Almost each Indian family has trunks stowed below beds or stashed away within the attic or dumped in a storage. In a fundamental, boring shade of grey, these (principally) Army-issue foot lockers are useful and much outlive their unique goal, ultimately winding up in an out-of-sight nook of the house.
Now, thanks to a makeover by A Hundred Hands, a non-profit belief in Bengaluru, these trunks at the moment are having fun with a second lease of life within the limelight as centrepieces in lots of a house.
According to Mala Dhawan, co-founder of the Trust along with her sister Sonia Dhawan, that they had been mulling over the concept for some time now since they hail from an Army background.
“We have been additionally methods we might assist conventional artisans visualise choices to monetise their artwork. We felt this was an concept that will assist them assume exterior the field,” says Mala.
One of A Hundred Hands Re-Trunk initiatives
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Besides this, Mala says, “We have been methods to give conventional artwork a useful goal in addition to being purely aesthetic the place they dangle on a wall or take up house on a shelf.”
The undertaking gained momentum a number of months in the past when A Hundred Hands reworked a wall on the Central Army Command in Lucknow with Gond artwork. “While there, we requested a number of folks in the event that they’d like to get their trunks re-done and the response was large,” says Mala.
“In Army properties these trunks weren’t solely used for transport but in addition served different functions. Four of them put collectively would make do for a mattress, whereas two might make a diwan. It all depended in your creativity. There’s numerous emotional attachment to these trunks,” she says.
“We widened the scope of this initiative to embrace wood trunks in addition to new chests and hope to lengthen this concept to different artwork kinds as nicely.“
One of A Hundred Hands Re-Trunk initiatives
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
For this undertaking, Gond artists have been introduced down from their hometown in Madhya Pradesh. Gond is the tribal artwork practised by members of the Gond community; they’re additionally present in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Mala says once they took on the undertaking, that they had no concept it could contain quite a lot of work. “There’s an entire course of to the refurbishing of those trunks. They have to be sanded, smoothened, tinkered with in case of dents and have a number of coats of paint utilized; it takes about three to 4 weeks to full one piece.”
The trunks are utterly customised with purchasers ready to select the bottom color in addition to the design. Gond artwork utilises vivid tones and nature motifs and tales involving birds, animals and flowers. However, elephants have been the preferred alternative, says Mala.
One of A Hundred Hands Re-Trunk initiatives
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Apart from boosting the idea of upcycling and serving to craftsmen with a distinct perspective of their abilities, Mala says the initiative revived stunning recollections. “These trunks have saved marriage ceremony trousseaus and silverware in addition to month-to-month provisions and residential linen,” she says, including a shopper stated it was “a bit of their childhood.”
“While it preserves a bit of your previous, it provides conventional artists an opportunity to earn as a lot as modern ones. We have expanded our repertoire to embrace mirror frames in Gond and people artwork too.”
Priced upwards of ₹12,500, the Trust requires a minimal of 15-20 orders for the undertaking to be viable in every metropolis. For extra particulars mail a100hands@gmail.com or whatsapp 98450 08482.
One of A Hundred Hands Re-Trunk initiatives
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
One of A Hundred Hands Re-Trunk initiatives
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement