The Dodo, a bird that became extinct several centuries ago, was carved by papier mache artisans in the Zadibal area of Srinagar. , Photo Courtesy: Imran Nisar
This Christmas, papier mache artisans in Srinagar have given feathers to thousands of dodos, a bird that became extinct from the world in 1681 within 80 years of their contact with humans and dwindling forests.
Reyaz Jan, 70, was giving final touches to the paper mache of a bird he had never seen in his life at a ‘factory’ in Srinagar’s Jadibal area. “I was first introduced to the shape and size of birds from pictures. Recently we downloaded its pictures from the internet. The size and shape of the bird is adorable. I fell in love with that bird at first sight. It is sad that the bird is nowhere to be seen now,” said Mr Jaan.
Mr. Jan’s magical touch of yellow on the bowed head and strong legs and dark green on the curly back feathers brings the dodo to life, even if it is papier-mâché. More than 50,000 papier-mâché dodos have found their way to Mauritius’ offshore markets in Europe and East Africa just before Christmas this year.
“The dodo was last seen in Mauritius. This bird is important to that place and is the national symbol of that place. We export most of the papier mache dodos in the country. There is a huge demand for Dodo products, which come in different sizes,” said Faizan Mir, who runs Mir Arts, an exclusive paper mache art showroom in Hawal, Srinagar. It takes 5-10 days to make a big size dodo in the city factory,
The Dodo, a bird that became extinct several centuries ago, was carved by papier mache artisans in the Zadibal area of Srinagar. , Photo Courtesy: Imran Nisar
This dodo is colorful
Fast disappearing from people’s memory, the nearly three feet tall, fearless and flightless bird has found a new home in the world of papier mache of Kashmir, which was otherwise mainly influenced by Persia, its motifs and figures.
The dodo, whose feathers were originally gray or brown, is now colored in papier-mâché with floral and forest prints on the body. “The floral print symbolizes how birds became extinct due to decreasing forest cover,” Mr Jaan said.
Apart from hanging balls, jingles, crescents, Santas, stars and boxes, Kashmir has also exported Dodo in large quantities this year. “Our factory More than 3,000 dodos were harvested this season for export,” Mr Mir said.
600 year old papier mache in Kashmir
Most papier-mâché artisans have little knowledge of how the dodo was introduced into the art scene of Kashmir. However, bird craft is a recent addition, having been practiced in Kashmir for over 600 years. There are many stories about the arrival of the dodo in Kashmir.
“There were tourists from Mauritius who came to Kashmir about two decades ago and were introduced to this bird. However there is no written record of who actually received it here. This is a very new addition to the range of paper pulp products in Kashmir,” Mr Jan said.
Thanks to those unknown tourists, Dodo has got wings and the demand for them is increasing with every passing day. “The paper pulp artisans of Kashmir are keeping the memory of the dodo alive. A local craft space is making them in hundreds and exporting them to places where it had become extinct and elsewhere,” said Mahmood Shah, who until recently served as director handicrafts and handlooms in Kashmir. was, told The Hindu,
published – December 23, 2024 08:22 PM IST
