FROM ORISSA WITH LOVE
They say life takes you where you want to go. All you need to know is that path. It places you where you can realize your dream. All you have to do is dream and then follow it up with enough commitment and drive to fulfil it. Meenal Singh Deo, the Yuvrani of Dhenkanal relives her life as a craft protagonist in distant Dhenkanal where she has adopted over 60 crafts and thousands of craftsmen. Listen in to her relive this journey.
It all started back in 1990 when I got married into the Singhdeo family of Dhenkanal, Odisha and moved here. Craft, textiles and art has been a passion from an early age of eleven twelve. Dhenkanal being a cauldron of craft, I started to visit and work with the local crafts and handloom around our hometown. Giving them designs for myself and gifts to family and friends. Later I started to exhibit these designs, products and saris under the brand name ‘Minaaketan’, the family banner. The aim was to showcase our art and craft and make it utilitarian in today’s life style. I exhibited in various cities in India and Morocco individually and with forums such as ‘Royal Fables’ and ‘Vasutra’ as well as showcased the arts and textiles with ‘Walking Hand in Hand’.
During the Lockdown due to the pandemic, I realized that these artisans and weavers would be in a precarious state. On contacting all those I worked with I was horrified to hear their stories of despair and hardship. My daughter, Yashasvini, and I decided to reach out to them with whatever little we could muster. She gave a part of her salary and my sister, Radhikaraje Gaekwad, married and living in Baroda, being a huge craft and textile enthusiast chipped in.
My husband, daughter and I started going around distributing dry rations and aid to the artisans and weavers I worked closely with. We also bought what little stock they had to encourage them to continue working. Posts on social media attracted a lot of attention from people who came forward to help. Radhika, my sister has a large following on social media and a lot of help came in through her shared posts and appeal. This helped me reach out to many more crafts and their creators. I remember how one person bought 100 Dokra sculptures in one go!
We sent people to identify villages who have been hit badly, making a detailed list for distribution with the help of responsible village elders. Packing the provisions into individual packets overnight we loaded our vehicles and in the morning distributed and covered up to two to three villages or hamlets, sometimes returning late in the evening.
Within a month and a half and we had reached out to over 500 families of Dokra artisans, weavers, bell metal workers, potters, blacksmiths, basket weavers, brass jewellery makers, straw craft artisans, pattachitra artists, drum makers, wood carvers, honey gatherers and fishermen not only in Dhenkanal but outside too.
A small act of reaching out to a few snowballed into a mission but one close to my heart. The challenges we face of course of those never faced before as this pandemic is something totally new to us. Social distancing was important yet difficult. Villages with a hundred families overjoyed to receive aid would want to come up close. None of them had masks so we would have to request them to cover their nose and mouth with their gamuchas and sarees as well maintain a distance.
The situation was worse than I had anticipated, some of them had reached a state where they were alternating meals with their children. No raw material for the craft was available to work with, no new orders and no sales whatsoever. Most of these artisans carry their wares on foot and bicycles to village haats, fairs and market places. Come Covid and all movement had stopped. They had very little stock with them or the stocks were piled up with money blocked as in the case of some weavers. The basket weavers raw material had gathered fungus. We realized that we were putting our staff and ourselves at risk also the artisans we were reaching out to but the cause just seemed greater at that moment.
Hence, what emerged as a humanitarian outreach turned into my reason for being. The fabrics we bought as support became a canvas to create fun dresses, Buddha pants, wrap arounds and much more. Yashashvini, a trained curator for museums convinced me to convert part of the palace into a memorabila shop and hence a dream turned real!
Within a month and a half and we had reached out to over 500 families of Dokra artisans, weavers, bell metal workers, potters, blacksmiths, basket weavers, brass jewellery makers, straw craft artisans, pattachitra artists, drum makers, wood carvers, honey gatherers and fishermen not only in Dhenkanal but outside too.
A small act of reaching out to a few snowballed into a mission but one close to my heart. The challenges we face of course of those never faced before as this pandemic is something totally new to us. Social distancing was important yet difficult. Villages with a hundred families overjoyed to receive aid would want to come up close. None of them had masks so we would have to request them to cover their nose and mouth with their gamuchas and sarees as well maintain a distance.
The situation was worse than I had anticipated, some of them had reached a state where they were alternating meals with their children. No raw material for the craft was available to work with, no new orders and no sales whatsoever. Most of these artisans carry their wares on foot and bicycles to village haats, fairs and market places. Come Covid and all movement had stopped. They had very little stock with them or the stocks were piled up with money blocked as in the case of some weavers. The basket weavers raw material had gathered fungus. We realized that we were putting our staff and ourselves at risk also the artisans we were reaching out to but the cause just seemed greater at that moment.
Hence, what emerged as a humanitarian outreach turned into my reason for being. The fabrics we bought as support became a canvas to create fun dresses, Buddha pants, wrap arounds and much more. Yashashvini, a trained curator for museums convinced me to convert part of the palace into a memorabila shop and hence a dream turned real!