A multi-proficient artisan who weaves magic with hands: Kiranbala Harichandan
Kiranbala Harichandan is the
master handicrafts person who runs Seven Diamond Multicraft, that is a producer
of handmade items . Situated at Lokeswarpur, Pallahat, Khordha District of
Odisha, this organization has been functioning since 2005. Previously, it
started with home creations however now their creative work has made its path
to diverse stalls in the last fifteen years.
Their products include applique
paintings, embroidery, straw art and paddy artwork which is made by trained
individuals. They even create pillow covers, sofa covers and bedsheets, which they
promote from houses or from stalls at Gopalpur, Bhubaneswar or anywhere else
when they get a chance.
Kiranbala, besides being an
outstanding artisan, she also gives training to young people at distinctive
locations for which she is being paid by the government. She has 15+ artisans
working with her at Seven Diamond Multicraft. They acquire the raw materials in
bulk from places like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri & Pipili and they an
inventory for 3-4 months.
Their efforts in this is field has
started to pay off because of the high quality of work. She shared that recently ,
they got an order for applique work for a temple for INR 28,000. However, the
temple administration was so impressed that they paid additional INR 2,000.
She is a self-made artisan, who had
this hobby since her school days and later converted this to a business. She believes
that "handmade products have much greater authenticity and beauty than the
machine-made ones". At the same time, she expresses grief, that people nowadays
are unaware of the high-quality produced by artisans and prefer the machine-made
cheaper products. She is happy that our honorable
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiji has started the "vocal for local"
campaign, and this she believes makes the case for artisans stronger.
The current Covid-19 situation has posed a problem for her as the sales are down, however they
are assured that they have got enough stocks of their artwork, which would
start selling once things return to normalcy.
That’s called optimism and our salute to many more Kiranbala's in India who are promoting local products and creating livelihoods for artisans.
(Interviewed by Neha Dash, KSOM
2nd year student during her internship with EnigmaticIndia. Photos have been
provided by Ms Kiranbala)
