Kendrapara: Meet Bibhuti Bhusan Mohanty, 38, a resident of Baniamala village under Kendrapara township. He is not only a yoga teacher but also a green artisan.
Mohanty hogged limelight for his artistic creations on green leaves, which he calls green art. Each of his creations speaks volume on his creative talents and skills. Though the unsung artisan is yet to get recognition, this has not deterred him from trying to do his best.
His creations are different from one another. Mohanty, owner of Gayatri Pustak Bhandar, is one of the yoga trainers in Kendrapara town. He carves out idols on betel nuts, chalk, candles and soaps for over a decade during his leisure time. He has undergone no training nor has anybody given him tips.
He has started carving on leaves of peepal, banayan, robber plants, and neem leaves. He has also carving pictures of eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, BR Amedkar, Narendra Modi, Indira Gandhi, Subash Bose, Naveen Pattnaik, and Hindu gods and goddesses.
There is always a look of satisfaction on his face. It takes half an hour to two hours for carving a lively image on a leaf. He used blade, cutter for creating the green art. “I used to gift green art to my friends and several art lovers of the district. They encouraged me to carry on with the art,” said Mohanty.
As he finds leisure time between selling books and puja items, he carves idols from different items. He first carved on betel nuts as it’s a sacred item among Hindus. His first artistic creation was an idol of Ganesh. The idol caught the eyes of his friends, who inspired him to carve more idols of different types. Later, his hobby of creating artworks during leisure hours in his shop slowly turned into a passion and he started carving on chalk, candles and soaps. ‘I find pleasure in creating green art and caring on different items,” said Mohanty.
