A genuine piece of art (any art form) is “priceless” – considering the quantum of sheer efforts and the time dedicated by the artist to transform a mere thought into reality. Even though it may be a “priceless” piece of work but still there is a price tag attached to it. Had only the appreciation and love shown by the audience have satisfied the paramount necessities of the life of an artist, I am pretty confident that he would have parted with his art on a mere appreciation by its admirer.
In India, many of the traditional art forms are gradually moving towards a phase of “silent death” in absence of right opportunities and perks. Raghurajpur, a small village in vicinity of the renowned temple town of Puri, where every dwelling is an artist’s studio is probably on the slow path of the same fate as many other traditional art forms provided something is done to change its course. It takes days and in some cases even a month for these talented “heritage artists” to complete their work and often the efforts of every member of the family goes into completing a masterpiece.
An Unknown artist of Ragurajpur
But what they get in return for these masterpieces is not even pennies considering the labour put in by them. They are excessively underpaid by the middleman or brokers for their labour while they make exorbitant profits out of them. If the trend continues, there will be a time when the younger generation of these artists lineage will desert their centuries old “heritage art” and look towards other avenues of better life and opportunities, thus leading to a “silent death” of this traditional art form. It’s similar to your boss digging a hole into your incentives and making his incentives propel on your hard work. How does it feel?? I know there are no words to describe….
A masterpiece in process
Although, you might not take out your boss out of your way… but you can help these “heritage artists” of Raghurajpur to remove the middlemen by lending a little contribution which will go in developing a website enabling them to directly connect to their admirers and get appropriate worth for their otherwise “priceless” artwork. The TATA CAPITAL have commenced a DO RIGHT campaign to complete the HALF STORY (For more information on HALF STORIES read here) of these artist of Raghurajpur to change their lives by removing the middleman and preventing this traditional art form from leading to “silent death” .
Please visit the page to make a contribution for a change. 
Kaushal Mathpal is an Advocate practicing in Delhi Courts in India but also has a flair for travelling. When he’s not in a courtroom, he enjoys exploring various parts of India and the surrounding region. He also writes on his blog http://rediscoveryourdreams.wordpress.com/ and you can follow him on Twitter @KaushalMathpal.
