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| James, Keerampala, Palamattam, Ernakulam |
To many, the fragmentary pieces of coconut shell, leaf, bamboo, roots etc are waste materials they may hardly notice, if they happen to venture into a jungle. But in the same pieces, James, a labourer, discovers hidden miniature handicrafts, which he brings to the fore with his patience and artistic perseverance.
Among the fruits of his toil are: a tiny bamboo basket that is less than a centimeter in diameter, a ring made of coconut shell that is smaller than a mustard seed etc. He keeps the tiny ring covered with cotton in a safe place, lest it fall to the floor and disappear from view. To weave the miniature basket of bamboo, he had to use a hair-thin bamboo thread and it took more than six months of patient struggle
He lives with his wife and two daughters in a shanty built on the poramboke land adjacent to Periyar Valley canal. However, this frugal and rather unaesthetic surrounding conceals a creative talent that is mostly unnoticed and unacclaimed.
However, he won awards during the youth festivals conducted by Nehru Yuvajana Kendra during 2000, 2001 and 2003. And in 2002, he won a gold medal in the exhibition conducted by the Central Handicrafts Ministry at Mathura.
The gold medal consisted of 2 grams of yellow metal. When the financial constraints became acute, James had no option but to sell it.
Courtesy:
AK.Jayaprakash (text),
Mathrubhumi,
March 16, 2011
Contributed by: Administrator
