MANABODHA RANA - born to EARTH

[while conferred with National Award by the than

 President of India R.Venkatraman in 1987]

It takes a life time for anyone to be a master in any discipline of art, be it music, dance, fine-art or the craft.  It is Manabodha Rana of Barpali who stood as a testimony to the ever changing times.  He is attempting to recreate life out of earth itself. Manabodha Rana  was born to a family of potters  called kumbhar at Barpali.   The vocation of this community is to make earthen pots and to sell them  in the local market. Whereas Manabodha  able to elevate himself to the higher grounds by creating earthen artefacts  called  terracotta.  Due to poverty and the prevailing social standards of that time, he could able to attended school only up to 7^th Standard. At age 13 he was inducted to the family vocation of pottery. He started rotating chak  or the potters-wheel under the able stewardship of his father.  He learnt to make objects of day today use like kuthul or guma (pots that are used to store water); handi  (pots that are used to cook rice); patli (pots that are used to cook dal or pulses); telen (the plate used for covering handi or patli); taad (big containers used for storing rice); mrudung khol (body of the musical drums); dhupali and small lamps called  deepa.

[ a large earthen pot for planting Tulsi shrub ]

But once while making earthen toys for the Saptapuri Amavasya he was inspired to create life size figures of these toys.  In this region during Saptapuri Amavasya  earthen toys like  hati (elephant), ghoda (horse), gai (cow), balada (bullock), maan/seer (measuring instrument for pulses) are used for offering puja. It is from where he diversified from being a potter to a terracotta artisan. As a potter he was knowing that his chak or the potter-wheel should move only clock-wise. And  while rotating his wheel clock-wise, he able to revive the lost glory of Indian terracotta. He re-created miniature objects on roof-tiles. These objects include crow, parrot, dove, frog, scorpion,  a mother monkey picking lice from the head of its baby and so on. He able to create a market for them among the elite class of the society in the metros and the international market.  At present a roof-tile without these objects will cost you Rs.1 a piece at Barpali. Due to high labour input terracotta tiles are no more affordable, as compare to the cheaper and durable building materials like asbestos or the tin sheets.

[Miniature objects of birds, animals and reptiles on the roof tiles]

[A close-up view of roof-tiles called khappar]

In the year 1987 he was conferred with National Award from the than President of India Shri R.  Venkatraman in recognition to his finest craftsmanship. He is doing live demonstration at National Handicraft and Handloom Museum, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi successively for the past thirty years since 1981 during the India International Trade Fair. Beside this he participated  eight times at Dilli Haat; seven times at Surajkund Mella and once at World Trade Centre, Mumbai. He was sent on a all expenses paid trip by Government of India to do live demonstration at Osaka city of Japan, Ottawa city of Canada, Barcelona of Spain and Copenhagen of Denmark.

His products are being exported to Japan, Denmark, Spain and France by  Handicrafts   and Handlooms Exports Corporation of India (HHEC).

[Lanthan a replica of a lantern run by kerosene]

One of his works a 47 X 80 feets long terracotta mural is being showcased in one of the busiest metro rail stations of  New Delhi at INA. It is an amalgamation of 58 rectangle pieces together to form a picturesque scene of  the branch of a tree on which birds are chirping, while squirrels are playing.

 [a mural by Manabodha at INA Metro Rail Station, New Delhi ] 

Pottery  is an eco-friendly cottage industry. Manabodha collects the iron rich black soil from a pond called Nimisarannya bandha nearBarpali and mixes it with red soil which is collected from the agricultural land. The black and red soil is mixed together in the proportion of 1:2 and soaked in water overnight.  In the morning  the small pebbles are filtered out. A thick black dough is created. This clay is transferred to the potter-wheel. With the fingers of both the hands needed shape is given to the clay. When the pot is created than he do the appliqué works over it, which could only be termed as terracotta. When these raw articles get completely dried indoor, he put it in the kiln. The furnace is ignited with straw, rice-barn and cow dung. The dried articles are fired for six to ten hours. After the fire the artefacts are coloured with ochre red soil called geru (in Oriya) mixed with adhesive.     

[The 36th International Arts and Crafts Fair, Jerusalem, Israel]

[ Participants of 36th International Arts and Crafts Fair, Jerusalem, Israel ]

In life all of us  set  the targets for self and rush to chase it. While doing it often you are the victim of pride, greed and the  anger. But with time your wealth, name, fame and everything else reduces to earth. It is highly advisable to take pottery as a hobby for those persons who are going throw the bad phase of their life, say death of a near and dear of the family; losses in the business; losing a job or let it be the post retirement life. Because over here you learn how to mould the clay (i.e. your life) with your own hands.

kiranbima@gmail.com

E. KIRAN MOHAN 

Tahsil Chowk

At\PO - BARPALI - 768 029

Dist. Bargarh

Orissa, India

Cell #  91 - 99 371 20565