The artistic and traditional mask makers of India

The novel coronavirus has affected each section of our society differently, but the creative artisans have suffered the biggest blow, yet have not grabbed much limelight or been the spotlight of discussion. Art and craft have always been appreciated in India’s cultural heritage but due to the sudden disruption of businesses, artisans are expressing and showing their creativity through mask-making - one of the world's most demanded items today.

Recently, Remant Kumar Mishra from Jitwarpur village, Bihar’s Madhubani district became a social media sensation as many celebrities tweeted about his Madhubani painting masks. This award-winning artist was struggling to make a living when social media came to his rescue. “When I started making the masks, the response was not that great, but Twitter and other social media platforms helped a lot. I am now receiving too many orders and as each of these masks consist of a three-layer washable fabric, it's taking up to 5 days to make a piece. I need some time before I meet and take more orders” says Remant. The Madhubani masks have motifs like birds, fish, and flowers all done with natural colours drawn on them, and are priced at Rs 50 each. With the over-enthusiastic response that he has received via social media, he has ceased to answer calls and texts.

Similarly, in Chorida, a village in the Jhalda subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India - Tarakbath Sutradhar, a Chhau artist got into the making of Chhau masks - Chhau is a traditional, cultural and heritage artform from West Bengal. He is now investing his time in making these masks that are much lighter and are made of paper and cloth. Taraknath who has been creating Chhau face masks for almost 25 years adds, “these are completely waterproof, can be sanitised and the interesting facial expressions painted on them adds the quirk factor”. Selling them at Rs 200 apiece he takes orders on the phone and sounds happy with the overall response.

In these curious and tough times, especially for craftspeople – production and sales have come to a halt. The three-month lockdown halted fairs, which was an important medium to sell their goods. Craft, sadly not being an essential, saw one of the worst-hit and no organised marketing strategy. Smita Parashar who has been working on Madhubani and Manjusha paintings for the past 25 years is busy making reusable painted masks. Her main idea behind doing so is to popularise this art form.

These craftspeople are doing their bit to get their livelihood sorted along with creating awareness. As a society, we should take the initiative to help such artisans and craftspeople rediscover themselves - by promoting and supporting their efforts, helping them reach the masses, and letting their work get recognition. As e-commerce routes have now re-opened let's show the handicraft industry some much-needed love.

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