Dying craft: A stone-carver’s journey to heartbreak

Mohammad Ilyas does not intend to bring his children into his family’s profession.

ISLAMABAD:

In a country where art schools are mainly for the elite and platform to showcase work usually reserved for the well-connected, craftsmen from rural areas are expected to have a tough time. These master artisans not only find it difficult to sustain their families financially, but the hardships often lead them to give up on their trade altogether.

Mohammad Ilyas is one such artisan.

Hailing from a family that has been carving stones for over 100 years, Ilyas is the last member of his family to work with stone. He does not intend to teach his children this craft.

A resident of Sarikot, Hazara, Ilyas remembers carving stone for as long as he can remember. “At that time we only had a primary school. I would work with my father and grandfather after coming back from school,” he said.

“After class 5, I took up the work full-time; I had no other option. But even if I had, I would have probably chosen this work anyway,” Ilyas added.

Working with stone is no easy feat, but for him, it is his bread and butter.

For Ilyas, carving is in fact the easy part of the job, it is the extraction of this special stone that is difficult. “I only extract stone from Ganghar, a hill near Sarikot. The bigger the size of the stone, the more difficult it is to extract manually,” he said. Unfortunately for Ilyas, the reserves are depleting and he must look for alternatives that might cost him more in terms of time and travel.

Over the years, Ilyas has learnt to incorporate a variety of elements in his work. Be it calligraphy or geometrical patterns, one can find the complete portfolio in his workshop. The sad part is that despite the detailed etching and the finesse with which it is executed, not many seem interested in supporting this stone carver’s work.

He is reminded of the time his grandfather had to go through. Facing up to hardship to feed the family, my grandfather would undertake a two-day journey to Mansehra on foot to sell spinning wheels,he said. One machine would sell for an aana. After the sale, he would then proceed to walk all the way back home, he recalled.

On the other hand, there are those who readily deceive him, taking advantage of his simplicity. “I’m illiterate, so I don’t know how to keep accounts. Many a times people pay less than the price and I don’t even realise I’ve been short-changed.”

Sometimes people come and take stuff in bulk and say they’ll pay me later but never do, he said. “Once a lady asked me to take my work to Karachi, I spent over Rs100,000 transporting my stuff. But when I reached Karachi, she refused to hold an exhibition for me,” added Ilyas.

Now with four children to educate, Ilyas hopes they will take up a different vocation. “Our path is fraught with far too many hurdles, I do not want my children to face them,” said Ilyas.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2012.