BHAGABANA MEHER - An Exponent of Sambalpuri IKAT Sarees

Bhagabana Meher is the chief exponent of Sambalpuri textile. Born  to a bhulia family  at  Barpali. Bhulia’s is the community whose prime occupation is weaving cloths. Due to abstract poverty he could not  study beyond   5th Standard in school. But  under the able guidance of his father he learnt the intricate techniques in weaving of Sambalpuri textiles.  His sincerity and devotion to his work brought many accolades to him. In 2003 he was conferred with the National Award by the than President of India Hon. A.P.J Abdul Kalam for his work “Banavihar”. It’s a silk saree on which  wild animals and birds are being picturised. This work depicts how unlike human beings, the birds and the beasts lead harmony in a jungle. This design  is woven on  circular frames like that of  Ganjpa, the ancient royal card game of Orissa. Natural colours extracted from vegetables were being used to dye the threads to make it environment friendly. 

[Ganjpa - the ancient handmade playing cards of Odisha]

• On the other hand UNESCO has conferred him with a Seal of Excellence in recognition to his finest craftsmanship for a wall hanging in silk cloth titled “Abhayaranya”.  In the year 1999 the Directorate of  Handicrafts and Cottage Industries  of Orissa awarded a Merit Certificate for his khadi saree “Mahabharat”. In August 2010 he brought many laurels  to his nation with the live demonstration at  Battaramulla, Sri Lanka in a Craft Exchange Programme. This  week long trip of him was sponsored by National Crafts Council of Sri Lanka. Prior to this he participated twice in the World Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi;  five times at Dilli Haat; five times at Surajkund Mella and once at World Trade Centre, Mumbai.

  

  [Palli-chitra the view of rural life transferred on a saree]

  
  
  For the past 40 years or so he keep on innovating new designs while keeping alive  the ethnic Sambalpuri patterns on cloth. While making an IKAT or “tie & dye” saree first he have to draw the design on a graph paper. Then the  real test  lays on transferring the design to the threads. With precision he have to do the pain-staking job of  tying the knots at needed places over the bunch of threads.  He formulates dye  from natural extracts.  For example black colour is extracted from the harida, hirakasi,  old jaggery while a rust iron rod is dipped in water. On the other hand the yellow colour is extracted from dry  Phalsa  flowers.    Maroon is extracted from the bark of jackfruit tree. Light brown from the bark of Ka tree, while deep brown from the bark of bamoor  tree.  He drips the knotted bunch of  threads in the desired colours. When the threads gets dry in the sun he opens each of these knots. Then the thread pass through a series of hand operated instruments like uphuna, asari, rahata (it is called charkha in Hindi), jatur kana before entering monga.

  

  [Ma Samlai a wall hanging by Bhagabana Meher]

  

  [Bada-deula a wall-hanging on bandha]

  

  [the design of boita or the wooden ships used
  during ancient Orissa's maritime history ]

  
  
  In the year 2005 he attended one workshop at Hyderabad (India) on the application of natural dye on handloom fabrics. Over there one old  European lady by the name Carla Faita from Bruxelles, Belgium  was much moved by his works. On her next visit to India during November 2006 she found her own way to this little town Barpali to check  all other innovations, even while the nearest domestic airport is 350 kms off.  No one could pay the price for the  innovation of an artist. It is only the recognition or  a word of praise that could only compensate  for his efforts. 
  
  
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     E.Kiran Mohan(the Blogger)                       
     Tehsil Chowk,
     At\PO Barpali - 768029          
     Dist.Bargarh, Orissa, India