TIRUCHI
Enthused by the Geographical Indication (GI) tag granted by the Geographical Indications Registry for the Arumbavur wood carvings, artisans in the remote village in Perambalur district are anticipating better business in the months ahead.
Arumbavur is famous for its wood carving tradition and its community of wood carvers, who make wooden cars for temples, statues, decorative and other wooden products of various kinds. About 200 wood carving artisans’ families, who continue the tradition. The craftsmen follow rules of iconography prescribed in the Shilpa Shastra.
Though the lockdown has impacted business, the grant of the GI tag came as a morale booster for the artisans early this month. According to IPR attorney and GI advocate Sanjai Gandhi, who was instrumental in getting the GI tag for the wood carvings, this is the first product from Perambalur district to get the tag.
“We are very happy to get the tag and it has already resulted in many enquiries for our products. Though the lockdown has affected our business, we hope to do good business in the coming months. The GI tag definitely offers an advantage and we look forward to leverage it,” said P.Murugesan (61), president, Arumbuvar Temple Car and Wood Carving Artisans Welfare Associations, who learnt the art of wood caring at a tender age of 10.
The Arumbavur wood carvings are primarily made out of vaagai, maavilangai, aththi, vembu, vengai and teak wood. Temple cars are mostly made of illuppai . They are handmade with the artisans using traditional instruments. No machine is used for different stages of carving right from sizing, chiselling and carving the patterns and details.
Mr.Murugesan, who owns a workshop now, said that although the artisans faced difficult times some years back, demand has been good over the past decade or so. “Our products are known more widely now. There are buyers who come to us directly for their requirements such as decorating houses or offer gifts on special occasions such as house warming or wedding ceremonies,” said Mr.Murugesan. The artisans have also made several temple cars in the state.
As the Arumbavur products have grown in popularity, many youngsters who had migrated for higher study and jobs, are returning back to the village to take up the family vocation. According to Mr.Murugesan there are even engineering graduates, including his son, who are into the business now.
M.Manikandan, a 33-year-old Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate who had worked for six years in a IT company and as an assistant professor, has returned to the family business as he could not find satisfaction in the jobs. “After a long chat with my father I returned to the family business, which also needed to adapt to latest trends and product requirements. I am doing well now and earning more than what I did in my previous jobs. There are six or seven engineering graduates working in our village now. There are a few who had done courses in fine arts colleges too,” said Mr.Manikandan.
According to him, wood carving artisans who do not own workshops can earn minimum of ₹ 20,000 a month. In recent years, government sponsored training and MUDRA loans have helped the business grow.
Awareness about Arumbavur products was already growing thanks to social media and the GI tag has definitely helped it gain a better exposure, he says.
