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Cuttack, Nov. 11: A maiden initiative to boost the Cuttack tarkashi (silver filigree) art form is under way as part of the preparations for Bali Jatra this year.
The Cuttack District Culture Board organises the week-long fair, which starts on Kartik Purnima day. This year, the board has decided to come up with a silver filigree bazaar having a special pavilion for filigree products of artisans.
A board member said: “The initiative involves identification of traditional artisans, bringing them under one roof along with infrastructure for live demonstration of the intricate methods involved in the silver filigree work and product sale facility for the first time in Bali Jatra.”
The official said the board has decided to start with 20 to 25 kiosks in the special pavilion to provide an opportunity to the artisans to display their filigree work.
“A committee has been constituted to select the artisans,” said the official.
“Cuttack tarkashi is popular across the world. The special pavilion is expected to attract people by offering them the opportunity of viewing a wide range of traditional handmade tarkashi work and their progress from fine silver wires into a connoisseur’s delight,” Kishore Kumar Mohanty, Cuttack collector told The Telegraph.
The tarkashi technique involves beating and drawing of silver into fine wires and foils. These are then bend and joined in an artistic manner producing a wide variety of ornaments and decorative items with a snowy finish.
Cuttack has been the centre of silver filigree art form for ages.
It is home to nearly 2,000 tarkashi artisans who have inherited, over the generations, the craftsmanship involving mastery in twisting delicate silver wires into delicate loops knitted in a zigzag pattern resulting in an intricate lace like appearance.
“Such unprecedented initiative in Bali Jatra will matter a lot to the families of artisans in the city. These days, younger generation of filigree artisans are considering other options for earning their livelihood as the specialised craft now barely manages to retain a marginal per cent of the total sales, forcing traditional craftsmen out of work,” said Biswanath Dey, a master filigree artisan, who had recently created a two-foot high replica of the Konark temple made of 10kg silver.
Dey’s younger brother Pravat hopes that “the initiative during Bali Jatra will enable artisans to get the feedback from the consumers directly and know the market trends and preferences”.
The Dey brothers had also constructed a four-foot high replica of Taj Mahal by using 55kg of silver in 2004.
“The special pavilion for silver filigree art form at Bali Jatra this year is expected to set the pace for the Silver Filigree Centre (SFC) project for which the district administration had recently handed over three acres at Mundasahi on the banks of Mahanadi,” the Cuttack collector said.
Orissa Tourism Development Corporation will link the SFC with the tourism sector and use funds of about Rs 1 crore from the Union government under its Circuit Development Scheme to support the project and mobilise filigree artisans in Cuttack.
