NDTV.com, India
Tejas Mehta
There was a time when India was the largest producer of sandalwood – an integral part of our heritage, art and culture. But with smugglers like Veerappan and politicians who robbed our forests of sandalwood trees, a unique art – dependant on the wood – is dying a slow death.
For three decades, Chennabasappa has been a master artisan famous for his flawless sandal carvings.
The 52-year-old is a proud recipient of several state awards. But today, his expert fingers are forced to chip away on wood that is a distant second to the royal sandal.
“If this Ganesh idol was carved in sadalwood, it would cost Rs 1 lakh. But in this ordinary wood it will just fetch me Rs 50,000,” he says.
This is Sagar – home to thousands of artisans known as Gudigars who have been carving sandal for generations.
And as sandalwood forests disappear this cottage industry most acutely feels the impact.
Shortage of sandal has forced over 6,000 artisans to shift to other woods – a switch that has halved their income.
“The government supply used to come once in a month. Now even for two years we do not get wood. Plus, the prices have increased. 90 per cent of the people don’t even know what sandalwood is,” says Murali Gudigar, a handicraft shop owner.
It has also meant slow death of an ancient art.
“Earlier, since we used to work on sandalwood our work would fetch us more money. But now there is no scope of fine sculpting,” says Jagdish, a sandalwood artisan.
And he aggress that there is no art any more.
“Earlier, more artisans were working but now it has reduced and the interest is also less,” says Santosh Khembhani, from Karnataka State Handicraft Development Corporation.
Sandalwood has a 4,000-year-old history in India. But it took our politicians and smugglers only a few decades to rob this region of its legacy.
Production has fallen drastically even as experts push for liberalising sandalwood policies.
“The present policy on the sandalwood tree is not people-friendly. Private participation in growing sandalwood trees should be encouraged. Government control should come down, except for controlling illegal cutting and smuggling,” says B S Yeddiyurappa, CM, Karnataka.
A promise we are determined to follow up. But for Gudigars like Chennabasappa the damage is done.
When asked what will he tell the politicians and smugglers involved in smuggling sandalwood, Chennabasappa said, “What do I tell them? They have taken away our livelihood. They have not only cut our trees, but they have also cut our hands.