozni , Namda Sazi, Chain stitch, and Kani Shawls making etc.
Despite GI Tag and several steps like taken by the LG Administration to strengthen the handicraft and other sectors in Kashmir , but wood carving sector, Carpet sector, Paper Mache or handloom are going down day by day as influx of similar products from Saharanpur of UP state , and the artisans and craftsmen are struggling to compete as cheaper alternatives are increasingly flooding the market.
Kashmiri artisans who have kept the handicrafts trade alive are facing the most difficult times ,three decades of unrest has affected the already financially weak artisans as they literally have no work to do. Artisans have carried forward their centuries-old legacy but are in fear who will inherit it as the new generation is not paying attention to the art.
Owner of the Ambassador Wood Carving Centre Srinagar , claims he too abandoned the craft due to low wages and raw material.
“As artists did not get fair compensation for their art, it became hard for them to survive and earn a livelihood. Some artisans , who carried on this legacy of figurine art as long as they could, quit,” he said.
“This art takes a lot of time and the raw material, the wood. These are the reasons artisans are giving up this art and I am one of those,” he said. The value of the wood differs ,with the wood from the root being the most expensive.
“Some of the pieces used to take more than a year to complete. As this art takes a lot of hard work, dedication and time, unless they get good pay, artisans cannot survive and eventually give up.”I believe that the art is going to become extinct because no one is learning it,” he added.
“When I started learning this art,I was very young and was eager to learn” he Prototype said. Nowadays the newer generation is not paying attention to this art, making me worried about future of this art .I want to teach people ,but no one is interested because learning this takes a lot of time, and people are impatient these days.
Another artisan said, “Our family has been in this business for the last 200 years, it is a premium art in Kashmir. This craft is expensive and only high-end customers buy it. Walnut wood carving is a delicate craft process that is unique and valued in Kashmir due to the availability of walnut trees. Kashmir ,after all is India’s only walnut basket with an altitude of 5500-7500 feet above sea level. Kashmir is now among the few places in the world where walnut is still available.
“The wood is hard and durable ,with even texture which help in fine and detailed work.Low pay has been the top factor for the younger people’s waning interest in the craft, even though it has a decent demand in international markets,” he said.
“The government too hardly did its part and paid no attention to it,” artisan said.
He said this craft has immense potential in local, national and international markets but the government has failed to show serious concern.
“Another reason for the art being on the verge of extinction is that the government pays the least interest in effective collaboration and implementing new ideas that were offered by us. No one came to learn about this art because authorities did not bother to revive it,” he added.
Senior officials of the ,Department of Handicrafts Kashmir said, department has felicitated many artisans for their work and is also encouraging other artists to take up the craft. He admitted the wood carving craft has been in decline for years, but now the government is trying to revive it on fast track mode.