Geetanjali Krishna: The master shows his etchings

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Long ago, in the days when there was no paper, Dinabandhu Mohapatra's ancestors in village Raghurajpur, Puri district, perfected the art of depicting the scriptures through etchings on palm leaves.

Today, he trains at least 10 students every year to pass on this ancient legacy. When I first saw him, he was praying in front of his creations "" eyes shut, smoky incense in hand, he chanted sacred mantras oblivious to curious onlookers.

When he finished, he turned to me and said, "My family has drawn the images of Jagannath, lord of Puri, for centuries. For me, this craft is much more than the mere means to make a living "" it is a measure of my faith, a representation of what I feel about my deity."

Etching on palm leaves is a time-consuming and lengthy task, Mohapatra Babu explained. First, the leaves have to be prepared for etching. To do this, they are boiled in water to which some turmeric is added. Then, after they have been dried in the sun, they are piano-folded and stitched.

"It is only after all this that the artist's canvas is ready for him to use," he explained. One of his students then showed me the likkhan (stylus) with which he etched a face in just a few skillful strokes. Then he smeared the entire leaf with lampblack.

When he wiped the leaf, the lampblack came off, enhancing only the grooves of the etching. His teacher watched with pride: "This student lives in my house and learns the craft with me. See how good his drawing is? He's almost through with his training now!"

The first thing Mohapatra Babu teaches his students is drawing. "First, I make them practice on slates with chalk, then they graduate to using brushes and paints," said he.

It takes the good ones more than five years to graduate to making the really intricate etchings, of the kind he showed me later. One was a depiction of Lord Vishnu in his 10 incarnations, beautiful down to the last detail.

Another of his creations had a circular foldout in the centre of each panel. On one side of the fold was a verse (shloka) from a sacred text. On the other side was a related drawing.

It was tough to imagine that the raw palm leaves he showed me, and the rudimentary iron stylus, which he and his students sharpened by rubbing against a stone, could create such beautiful etchings.

Then he pointed out others where he'd carved out intricate designs, in addition to etching on the leaf base. Looking at Mohapatra Babu's creations, I realised that it was no wonder he has won state awards, the Lalit Kala Academy award as well as the National Merit award for excellence in his craft.

The last award, he told me proudly, was for a piece in which he used the colours used in the traditional paintings on palm leaves (pattachitras, in local parlance) along with etching.

"The result was beautiful, and quite unusual "" since etching is usually only in black. That's why I got the award," said he.

In today's world, mill made paper has rendered writing on leaves redundant, nothing but a quaint echo of the past.

"Earlier, all horoscopes used to be made on palm leaves. They still are, in villages. In the cities, of course, people just opt for computer printouts!" the master craftsman chuckled. But then, he can afford to laugh "" thanks to his tireless efforts, Mohapatra Babu has ensured that his beloved craft of palm leaf etching survives in the generations to come.

(geetanjalikrishna@yahoo.co.uk)