State awardee K Srinivasa Rao chisels a beautiful journey

CHENNAI: The students repeated sentences after the teacher from their 10th standard textbook. The sound of this loud chorus did not reach his ears; he instead remained oblivious to everything happening around him. His thoughts and mind were hung up on the wooden sculpture he had been carving back home. As soon as the school bell rang, with an already packed bag, he ran home. A home he had found within his home.

For K Srinivasa Rao, a 49-year-old Chennai-based artisan, his love and passion for sculpting and working with wood began at the age of 7. “Wood carving and sculpting have been a part of my family for generations. My father learnt the art from his father and I learnt it from mine. As a child, I was so intrigued by how we could transform a block of wood into whatever we wanted it to be.

“My father used to use hand-held tools as we didn’t have sophisticated machines back then. My mom, my brothers and I used to help him because the work used to be arduous. I have the fondest of memories with carving because we bonded as a family.”

He says he gradually became interested in the craft and soon it became his passion. Not being able to choose between school and his new-found love, he began prioritising carving above all else. Soon enough he lost interest in studies and wanted to pursue carving full-time. “My father understood that I didn’t want to study because I seemed to be focused on the craft. He let me drop out of school and I dropped out after 10th,” he chuckles.

With 35 years of experience, his Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswathi figurines have transcended to more elaborate and detailed wood works like- wooden temple miniatures, human-sized idols, traditional temple doors, a wooden tailoring machine showpiece, wooden pillars with lights, wooden sculptures inspired by Hindu epics, and lots more.

Having won several accolades and awards for his work including State awards and other felicitations, he recalls how it was working on a wooden telephone stand that won him the Poompuhar State Award, “I had spent several sleepless nights working on that piece. When I finally got the award I felt my efforts had been rewarded rather than my art. Having received the award, my interest in the craft has increased even more. I had this sudden drive to make more unique and interesting models and have been pushing my horizons since.”

Talking about how he gets commissions he says, “People see my work somewhere and get in touch with me and that spreads word of mouth. Often I get too many orders that I avoid taking new ones. In that sense, work is good and I’m glad to interact with new and interesting people who trust me with their ideas.”

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