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Lockdown cripples artisan hub still reeling from Fani

Bhubaneswar: More than two months into the lockdown, the only way to keep the hearth burning for painter-cum-stone sculptor Lingaraj Maharana of the famed Raghurajpur village was to pledge his gold chain with a bank. He repaid Rs 5,000 to a villager from the Rs 20,000 loan that he received from the bank, hopeful that with the remaining Rs 15,000 he would be able to provide food for his family of five for at least a month.



The condition of the 150 artists’ families living at Raghurajpur village in Puri’s Malatipatpur gram panchayat is no different. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have dealt a blow to the village’s tourist-driven economy that had not yet recovered from last year’s Cyclone Fani. “The number of tourists dwindled after Fani and now there is none,” sarpanch Pusparani Prusty said.

“The situation has forced some artists to work as labourers, although their number may be between 10 and 20,” Sudarshan Swain, president of the Raghunath Chitrakarigari Industrial Cooperative Society and a stone sculptor, said.

Prasanta Muduli of Mahipur village in Nayagarh district, who used to work with Sudarshan on his projects, is now working as a labourer in his native place. “I have a five-year-old son and my wife is pregnant with our second child. I am working as a construction labourer and, sometimes as a mason, earning Rs 300 to Rs 500 per day whenever I get work,” Prasanta said.

Before this, Prasanta was part of the team that was involved in sculpting laterite and khondalite stones for the beautification of Jagannath Ballabh Matha in Puri. “We had to stop the work midway owing to the lockdown,” Sudarshan (49), who headed that team, said.

A pattachitra painter or stone sculptor in Raghurajpur used to earn Rs 12,000 a month, while women involved in papier-mâché craft would make Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 a month. Most of their money used to come from tourists from the US, France, Italy and Denmark and orders placed by art connoisseurs from Mumbai and Kolkata.

“Now we don’t expect tourists for the next two years,” pattachitra artist Biswanath Swain, 50, who is also the president of Raghurajpur Heritage Village, said. Many artists like Kirtan Das are living off their savings. With the markets shut, they are unable to procure a particular kind of gum required for their paintings.

“Some relief has come from the government like the 5kg rice per head per month for three months, 3kg dal for three months and Rs 1,000 per ration card. Besides, old-age, widow, disabled and artists’ pensions have been disbursed for four months,” the sarpanch said. But painters feel this is not sufficient. “We, artists, like to live life well. Our creativity flourishes when we are happy. Rice and dal are not sufficient to cook a meal,” a crestfallen Biswanath said.

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