Netas promise to look into the problems of artisans

Mysuru :

The media sometimes misses a good function not deliberately but simply because it does not have the manpower to cover all the functions happening simultaneously or also because it does not understand the importance of an event that really needs to be focused.

One such occasion which the media did not cover was the happening at Jaganmohan Palace auditorium on May 1. The occasion was the function organised by the Karnataka State Handicrafts Manufacturers Association (KSHMA), an organisation which has in its Committee people from the Handicrafts industry coming together and trying to do something for their community which is one of the most neglected ones in the State, in spite of Mysuru being the handicraft land of the country.

The heartening fact was that 25 craftspersons, all aged above 60, including some women were chosen and honoured for their contribution to the industry on Labour Day. Most of them are not really literates. They have been slogging hard, involved in various aspects of the trade, like inlay work, cutting, polishing, engraving, drawing to name a few.

If one wall plate, table, rosewood box or a dining set has to be produced all these hands are a must to complete the product. Each one is a specialised skill and they are all complementary to one another. The polishing, which is the finishing aspect of the wall plate, is as important as the engraving that makes a Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswathi or a Ganesha look beautiful.

One more unique feature of the KSHMA is the kind of commitment shown by the people in the Committee. For instance, the Honorary President P. Gowraiah, Master Craftsman, State and National Award Winner, of Sri Arundathi Handicrafts, and President S. Ramu, the State Award Winner, of Sri Geetha Fine Arts, both involved in manufacture of rosewood inlay, carving and other products are business rivals. But they have been friends for more than 40 years and each one respects the other completely and stand by one another in both good and bad times.

This is something that is rarely seen in even the best of organisations where back-biting and one-upmanship is the order of the day as we ourselves see in the many so-called elite clubs in city. There is probably a lesson in this for even the people occupying the top posts in academic circles and a subject of study that one must understand and emulate.

Hence, these two gentlemen have been able to focus on the problems they face as they themselves have come from that background having learnt the basic skills of handicrafts and grown from humble beginnings to big businessmen today.

“Some of us including the late A. Gnaneshwar Nikam, Doreswamy Adar, Subramanya Achar, Cheluvachar, all national awardees, came together to form the Association almost 25 years ago. We decided to honour our own people who are involved in the trade, every three years,” said Ramu speaking to Star of Mysore.

Awards function

Each craftsperson was presented Rs. 5,000, a certificate, a shawl, Mysore Peta and fruits. They were all honoured by MLA Vasu, who later in his address promised to look into the problems of the craftspersons and also assured them of a place in the Mysore Palace premises where 20 permanent structures are going to come up. This assurance was given after Ramu made a plea to the MLA, saying that if a place is given to them, a few craftspersons would display their skills working on wood to the visiting tourists.

MP Pratap Simha and MLA M.K. Somashekar also came to the function in spite of having to attend the Labour Day events in other places and assured the people in the industry of all support.

Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa, former Mayor P. Vishwanath, Corporators R. Nagaraju, C. Ramesh, Ramani and M.J. Ravikumar, former Corporator Vasudev and Senior Journalist N. Niranjan Nikam were present at the felicitation function.

A souvenir titled “Karakushala Kale,” Volume-3, 2016, was released by P. Vishwanath on the occasion. Santosh Kalaavidha of Naatya’s Dance House compered the programme. Amma Ramachandra and his team from University of Mysore, rendered folk songs.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – May 04th, 2016