PICTURE SPEAK

MAGIC FINGERS: Jain at work

As night sets in, Jain discards his profession of a design instructor to don the mantle of a master craftsman in his workshop in Kalyan near Mumbai. After poring over numerous designs for hours, he cautiously hammers and presses into place a green bead in a necklace, polishes it and gives the piece a final scrutiny. "I was inspired to make something useful and valuable from jowar, which is usually discarded as waste," says Jain, who hails from Pahur village in Jalgaon, northern Maharashtra, and at present teaches at a reputed fashion technology institute in Mumbai. Nature and even his childhood memories have inspired the patterns and motifs of Jain's jewellery. Earrings, for instance, can come in the shape of a flower, leaf and even a cricket ball clutched between three fingers. "Whatever I have seen in the villages during my childhood is imprinted in my mind and I am only imbibing them in my creations," says Jain, who has revived the Mandana art form (line drawings) and is now concentrating his energies towards popularising Pahuri art.

Fascination with the jowar goes back to Jain's childhood when he would spend hours making bullock carts from jowar stems. What followed was three years of study on the properties and durability of the kadba-as the jowar stem is popularly called-which enthused him to fashion this strong, waterproof material into accessories. What lends these pieces a unique touch is the natural raw material used in their creation, all of which is easily and cheaply available given that jowar is extensively harvested in Jalgaon.

Jain, however, also has plans to introduce 22-carat gold in his creations to transform them into collectors' items. Also in the pipeline is a spiritual series that will replace the beads with rudraksha and have teachings of saints inscribed on gold pendants.

Much moved by the recent spurt in farmer suicides and the plight of unemployed youth, Jain has also taught his art to the village folk to help augment their livelihood. "Once the harvesting season draws to a close, young men of my village can earn some extra money with zero investment," says Jain, who has started conducting workshops. "When I get orders for jewellery, I direct them to my village," he adds, informing that he has already received half-a-dozen such requests from across the world.

Talent, combined with a passion to make the most of a natural solution to complex problems like unemployment and poverty, may well herald a new beginning.

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