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Rajkumar Shakya: Filling in the Shoes of Arniko

September 21, 2014 , by Reetu Joshi, 3 Comments
Rajkumar Shakya: Filling in the Shoes of Arniko » My Dreams Mag
At the remote village of Takela, Lhuntse in Bhutan, a gigantic statue of Guru Padhmasambhav gracefully meditates with a faint grin as if it has just landed from the heaven itself. The sight of the Padmasambhav not only entices people but also forces to gaze at it for a while. The gaze might last longer as every detail of the pious figure narrates story of an art designed to perfection which couples with a tale of perseverance. The story revolves around Rajkumar Shakya, a Nepali repousse artist who erected the majestic Guru Padhmasambhav.
 
 
The medieval story of Arniko scripts a beautiful history of Nepal in the country’s rich art culture. The story narrates how a person of Nepalese origin introduced the trans-Himalayan artistic tradition of Nepal by creating beautiful stupas in Tibet and China.

He acted as a catalyst in introducing Nepal as one of the pioneers in metal craft business. Few have dared to walk in his footsteps to join the path hardened by copper sheets and the only way to ease it is through a right stroke.

Shakya came with a succinct stroke, he flourished in the field of repousse, he achieved and his story will be a legend for many to hear.

Statue of Padmasambhav, Bhutan.
 
Repousse is the method of decorating metals in which parts of the design are manoeuvred to a proper structure through hammers and punches. The constant hammering gives the metal a certain edge which is used as a major form of artistic medium all over the world. The sound it makes while the hammer pushes lightly over the copper to create a 3D image is all too familiar for Shakya.

Every minute aspect of the art runs throughout Shakya’s family, an art that stemmed from his great grandfather to his sons. The way he transformed his humble profession into an empire has a simple formula; the abundant mixture of hard work and proper connections. Even though he started learning the particular art at a tender age of seven, it took him 7-10 years to master it.

"My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father worked in this profession with deliberate precision and passion. As there were no enough workshops, we worked at home and that is where my journey had begun. The first time I ever picked up that small hammer was to embroider an artifact which is also called Katanjya. As time moved on, I wanted to switch into a different stream, architecture. But the fact that I was the only son during that time put a lot of pressure in me to focus solely on the business," recalls Shakya.

His early years comprised of learning simple tasks that laid foundation for more complex works in coming days. He remembers the Tibet-China conflict, a torrid time for the Nepali artists who didn’t get as much of work as expected. The financial turbulence his father went through for several years was a lesson for him.

 
Shakya’s workshop, Patan.
 
 
"Despite being the youngest person in my group, I used to get along with the older generation of men. The talks I had with them taught me how to look into the business from a new perspective. Every time they shared a story, an invaluable lesson was learnt," explains the artist. The long road to learning finally took another step when he started taking independent projects.

The 12 feet tall mask of Shwet Bhairav, Swayambhu Stupa for the World Expo in Germany 2000 towering 76 feet, 40 feet tall Tibetan Stupa for Kapan Monastry, 100 feet tall Swayambhu for the Nepal Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010 (where the Swet Bhairab mask was unveiled for the world), the tale of hammers creating magic spread throughout.

Kempo Karpo was the close observer of this magical tale and the Bhutanese landed in Nepal in hunt of an artist who could take on an arduous project. The project was to build one of the biggest statues in Bhutan dedicating it to Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, referred to as the second Buddha in Bhutan, who established the teachings of Buddha all over the country. Impressed by the skills and sheer talent, Karpo officially hired Shakya designating him to build and design the statue.

"I USED TO GET ALONG WITH THE OLDER GENERATION OF MEN. THE TALKS I HAD WITH THEM TAUGHT ME HOW TO LOOK INTO THE BUSINESS FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE. EVERY TIME THEY SHARED A STORY, AN INVALUABLE LESSON WAS LEARNT"
 
 
The fusion between modern and ancient technology took almost two years to be fully designed and conceptualized. On the sidelines, he created a 12 feet tall clay model to work on. Under the thoughtful direction of Shakya, 57 people — 14 Nepalese — began the construction process on June, 2010.

 
 
The 155 feet tall repousse statue of Guru Padhmasambhav stands tall in Takela placed on a 40 feet Lion throne made out of reinforced cement concrete. The statue sits gracefully on a 20 feet tall lotus base constructed with reinforced shell steel structure stiffened with galvanized wire mesh. The statue is supported by three central columns, making it easy to access from ground up. Each and every part of the statue is meticulously pieced together to make it seem like it just fell down from heaven itself.
The final description though seems heavenly, Shakya knows what he had to overcome during the project. "I remember the times when unfavourable harsh condition of the working site made it impossible for the construction materials to reach in time. It was really hard to keep the workers motivated and the internal conflict could have easily halted the project. But we marched on like a derby-horse. The biggest challenge during the construction was placing the hands and feet of the Guru."

"All of us thought there would be a crane to lift them without much of fuss. I didn’t really give it much of a thought but when the time of placement came, there was no crane in our disposal. Instead we had to engineer a pulley system. But hardship is what made this statue worth the wait," remembered Shakya elaborating on the lengthiest process to give it a final shape.

"According to the agreement, we had to complete the statue in three years but that wasn’t really possible due to the magnitude of the project. We were successful in assembling the hands and the feet of the Guru but what about the parts above that? We improvised on it by accepting the nut bolt system. The head, the upper body had to be broken down into pieces and assembled like cars with its parts in a factory."

