Budding carpenters as young as five pick up skills to create grand chariots
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Puri, June 18: The Rath Yard on Grand Road in the holy town is not just a place where chariots for the annual car festival of Srimandir’s presiding deities are constructed, but also a training school for budding carpenters and sculptors to be engaged in the service of the Trinity in future.
Carpenters, sculptors and painters constructing the chariots of the Trinity year after year never learnt their craft at any formal training institute. Watching their fathers and grandfathers shaping the chariots at the Rath Yard and working with them was how they acquired the skills. Besides, it is their deep devotion for Lord Jagannath and his siblings – Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra – that has kept these craftsmen glued to the arduous task of chariot making generation after generation.
This year, four young craftsmen – Shubham Mahapatra (12), Prakash Mahapatra (13), Jagannath Mahapatra (15) and Omprakash Mahapatra (5) – are honing their chariot-making skills at the Rath Yard. While keenly watching their fathers – Devendra, Lingaraj, Rajendra and Panchanan – carve various images on the side panels and beams of the three chariots, the four boys have also been actively participating in the construction of chariots.
“None of the 100-odd craftsmen engaged in the construction of chariots has attended any training institute. They have acquired their skills under the watchful eyes of their fathers and grandfathers. Love for Lord Jagannath and the desire to learn are essential to attain mastery in chariot making,” said Panchanan, an ace sculptor.
Shubham and Prakash had started their training during the construction of chariots for last year’s Nabakalebara Rath Yatra. “I started training for chariot construction when I was 8, but Omprakash’s desire to learn the art prompted me to train him in our hereditary work even earlier,” said Panchanan, his father.
Jagannath, the eldest among the trainee craftsmen, said he gets immense satisfaction in the work. “If one has love for the Lord, all difficult tasks turn easy for them,” said the 15-year-old as he worked on an image on a pillar.
