It has been over a decade that Pugdundee Safaris has been actively encouraging the use of local talent and resources in their operations. The lodges takes pride in not only employing locals, but also applying the unique skill sets of the tribal communities living in nearby areas in their architecture. This keeps the traditional artwork of these tribes alive and also assists them in their economic well-being.
The carved wood designed by the artisans from the Gond tribes which are polished and installed as the pillars of the Souvenir shop block at Kanha Earth Lodge.
The traditional artwork of wood carving has been lost by the Gond community over a period of years in transition. Now only a handful of artisans remain, who have managed to preserve their natural talent of bringing life into a dead piece of wood, by using their sheer brilliance.
Two such tribal artists are Santosh Parasthe (43 years) and Ramkumar (46 years). They belong to the talented Gond tribes from the Pathangad village, of Dindori district. They have been involved in this craftsmanship for over two decades. They give us an insight about wood carving, while displaying their craftsmanship at Kanha Earth Lodge.
Santosh and Ramkumar at Kanha Earth Lodge, transforming into precision engineers with tools in their hands, once they start their carving artwork on a piece of Sal wood.
During my conversation with them about this art form and upon constantly digging in to fulfil my curiosity to learn more about it, they revealed, “Traditionally tribal folks did not worship any particular Gods, and they used to worship their ancestors along with the wild animals and the jungles where they belonged.”
Santosh, who works his magic like a six-sigma qualified engineer, while delicately engraving the solid Sal wood, further mentions, “The art work was passed to me by my grandfather who specialised in carving sculptures in wood and stone, after the sudden death of a family member. We believe that the carvings of the deceased family members and within the sculpture dwells the soul of the departed that protects the family at all times like Gods do”.
Santosh and Ramkumar are joined by a fellow Gond tribal- Buddram, from the nearby village of Narna to assist them with some final finishing touches.
Ramkumar mentions, “Today to make a single pillar with detailed engravings takes them around 2-3 days to complete. In olden times, its used to take them over 2 weeks to make a single pillar, as people used to describe the features of the deceased. They would sculpt it on the wood along with some key features of the person which are highlighted by exaggerated illustrations. However, these days it’s much easier, as one just needs to look at the image on a smartphone. The recent sculptures which are in demand by city dwellers are more related to engravings of birds and animals, depicting overall nature in their art form”.
Santosh, quickly adds in, “The important characters of the departed soul is shown by the presence of sun/moon within the sculpture if it was a famous person, the wealth of that person is shown by engraving a horse next to his sculpture on the piece of wood. If the deceased person was very strong, then a tiger would be engraved next to the horse. Also, in all the sculptures the face is relatively larger than the overall body. All these multiple attributes are depicted only in the deceased men. However, women are shown only in a single figure. Lastly, the name of the person is also carved on to the wood in our local dialect.”
They also mention that earlier, relatively soft timber like Khamer (Gmelina arborea), Teak (Tectona grandis) and Bija (Pterocarpus marsupium) were traditionally used by the Gond artisans, however, people are now encouraging the use of wood carving from Sal trees which are long lasting due to the hard timber of these trees. These Gond artists use sharper and stronger tools to engrave the desired carvings on the timber of Sal. Wood required to make these beautiful wooden pillars are procured from the Government operated wood depots, which sells wood for carving, upon getting registered with them.
Santosh further mentions, “In today’s scenario it is not financially viable to make big wooden carvings considering the amount of time consumed, materials required and other logistic limitations. Subsequently, we have transformed ourselves from making engravings of our ancestors on large pillars which had an emotional value, to making general and smaller wood carvings of animals and other human portraits which has more economic value and viability”.
One of the Gond members- Buddram proudly displaying the final product designed by his tribesmen Santosh and Ramkumar
After a few days of intense work by these artists, Ramkumar retires for the day by concluding, “To maintain a balance between earning a livelihood and art creation, the members of this shrinking Gond art community would need more support from the Government, local agencies and private enterprises to organise art events, in order to promote their work and also their rich tradition.”
The members of the Gond clan call this craft as “STHAPNA” which is derived from a Sanskrit word which means to establish. The pillars sculpted by the Gond artisans in the memory of the departed souls are always positioned under the shade of a tree, nearby their homes.
As the famous Gond saying goes, “People may come and go, however, their STHAPNA would remain forever”.
Interestingly, thousands of miles away in a different continent, the Makonde Tribes from Tanzania are also famous for their artistic wood carving on Ebony timber, which is carried out to establish and depict the family members belonging to their family tree.
Written by: Sanjay Mohan, ex- Naturalist with Kanha National Park
Edited By: Natasha Sinha, Content Curator, Pugdundee Safaris
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