When the woods whisper in silence, they come to reflect upon life
# Jaydip Chakrabarti
A piece of wood also whispers, but it whispers in silence. An ardent listener can hear it and communicate with the wood.
Intense silent interaction goes on as an artist carves out the wood and transforms it into a creative structure reflecting his unspoken thoughts – that’s how Ramesh Magadi, a wood carving artist from Bangalore described the ancient art form – Art of wood carving.
Magadi along with other 50 artists from different parts of the country are attending a workshop at the National Wood Carving Camp at Nazarul Kalakhestra. The camp was organized with the initiative of the Lalit Kala Akademi and was inaugurated by Minister of Youth Affairs Tinku Roy on March 15 in presence of Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi, V Nagdesh. The camp will continue till March 22 next.
Out of the 51 artists, 20 artists from other States are taking part in the workshop and 31 are from the State.
For the last seven days, one side of Nazrul Kala Khestra is abuzz with the pecking-like sounds of woodpeckers as the participating artists embark on a creative journey with 'Maled' (wood-made hammer) and several wood carving tools.
Another artist in the camp, Prem Chandra from Manipur said, “With thoughts abound, focusing on one thought till the end is the challenge. The more one is focused, the more he can use Maled and other tools to transform a piece of wood into a creative piece which has an ascetic value and conveys a message from the artist to society”.
Ramesh Magadi of Bangalore also echoed the same. In the camp, he started working and almost converted a piece of wood into a ‘slightly twisted’ human-like form with three spears piercing through this twisted human-like structure.
Explaining his thoughts on his creation, Magadi said, it is very difficult for a common man to rise up beyond the boundaries of all religions and emerge as a true ‘human’. The difficulties stem out of daily life struggles, people’s opinions and circumstances prevent him to attain a higher mental sphere – the spears are representing the troubles and the structure is twisted reflecting that troubles are agonizing and twisting the mind. The ‘face’ of the human-like structure appears to be calm representing a human being’s relentless efforts to stay steady amidst struggles and woes.
“Artisans of different ages- male and female - are working on woods at Nazrul Kalakhestra for the last seven days. All are creating ‘something’ and giving a visual shape of his/her thoughts”, Prem Kumar commented.
The models created by the artists would be displayed tomorrow at Nazrul Kalakhestra. Among other dignitaries, Judge of the High Court of Tripura Justice Arindam Lodh will remain present at the valedictory session of the National Wood Carving Camp.
# Jaydip Chakrabarti may be contacted at [email protected]