As the Raksha Bandhan day on August 29 is approaching fast, a festival celebrating
the sacred bond among siblings when sisters tie bands (Rakhi) on the wrists of brothers seeking assurance of protection and wishing them a happy and prosperous life, artisans of Balichandrapur, Chhatia, Binjharpur, Bari and other areas of Jajpur district are working hard to meet a huge demand for Rakhis of different sizes.
Many artisans are sitting on heaps of the different coloured papers, cotton and plastic stones—ingredients to make Rakhis. They are doing it at their home and as such, the whole of the artisan’s family members, including men, women and children, are engaged in the manufacturing of the beautiful and fancy hand bands.
Bespectacled, 76-year-old, ebony-skinned Prakash Rana of Chhatia is a leader here. Despite his age, he has the ability to turn out more than 100 Rakhis a day.
“Our scope for work is restricted now. We make Rakhis during Raksha Bandhan, kites in Makar Sankrani festival, paper boats in Kartika Purnima and sundry items like paper dolls throughout the year. But these sell at abysmally low prices and sales are generally slack,” said Manoj Sahoo (32), an artisan of Bari. In Bari, about 50 -odd artisans are busy, giving final touches to the consignments.
“The artisans have been working at these two villages for over last two weeks. Many artisans are using generators, when power is off, to get the works done as order for Rakhi is too heavy,” said Ashok Rana(65) an artisan of Chatia.
The demand for paper Rakhis remains steady in Rakhsa Bandhan time despite the emergence of plastic Rakhis, opined Khirod Rana (45), an artisan of Baliochandrapur.
Sandip Rana (64), an artisan of Bari, lamented that since Rakhi making is a seasonal occupation, many youngsters of the artisans’ families are switching over to better remunerative jobs. As a result, there is a crisis of artisans.
“Many religious people also bind Rakhis on the horns of cattle. For them we prepare special Rakhis,” chuckled Ratnakar Rana (63) of Bari.
At best, an artisan family earns Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per day during the peak season. Two decades back, artisans used to get coloured papers, cotton and wool at lower price. But, now, we are buying these items at higher prices,” said Ranjan Rana, a Chhatia-based artisan.