JOIN USIt is an overcast Monday morning in mid-June when I walk into Bangalore Haat, a quaint stony structure on Old Madras Road, which often acts as a host for flea market sales and art and craft exhibitions. However, today, it is serving as a cultural harbour for chisels and knives that are determined to turn a lump of wood into a beautiful sculpture, because, after all, a thing of beauty is a joy forever. But, there is more depth to this activity than meets the eye. There is labour, sweat, attention to detail — all against the backdrop of grit and the sheer will to complete the big picture.
Upon entering, it’s hard to miss the fact that there is but just one woman sitting among a group of men, working away with her dexterous fingers to carve an ornately-clad dancer. I had entered a session of a sculpting workshop that had been organised by the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in association with the Karnataka Shilpakala Academy. I made my way inside, determined to initiate conversation with the sole female inmate there.
Sumalatha V Kavalur turned out to be a vivacious and chatty woman in her early 20s. The art of sculpting has existed in her family for generations now. She hails from Lakkundi in Gadag district, where her family owns Vishwakarma Shilpakala Kendra, a retail centre for sculptures. Having received formal education until the Class 10 level, she does sculpting work in stone, wood, Plaster of Paris and detergent soaps. On an average day, she works for about 10 hours. As part of the workshop, artists were required to replicate a sculpture, a picture of whose was provided to them. Sumalatha reckoned she would need about 20 days to finish the sculpture that was about 1.5 feet tall.
Leaps of faith
For Jagannath, a native of Raichur who comes from a family of carpenters, sculpting was a childhood hobby that turned into livelihood. Having been trained at the Artisan Training Centre run by Canara Bank at Jogaradoddi in Bidadi, he is of the opinion that there is more value for divine sculptures. Also, during the month of August (shravana maasa), orders from temples start to increase, affirming his belief.
Canara bank runs such institutes in different parts of Karnataka. The institute in Bidadi is a compact unit that supports young artisans through training, production and marketing. Training is imparted for a period ranging from six months to two years in wood carving, stone carving, terracotta and sheet metal work by a master craftsman. Systematic marketing arrangements are made and orders are procured from the public and other institutions.
While Jagannath talks about the different kinds of sculptures in demand, Jagadeesh from Tumakuru, who has been practising the art for the last 12 years, attributes the demand to the regions. He says that there is not enough awareness about such art forms in rural areas, whereas people in cities are generally more aware.
Sculptors use a variety of media to work on — wood, metal, stone etc. One way for them to secure a sustainable livelihood is by having a retail establishment of their own. And this is how most of them seem to tide through also.
Kantharaju R, a Bengaluru-based sculptor has his own practice for the last 10 years. He holds an Art diploma in drawing and painting and has his own set up where he works on door carving, 3D embossing and collections of wood. He believes that the biggest costs incurred by them are for raw materials. Most raw materials, including wood and stone, are sourced from Sagara in Shivamogga district.
The Karnataka Shilpakala Academy has been organising sculpting workshops and camps for artists since 2014. On an average, the Academy organises 16 to 17 such workshops per year. With a total grant of Rs one crore per annum, it takes about Rs 10 lakh to organise each of these workshops. Much of these funds are utilised towards providing stipends to artists and their administrative work.
In spite of such initiatives, many sculptors across the State are of the opinion that more encouragement could be given to them by increasing the number of workshops being organised. Manjunath Acharya is one such sculptor from Chitradurga who feels strongly about this issue.
Coming from a background where sculpting has been a family tradition, he believes that sculpting is not given the same level of encouragement as music or literature. “Most people feel that the sculpture heritage of Karnataka is limited to the likes of Halebidu and Belur. But there is just so much more to it. Also, we need more schools or universities to learn the art formally. Now, there exist only informal gurukalas that hand out certificates. A curriculum needs to be formulated and degrees must be handed out. This makes it easier to establish an identity and also to secure employment,” he reasons.
For instance, he points out that many a time, when a temple calls for tenders to commission a sculpture, the tender is handed out to already well-established artists from Tamil Nadu, simply because they are better known, even though there are plenty of talented artists in Karnataka.
Ground zero
However, on the flip side, there also seem to be voices about how artists are not motivating themselves enough to achieve. Professor Mahadevappa Shambulingappa Shilpi, former chairman of Karnataka Shilpakala Academy, says that in recent times artists seem to be more interested in gaining recognition rather than furthering the cause of the art itself.
But I did encounter some live examples that seemed to say otherwise. For many sculptors, it still remains a tradition. For instance, for Vishwanath C P, who hails from Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru, it has been more of preserving a tradition for the last 15 years. Take Mahesh Jogi, who hails from Sirsi in Siddapura, for instance. He comes from the Jogi community, where people primarily go onto become musicians. He received training in Bidadi and Soraba training institutes and has been carving sculptures for the last 10 years. He is the first person from his family to take up something other than music.
Individuals like Mahesh choosing to look past the comfort and glamour of popular professions is a heart-warming occurrence indeed. Such examples are probably what will shape the future of an art that is waiting to be nurtured a bit more than it is being.