BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): Converting 'Aaapda' into 'Avsar', Namita and Sukant Mandal, a Bengali couple from the city, are trying in their own little way to popularise ancient and tribal artworks through jewellery.
Namita is a graduate in fine arts from the Kolkata University while Sukant is a postgraduate in economics. Both were teaching at a residential school in Mandsaur, till the Covid-19 pandemic devoured their jobs.
'We had been making pieces of jewellery with paintings for the past five years as a hobby. But after we lost our jobs, we decided to do it on a commercial basis,' says Sukhant. The couple was inspired by fabric jewellery quite popular in Kolkata.
They have set up a stall displaying their unique pieces of jewellery based on 'Harappan and tribal artworks' at the ongoing International Van Mela-2021 in the city.
They make small paintings on canvas, which are then threaded with stones to make earrings and necklaces. Earlier, they used cloth but switched to canvas as it lasts longer. 'Not everybody can buy paintings. They cost thousands of rupees. We want to popularise ancient Indian art by enabling people to wear paintings,' remarks Namita.
They are using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to popularise their products.
The couple had set up their stall at the Hunar Haat held at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh too. 'Yoji ji, Hema Malini and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi visited our stall and greatly appreciated our work,' says Sukhant.
Besides canvas, the pieces of jewellery also have paintings made on jute, terracotta and Zari-Zardozi. They say that their jewellery is water-proof. The couple also makes paintings on crockery and khadi fabrics.
