Jaukandhei is back in trend with help from Keshu Das, says Shabiha Nur Khatoon from Bhubaneshwar.
People would have remained unaware of Jaukandhei dolls, Jaukandhei wedding, Utkaliya Jhoti festival, endangered horseshoe crab, peacocks of Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, the traditional Pattachitra of Lord Jagannath, ancient names like “Kosamba” for Balasore and forgotten places like Dublagadi and Triveni Tirth, if Keshu Das wouldn’t have taken the age-old artform to a different level.
Here is the inspiring story of Balasore based Keshu Das who is an ardent follower of Fakir Mohan Senapati, an eminent Odia writer. Keshau Das has dedicated his life in reviving the Baleswari-Jaukandhei, a traditional artwork. To revive, redevelop and re-establish the vanished, ignored and not-so discussed art, artists, and culture of his district, he is working as a dedicated volunteer. For the past three decades, he has been working as a committed worker for the development of child art, cartoon, tribal art, sand art, and Baleswari folk art.
Jaukandhei, though small, is a symbol of pride and identity for Balasore. If we let our culture sink before our eyes, what is the point of education? As an educated and responsible artist, he believes it is his duty to preserve it. The biggest takeaway is that by focusing on Jaukandhei, he has created a whole new art form—Jau Painting—which was introduced to the world of Indian fine art by Keshu Das.
In a freewheeling conversation, Keshu Das says, “I started a campaign in 2003 to revive Balasore folk art Jaukandhei. This traditional folk art was preserved as a traditional profession by National Merit AWD Jaukandhei artist Savitri Nandi, the daughter of Barabati of Balasore and daughter-in-law of Nalamganj. Firstly, I gave the restoration program a form of movement and organized training, exhibitions, competitions, workshops for women in groups at various places, and started a magazine, website and fair with poets, literary figures, journalists, social workers, organizers and intellectuals and made it accessible to the public.”
He went on to elucidate, “People from all walks of life joined in and brought about a revival of the folk-art culture of Balasore by making a huge barley basket. Then, when I was first learning barley basketry from Savitri Nandi and my family’s barley basketry artist Kankalata Das, I was thinking about various things for the improvement of barley art. At that time, it occurred to me that if art can be created by applying barley on clay pots, then why can’t beautiful paintings be made using barley as a medium. To give shape to this idea, I started with hard board and canvas. I started experimenting with barley painting and with the help of some of my art students, organized a group show on the occasion of Republic Day in 2007 at the Rotary Club of Balasore. This was the first barley painting exhibition on Indian barley in India.” Keshu Das received a senior fellowship for ‘Innovation of Lacquer Painting’ from the Department of Culture, Government of India in 2014-2016. After several attempts, he succeeded in making attractive and useful paintings on canvas using Indian barley. This barley painting mainly focuses on the protection and conservation of the world’s most amazing and rare marine creature, the horseshoe crab, and has been exhibited in Delhi, Bangalore and Bhubaneswar and has been widely appreciated. He is the first and only one to make art with Indian barley in India.
Keshu Das is one-of-a kind painter from India who has started using new medium like lacquer on canvas. He has experimented with lacquer as a medium and established a new vision in Indian art field. He got senior fellowship in visual art from Department of Culture, Government of India from 2014 to 2016. During the fellowship period he researched about Indian Lacquer Art and recorded it in a 300-pages document. This is a valuable documentation for Baleshwar art and culture.
He inspired writers and play actors to work on this art form. Women took part in this novel work and were trained in making Jaukandhei. Jaukandhei became symbol of culture in Baleswar and its tradition. Women started worshiping Jaukandhei on the occasion of Savitri Brata, which is an old tradition but people had forgotten it. Then a new page was added to Baleswar culture named as ‘‘Jaukandhei Bahaghara’’ the marriage between two lacquer dolls and this marriage became a cultural festival of Baleswar.
Keshu Das is the first man to introduce the contemporary art like installation art, performing art, public art and three-dimensional (3-D art), sand art, waste-installation, thread art in Balasore, Odisha. Now a days these innovative thoughts and ideas are hardly seen in any artist. Keshu Das has come from a lower middle-class family of a remote coastal village, Dublagadi and lives in Koshamba Nagar in Balasore town. After earning a degree from Government College of Art and Craft, Khallikote, and a Master’s from Banaras Hindu University, he dedicated his career in reviving the age-old art form. He stressed, “Jaukandhei should never be considered small, it connects us to ancient civilizations like Mohenjo- Daro and Harappa. Today, every Indian household spends ` 500 annually on toys and figurines—yet India imports `25,000 crore worth of toys each year, many of which harm the environment. Our traditional Indian toys are eco-friendly. If we develop them using modern knowledge and techniques, it will boost rural industries and the economy while protecting the environment. Jaukandhei is our identity, pride, and cultural emblem in Balasore. If we let our culture vanish before our eyes, what is the value of our education? As a responsible artist, it is my moral duty to preserve it. Most importantly, my commitment to Jaukandhei gave me something invaluable—a new artistic style and medium: jau painting. It has enriched my artistic journey greatly.”
For different people, success is meant differently but for Keshu Das success is a relative term. Some define it by public recognition, others by personal fulfilment. “I believe true success is a blend of both.
I am overwhelmed with my work and the love that I have received from people as well. Still, I believe greater success will come when:
- The Odisha Government removes jau from the list of forest products and includes it as an agricultural product.
- ‘Utkaliya Kandhei Nigam’ to be established in Odisha.
- A global research centre for the Horseshoe Crab should be there.
- Babanbandh in Nilagiri (Sia Dimala Panchayat) to be recognized as a tourist site with a floating market.
- Triveni Tirth in Remuna to be officially recognized.
- A day when Utkaliya Jhoti Diwas should be declared.”
Feathers in his cap
a) Orissa Lalit Kala Academy, Bhubaneshwar (Young Artist)-1987.
b) Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata- 2000.
c) Jajpur Fine Arts Academy, Jajpur- 2003.
d) Deepak Art Trust, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand- 2008
e) Best Documentary Award by CIFF Covid 19 International Film Festival, India- 2020.
f) Best Actor and writer Award, 4th Nawada International Film Festival, India- 2023.
g) Asit Mukherjee Memorial Honour.