 
"IT WAS REALLY HARD TO KEEP THE WORKERS MOTIVATED AND THE INTERNAL CONFLICT COULD HAVE EASILY HALTED THE PROJECT. BUT WE MARCHED ON LIKE A DERBY-HORSE."
After the right stroke on the copper sheet with several types and sizes of nylon hammer and four years of hard work, the statue looks like a work of a master’s hand. Perfect yet humble enough to make you feel as beautiful. Made purely out of 70,000 kg of copper that weighs just about 300 tons; the copper repousse figure is ready to be unveiled to the world on November, 2014 thanks to an engineer from Bangkok.
 
With the mission successfully accomplished after all the hard works done, Shakya now looks forward to a bigger picture with a varied perspective. "The attention given to this statue might be our key to creating relationships with several other communities, where this art could flourish. What we have here is an opportunity to spread it like the wind — far and wide."

The harsh reality of the vanishing occupation struck him hard when he saw several youngsters distancing themselves from it. The young generation, with lots of options regarding its professional interest, has moved on to something upbeat and happening. "It leaves me broken-hearted to see the tradition disappear, especially when you are in love with it. This profession could reap good fruits but it is rarely advertised."

"IT LEAVES ME BROKEN-HEARTED TO SEE THE TRADITION DISAPPEAR, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH IT. THIS PROFESSION COULD REAP GOOD FRUITS BUT IT IS RARELY ADVERTISED."
 
 
"I couldn’t just sit down with my hands tied to a chair when there are simple ways to stand up," said Shakya who began his self-raised campaign of keeping the tradition intact by training people dedicated enough to learn the art of metal craft and employing most of them at his workshop. That was 11 years ago but as time elapsed, he started giving workshops to few youngsters including young men and women. He taught sketching for seven years in a Bihar where he created a course used till date.
 
"THE COLLAPSE OF SUCH A BEAUTIFUL CULTURE WHICH HAS GIVEN US MAGNIFICENT STATUES WITH MIXED ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE SHOULD BE A THING TO WORRY ABOUT."
"I cannot restrict people to get limited in a room learning something that takes a long time to give perfection but I can encourage them. The tool of talent that is presented to me by god is here for sharing. I hope I have used it well. The collapse of such a beautiful culture which has given us magnificent statues with mixed artistic and cultural significance should be a thing to worry about."

Shakya is a symbol of eternal hope to revive a field whose value has been diminishing. "The art and culture which we proudly boast at might be in dire need of our attention. If we don’t preserve our identity with respect, then who will? Like the last generation that missed its babies’ snaps in the phone, I don’t want be known as the last generation of Nepalese who lost their sight in metalcraft road. I have a dream for my country to have a temple or a statue as big as I made in Bhutan, may be even bigger. We have artists, the art, the talent but all of the works are being imported abroad. "

In conversation with Reetu Joshi. Follow Reetu on Twitter @reetuzoshy
Photos by Bikkil Sthapit
 

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Categorised in: Arts

3 comments on “Rajkumar Shakya: Filling in the Shoes of Arniko

  1. Richa P says:

    What a great article. Thank you Rajkumar ji for your beautiful work and keeping our cultural alive.

  2. The noble family of repoussé masters represented by Raj Kumar, Rabindra, and Rajendra Shakya, are the grandsons of the famed Kuber Singh Shakya, the recognized historical master of the ancient practice of repoussé. The practice has largely disappeared from the larger world, and its epicenter today is that of the Kathmandu valley; as such, this family can truly be said to be a living national treasure of Nepal. I had the great personal honor and privilege of studying with Master Rabindra Shakya for my Fulbright study in Nepal during 2011-2012; I was accepted for an initial period of study by Master Raj Kumar in 2009, as a prelude to my Fulbright work. During my studies with this great family, I was thoroughly educated in the rigors of this seemingly simple practice and simultaneously disabused of any mistaken notions as to its ease of technical acquisition—its challenges far surpass those of lost wax casting and related disciplines. The primary goal of my Fulbright work—in which I was successful—was to established the first synthesis of repoussé and contemporary painting. My secondary goal was to demonstrate the potential of this ancient and demanding practice for contemporary art forms and expression. It is regrettable that the nascent and expanding renaissance of appreciation and recognition of this art form is occurring in nations outside Nepal—as evidenced by the many Shakya commissions originating in Asia, Europe and the United States– yet largely and ironically absent within Nepal herself, the home of the great artist Arniko and origin of the trans-Himalayan style in art. Her contemporary artists, perhaps discouraged by the technical rigors of the practice, have been slow to recognize the dynamic potential of this practice for contemporary form and expression. It remains my fervent hope that through the publicity given to the repoussé colossus of Padmasambhava wrought by Raj Kumar in Takela, Bhutan (currently second in height only to the repoussé statue of the American Statue of Liberty) will redress this current condition, and inspire recognition among the global contemporary arts community of the dynamic potential of this ancient practice for contemporary expression, thereby contributing to its renewal, especially within Nepal.

  3. SHREEJANA SHRESTHA says:

    I feel very proud when i watch you in NTV last night. We Nepalese are very proud of you for your great job which really helps to recognize nepalese art and architecture in the whole world. Best wishes for your future projects.

    Jay Jay Nepal.

    Shreejana Joshi

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