Date:07/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/07/stories/2008110751160300.htm

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Other States - Puducherry

Nothing can hold back this artisan’s passion for handicraft items

Serena Josephine M

Vazir Hamatkhan has overcome leprosy and runs a rehabilitation centre

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: M.Y. Vazir Hamatkhan (left), with his team members at the handicraft unit in Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY: Puppets, masks and toys make the life of 69-year-old M.Y. Vazir Hamatkhan.

A well-known artisan in Puducherry, he is popular for his skill and handwork, but more for his determination and hard work.

Thirty years have passed since Mr. Hamatkhan was diagnosed with leprosy. But his love and passion for handicrafts not only helped him to overcome the illness but also come out as an entrepreneur.

Today, he runs the Durieux Rehabilitation Centre at Dubrayanpet, which is a handicraft unit, with three leprosy-affected persons, a visually challenged person and family members of leprosy-affected persons.

“I worked at Yusanai Trust, a handicraft company, from 1981 to 1997. I learnt the art there and started a separate centre after my retirement, with the help of a French couple. The centre was originally located at Arumathupuram. It later shifted to Gingee Salai and Nellithope. It was in 2003 that we established the centre at Dubrayanpet with 10 persons,” he said.

The centre makes handicraft items such as string puppets, glove puppets, wall masks, mini marks with magnets, dolls and toys. But the team’s popularity lies in making 24 varieties of miniature masks such as Hanuman, Rama, Ravana, Kathakali, Suryan and Vinayakar.

“I make dolls and animals using paper mache. The mini masks are very popular and fast moving among foreign tourists. We also make an 18-piece crib set during Christmas,” he said.

His colleagues at Yusanai Trust, V. Kathavarayan, a visually challenged person, and Sellapan, a leprosy-affected person, also work at the centre. “I am working with him since the launch of the centre. I make moulds for the mini masks and also stuff the dolls with cotton and stitch them up. I have great fascination for handicrafts,” Mr. Kathavarayan said.

The centre gets orders from Kodaikannal and ‘Dakshinachitra’ in Chennai. The Pondicherry Pudumai Handicrafts Artisans Co-operative Society also displays the products at exhibitions.

For Mr. Hamatkhan and his team, it is funds crunch that continues to be a problem. “We need at least Rs. 20,000 every month for making the items. We are not able to increase productivity owing to shortage of manpower,” he said.

Pudumai’s president V.K. Munusamy suggested that the District Industries Centre could provide a few persons to the centre under apprenticeship scheme every year.