Pethapur is a small town near Gandhinagar in Gujarat, famous worldwide for its exquisite art of block printing. This diminishing art form is famous because of the complexity and precision of the amazing design patterns that are obtained from the blocks they manufacture themselves.
The real hard work is done by the brilliant skilled craftsmen who create the wooden blocks out of “Sagwan” wood, also known as teakwood, which is used because of its internal structure that allows easy carving through the wooden blocks with great accuracy and detail.
A variety of tools that evolved through generations of precision art making are used, and one can still find examples of ancient machinery still existing in their workshops, such as the motifs passed on from their fathers. Moreover, they maintain files of all their works to pass on to their next generations — but are there any takers?
As this art form requires a lot of skill, and it takes a lot of time and investment to train the younger artist, who also remains severely underpaid for a long time, it is getting harder and harder to find new and creative artists. The next generation of the community is preferring high-paid jobs in the corporate sector instead.
Seventy years old, Prahalad Bhai Kanulal Prajapati is one of the most experienced artists of the block carving and printing art that I had the pleasure to have a conversation with. He has given more than 50 years of his life to carving thousands of motifs, perfecting his skill day after day. The high level of detailing over a small portion of a wooden block requires a lot of concentration from the carvers and it takes a toll on their vision in the long run; likewise Prahalad Bhai, who is suffering from cataract and complained of diminishing light in his eyes while making a perfect cut in the wooden block with his special rope tool. The daily wage for an artist as experienced as Prahalad Bhai is not worthy of his talent and capability — earning less than 500 rupees a day, and that too depending on the work demands. Imagine the plight of a young and inexperienced artist.
The women of the community are restricted from entering the workshops due to a kind of social backwardness that prevails throughout most villages and towns of India, including Pethapur. Men reserve the right to earn for the family and they hardly tolerate women entering their workspace. Times are changing fast, and sooner or later this art form will actually be dependent on its women to survive — the same women who are restricted to taking care of children while finishing the daily chores at home. Slowly but steadily, people are getting more aware of the respect that their female counterparts deserve.
In the end it is justified to assume that this art form needs support from the people and the government to survive, and involving the youth is going to be a huge challenge if an external supporting hand is not provided at the earliest.