Pal, pioneer in painstaking art:Daily Star

Ananda Pal and some of his artworks at his residence in Dhamrai on the outskirts of the capital. The photos were taken last month. Photo: Sujit Sarker He is an artist with no academic qualification. He has got no recognition either. But his innovations have added a new dimension to the country's folk art and diversified the cultural heritage further over the years. He is Ananda Pal. Ananda Pal The
60-year-old man is the “pioneer” of introducing Lost-wax Technique of casting metals in the country. All his life, he has given birth to thousands of metal statues and other objects and taught many the skills without taking any sort of credit. “It's my passion and I can't leave it ever,” he told The Daily Star at his residence in Savar's Dhamrai. In his twenties, he along with Mosharraf Hossain, a man from his village, started to duplicate metal structures. They were influenced by Dhokra artists. Advertisement The products of Dhokra artisans are in great demand in domestic and foreign markets because of their primitive simplicity, enchanting folk motifs and hearty forms. In the beginning, many of their experiments stumbled, but they were never disheartened. And after years of practice and dedication, they finally mastered the technique, recalled Ananda. Lost-wax Technique is a painstaking task that requires making a hand-made wax-structure of the statue or the object that is to be cast. Later, the structure is kept under fire after putting layers of clay on it. The heat melts the wax and creates a mould where the hot liquid form of metals like brass and bronze are poured. At one point, the metals cool down and take the solid shape of the container. The outer layer of solid clay is removed afterwards. “Finally, we colour and furnish the newly-born art,” said Ananda. “Sometimes the fresh metal objects are given antique looks.”  “We had no academic knowledge. We learned the technique all by ourselves… only by seeing others,” he said. Even though Mosharraf has passed away, Ananda still like to pass most of his time after his passion. The sculptor said his items were very popular among the elites and abroad but he could have made more profit in the business had he got proper assistance from the government. “The main problem is marketing. I have a lot of items in my stock,” said a worried Ananda. “I need a helping hand of the government” Shawon Akand, researcher and art scholar, says despite their massive contributions to the folk art, people like Ananda are never recognised as artists. He said the mainstream art society and artists were against recognising Ananda as an artist as the sculptor earns his livelihood selling his items.  “The significant aspect of Ananda's work is his adaptation to change in the medium – from clay to metal – and his flexibility as an artist,” added the researcher. Tejosh Halder, an emerging sculptor, said many students at Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Arts often go to Ananda and observe how he casts metal in the unique ancient way.