Eloquent artistry in wood
K. KUNHIKRISHNAN
|
Dhanesh and Jayesh make exquisite pieces from scrap.
|
TALENTED DUO: Dhanesh and Jayesh.
Dhanesh and Jayesh, sons of Kunhiraman, a carpenter, are hearing and speech impaired, but their deft fingers fashion articles out of wood and coconut fronts. A large collection of their hand-crafted articles are languishing for want of buyers as they stay at Thondannur, a remote village two km from Chutala, on the National Highway between Payyanur and Taliparamba in Kannur district. Right from the age of six the twins have been making articles from wood, thermocol, match boxes, coconut shells and so on.
Palaces, idols, mansions, animals, birds, ornaments and toys are fashioned from small pieces of teak that are usually disposed off as waste. The carved pieces are polished. Carved pieces of Ganesha, Ayyappan, Muthhappan (the famous deity at Parassinikkadavu Temple) are as good as the ones found in upmarket outlets.
The boys learnt their craft from their father. They were initially sent to a school for the disabled, The Don Bosco School for the Deaf and Dumb at Parakkunnu, near Pariyaram. However, after the boys fell ill, their parents were reluctant to send them to distant places even for an education. Although the twins were taken to the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing at Mysore, Kunhiraman was again reluctant to leave the children at the hospital.
The boys were sent to the local schools and they bagged a number of prizes for painting, drawing and wood carving. However, the lack of opportunities have made the parents do a rethink. Now, they say that they have no objections to their children moving away from Kannur. The twins are guided by their elder brother Venugopal, a diploma holder of School of Arts in Kannur. Although Dhanesh and Jayesh work with Venugopal, they get paid only half the wages, because of their disability.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
