“When we visited the India Art Fair, it almost broke our heart to see that no Indian craftsman’s work was presented,” says Radhika Bharat Ram, honarary general secretary, Delhi Crafts Council (DCC). So after much deliberation it was back to the drawing board with Sanjhi. It was 30 years ago that DCC had given a fresh perspective and new lease of life to this traditional art form. Then it had been a process of revival, this time it is re-interpretation to give it a new dimension, veering it towards fine art and collectibles. Design elements have been introduced to accentuate the fragile, lace-like beauty of the art form. It is sandwiched between glass, combined with mirrors or highlighted with coloured paper to form an eclectic piece.
Simplistically put, Sanjhi is a humble craft of making rangoli-like designs usually on a mud platform or on the floor using special hand-cut patterns akin to stencils. The paper patterns are called khakha that are filled with colour.
Says Mohan Kumar Verma (Moni), a fourth generation craftsman, one of the two Sanjhi artists that DCC is working with for this exhibition, “Basically a temple art, it deals with mythological stories with special focus on Krishna’s Leela.”
This ancient form is said to have originated 400 years ago in the temples of Mathura and Vrindavan. It is associated with the Vallabhacharya Sect of Vaishnavism.
Coimbatore 01/03/2012. A demonstration of ' Sanjhi', the art of cutting designs on paper, at a workshop organised by the Crafts Council of Tamil Nadu, in Coimbatore, on Thursday. Sanjhi originates from Mathura and has been passed down for generations. Traditionally, motifs from the Krishna stories are created in stencil and used to decorate spaces during festive seasons, or are used for filling in with colors in water and on the floors of temples Photo:K.Ananthan.
The beauty of Sanjhi rests on the skill of the craftman to cut the paper in such a way that it holds together yet allows the design to show beautifully. The cut patterns also create an interesting play of light. Using a special pair of scissors, the craftsmen work to create intricate patterns on paper.
Ram Soni, another Sanjhi artist that DCC is working with for the exhibition, says, “These special pairs of scissors have been passed down through generations. Nowhere in the world is fine paper cutting done with such pairs of scissors.”
When DCC first worked with Sanjhi, the number of craftsmen was dwindling due to lack of patronage. As Moni points out, “During my grandfather’s time, khakhas were made using chaupadi paper. Then we moved on to plastic, paper was also coated with wax to give it longevity. It was DCC that introduced us to handmade paper for making these patterns.”
According to Purnima Rai, past president and head, Golden Jubilee Committee, “When we started working with Sanjhi artisans way back in the 1990 (When the first exhibition ‘Kagaz’ was organised), we were keen to develop their work to adapt it to contemporary needs. Iinitially, we helped them make smaller products such as greeting cards, folders and trays.” The craft took off from there. The artists with their ingenuity honed it further, working with designers, conducting workshops and training others. Moni has worked with the Oberoi group of hotels. Rai adds, “We were happy that the craft was back on its feet and thriving and we left it at that for the time being.”
In this second intervention, DCC has managed to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity. Says Anjana Somany, president of the council, “the stencils used in traditional Sanjhi art done on temple floors and walls are now being used in interior decoration, on objects of everyday use and wall paintings. The skill has been kept alive by expanding the application.”
Adds Bharat Ram, “We played around with the designs and added brighter colours to give it a refreshing look. The paper design is beautiful in its own way but one does not know what to do with it. We made it into a finished piece of art to fit it into any home or commercial establishment. It could be hung on the wall or used as a partition. The possibilities are unlimited.”
Decoding the craft as a gallery would, the team experimented with Sanjhi combining it with colours, glass, mirror and frames. The culmination of this first experiment was an exhibition titled – Sanjhi Past Forward in 2015.
The huge Sanjhi panels, some almost six ft were framed, sandwiched between glass. sometimes other art forms such as Pichwai was combined with Sanjhi, celebrating both the love of Lord Krishna and creating an awareness about the craft.
Moni adds, “we have a concept of chaski in Sanjhi, where a figure of say, Lord Krishna is divided into six or eight parts. This is done so that different colours can be applied when creating the piece. So there are jaalis and kadamba trees done similarly.”
The forthcoming exhibition, aptly titled Sanjhi Revisited, that will mark the Golden Jubilee of DCC, is a body of work based on heritage buildings and architectural forms. The theme has been explored in multiple ways to showcase the full potential of the craft. The theme draws inspiration from monuments, sketches of the ghats of Vrindavan (some with three-dimensional effect), as well as smaller nuances such as jaalis, butis and flowers. “We started our journey with Moni and Soni a year ago. This time around DCC has pushed the skill and the medium — paper —beyond its traditional boundaries. Both craftsmen are well versed with the medium and are eager to innovate,” says Bharat Ram.
The exhibition will be held from August 8 to 12 at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
Spanning five generations
The art of Sanjhi is said to have been popular in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat apart from Uttar Pradesh. Today, it is in Mathura-Vrindavan where it can still be seen. There are several artists in Mathura/Vrindavan who do the work. Moni puts the rough estimate at 15 or so.
The two craftsmen Mohan Kumar Verma (Moni) and Ram Soni belong to the same family and are cousins.. Both hail from a traditional family of Sanjhi craftsmen and can trace this craft to over four generations. Moni speaks of how his grandfather would work with intricate patterns. He is the fourth generation craftsman and started learning the craft when he was only 11 years old. Today his nephew also does the work, making it the fifth generation. Moni says, “It was my elder brother Vijay Kumar Soni who started experimenting with this art form.” He has worked with DCC for over two decades. He has even experimented with Sanjhi on cloth.
Ram Soni hails from a family of jewellers. He along with his four brothers practise this craft, which was little known.
