Dhokra by Sanatan Padhan

Dhokra Craft
#KnowYourArt

Dhokra (also spelt Dokra) is non–ferrous metal casting using the lost-wax casting technique. This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. One of the earliest known lost wax artefacts is the dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro. The product of dhokra artisans are in great demand in domestic and foreign markets because of primitive simplicity, enchanting folk motifs and forceful form. Dhokra horses, elephants, peacocks, owls, religious images, measuringbowls, and lamp caskets etc., are highly appreciated.

Dhokra craft is found in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and West Bengal. In Odisha,  Dhenkanal is the biggest producer of Dhokra craft.

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Sanatan Bhai comes from a long line of master dhokra artists from a very well-known dhokra craft village. However, a few years ago he along with 35 other families had to relocate and form a new village called Nuagaon away from their ancestral village. Sanatan Bhai leads the village full of dhokra artists and ensures that the art form remains alive and thriving.