SYNOPSIS

Nagina is a small town in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh, which has an extremely rich
cultural impact on the art and crafts of India and is celebrated for the excellent
workmanship of wood carving. The wood carving craft of Bijnor finds a mention as far back
as 1881 when a historical reference ‘The Imperial Gazetteer of India’ was first published
under the British Rule. It is also mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th century detailed
constitution of the Akbar Empire. The craft has evolved since then and the talent has been
passed from generation to generation.

The natives have an interesting story about the origin of this craft. Originally the craftsmen
used to carve on the steel section of guns. After the 1857 uprising against the British,
manufacture of arms was prohibited. The metal workers transferred their skills to carving on
a hard wood and they chose ebony wood.

The motifs are inspired by the flora, mehrab, jali and grapevine. The artisans also beautify
their work by using inlay techniques. The product range involves a variety of furniture,
combs, small shrines and deities, low carved stools for marriages, carved fans for the deity,
and various small ceremonial containers. Bijnor’s Wood Carving works have been
appreciated all over the world for their unique charm and exclusivity.

This craft finds patronage from the Mughal emperors, but in spite of its rich history, it still
remains in the shadows of anonymity.

Probable statements and questions for colloquium paper:

1. Historical heritage of the craft and its relevance today.

2. Can our urban sensibilities make space for these languishing art forms and give them
space in our daily life?
3. Can we move beyond endorsing mass machine made goods to actually appreciate
and provide patronage to these glorious art forms?

With these as my topic, I would be able to study and find out how this craft is deeply
rooted with the Mughal heritage and how did the history effect its evolution till now.
And then I would be able to derive the relevance that this crafts holds today, not only
for the artisans that make it, but also for the people who are going to buy it. This will
help me build a bridge between the past and the future of this craft, which right now is
immensely necessary for the artisans. The urban sensibilities, as mentioned in the
question, should be changed. This research paper could be a way of changing the
perception towards these crafts and could also be a way of empowerment for the
artisans who spend their entire lives working on it. A thorough research and a
colloquium paper on such topics could be the foundation of the revival of this craft
because it is the need of the hour to promote this craft and to encourage the current
generations to take this craft further ahead.

With this project I wish to study and understand the craft of Bijnor and then use all my
capabilities and creativity to work on it. I wish to create design and products that
improve the crafts current situation and I wish to enhance this beautiful craft by adding
a touch of my design sensibilities. Because if this craft has to rise, it needs to fight with
the modern machine made products and for that, an evolution is necessary. But
evolution doesn’t mean that we change the craft entirely. The craft is richly imbibed
with heritage and historical influences and that is what makes it unique. Thus I will
design products in such a way that the core strengths of this crafts remain intact and yet
the designs and forms appeal to the modern market.

Thus I would be really honoured if you grant me this opportunity to work on this craft. I
ensure you to work really hard and put all my efforts to take this craft to its epitome.