BANGALORE: The myth-‘Usage of wood is against the environment and is outdated’, certainly seems to have been dispelled, as the fine work of wood-art and skills of artisans from across the globe was displayed at the exhibition on ‘Art and Joy of Wood’ at Indian Institute of Science (IISc).Finely carved wooden jewelleries and showpieces made of bamboo roots from the State of Tripura caught the eye of every passer-by. Speaking with City Express, Asrafuddin Ahmed an artisan from Tripura said, “The bamboo roots, which would otherwise go to waste, have been carved in the shape of Ganeshas and given water treatment for about a week. This treatment helps in retaining the piece for a longer period and keeps termites away as well. Once the carving is done we apply glazing varnish in order to make it attractive.”“Thin Gamari woods are used to make fine jewelleries: earrings, necklaces and hair pins. Though it is time consuming but we are getting good response and demand from the public,” he added.50-year-old Prem Dhiman, another artisan from Himachal Pradesh, who has been working with wood for long said, “Wood art has been my hobby. For the past 10 years I have been working on wood. Portraying the lifestyle of Himachal Pradesh through wood carvings- especially on pine wood and deodar. These two are my favourite form of mediums to work with. All my products are sent to the Handicraft Industry in Himachal Pradesh. This is the first time I am participating in an exhibition.” In addition, bamboo made paper files, wooden toys were other attracting features that were drawing the crowd. Meanwhile, wood work which were being exhibited from other parts of the country also revealed that apart from India, wood work is popular and in demand in other parts of the world as well. Hideta Kitazawa, wooden mask maker from Japan said, “For the past 20 years I have been doing this wood art. The wood carvings depicting ancient Japanese stories, of Shakespeare and various masks has been my chief work of art.”Besides, with the arrival of Japanese new year, the logo of animals for the year carved in wood, in various sizes will be on high demand as well. Showing the display of animals accordingly, he said, “This year has been the year of bunny rabbit and coming year will be the year of dragon,” he added.The International conference on ‘Rediscovering wood: the key to a sustainable future and the exhibition on the art and joy of wood organised by Institute of Wood Science and Technology in collaboration with MOEF and Food and Agriculture organization will be on till October 22.Facts about timber and its usageIndia is the net importer of timber. On an average the country is importing nearly 3-4 million cubic metres (approximate) of timber annually, said Arun K Bansal, Additional Director General of Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF). Meanwhile, the import of timber is further increasing in India. Underlying the reasons he said, “Most of the timber which are being imported are the ones which require a long time (20-25 years) to grow.” Speaking with City Express Bansal said, “Wood is more environment friendly. Only thing to be kept in mind is when these trees are being cut they have to be done in a sustainable and scientific manner, so that they get enough time to grow. One of the main reasons for this is to avoid the country’s requirement to import timber from else where.
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