Paper/ Papier Mache

This skill has been creatively practised by craftspersons from all over Orissa. Paper, waste cloth and different kinds of natural fibres are soaked and beaten into pulp, then mixed with a variety of seeds and gums for strength and as protection from termites. Special clays and bio-wastes are added for body and reinforcement. The enitre process results in a medium so malleable that it requirs little skill to be moulded into countless forms. However, despite its versatility this craft has remained neglected.

In Madhya Pradesh, the main centre for papier mache is Ujjain, but it is also practised in Gwalior, Bhopal and Ratlam. The Nagvanshi community, which makes mud toys and dolls, is also engaged in the making of papier mache articles.

Papier -Mache masks of Kerala dancers in different poses are available. Kathakali faces are one of the common subject matter of Papier-Mache. Banana Plant fibre, Cora grass, Rice straw etc are used to make various products. Banana fibre is woven into floor coverings, each a square foot in size, are then stitched together according to the size desired, Rice straw is used to form a silken collage of native scenery on black silk and Cora grass is used to make mats are best examples for the above.

The Kari kamandari or papier-mache as it is commonly called is done on a silken surface on which motifs such as chinar leaf, isis, rose, tulips, hyacinth and arabesques are painted with great elegance and delicacy. The best of Kashmir’s papier-mache is a beautiful piece of art, which combines different shades of paintings with brilliant brush works.

Talk of paper craft brings one inside the patang (kite) market in Lal Kuan bazaar in Old Delhi. These colourful, feather-light kites come in all shapes and sizes, as kite flying is an important national pastime.

Tazia is the next most popular paper craft. A commemorative paper structure, it consists of coloured bits of paper pasted on a bamboo frame and carried in the Moharram procession. Tazias are used for a happy purpose too during the Phoolwalon ki Sair held every September in the capital.

Papier mache is not a craft traditional to this state. The Santiniketan school of artists did some pioneering work in introducing this craft in West Bengal. Today quite a number of craftsmen in and around Calcutta have taken up the craft and their products mainly dolls and masks, have found a market for their beauty in designs and excellence in craftsmanship.