BHUBANESWAR: Born to Late Ramkrishna Das and Sushila Das in 1965, ‘Jau Kandhei’ artiste Kesu Das is a living legend in the cultural scene of Balasore. His recent plan to go international with the art is attracting a lot of interest from art lovers.
The artiste’s work is marked by an extraordinary style. He has taken the art to a new level by his creative thoughts. As a follower eminent Odia writer Fakir Mohan Senapati, he has dedicated his life for the Baleshwari- Jaukandhei, a traditional artwork. To revive, redevelop, and re-establish the vanished, ignored and often ignored art, artistes and culture of his district, he is working as a dedicated volunteer.
In a brief interaction with Orissa Post, Das threw light on his plans to take the art global. He said, “I am planning to visit China next month for an artistic exchange with Chinese painters. I am hopeful that they will learn from our art and we from them. This will be followed by my visit to Vietnam, where I would participate in a cultural exchange programme. I request both the state and the central governments to offer financial aid and support to the project.
The artiste is working since three decades as a committed worker for the development of child art, cartoon, tribal art, sand art and Baleswari folk art. The artiste has strived for the upliftment of the art form for decades despite financial issues. He has always wanted to contribute to the field of Indian visual arts.
The artiste is also the only one in India who has started a new medium of painting ie. using lacquer on canvas. Having successfully experimented with local folk art, he established a new vision in Indian arts. He has received senior fellowship on Visual Art from Culture Dept., Govt. of India from 2014 to 2016. During the fellowship period, he researched details about Indian Lacquer Art and Culture and recorded a 300 pages valuable document.
However, his greatest achievement is reviving Baleshwari – Jaukandhei, the disappearing folk craftwork of this district. Many women take part in this novel work and get trained in making Jaukandhei by him.
He inspired writers and play actors to work on this culture, on their field. Jaukandhei became the symbol of the district’s culture and tradition. Women started worshping Jaukandhei on the occasion of Savitri Brata, which is an ancient tradition.
The artiste has single-handedly added a new chapter to the cultural scene of the state in ‘Jaukandhei Bahagara’. It involves the marriage between two lacquer dolls in a grand cultural festival. This year, the unique marriage will be held May 30 at Gandhi Smruti Bhawan, Balasore by Jaukandhei Bahaghara Utsav Committee.
