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Shyam

" Namastee, my name is Shyam and I was born in 1980 in the Bastar district, where I grew up. Ours is a small, under-developed village. I remember we used to walk for 3-4kms to go to school since there was hardly any public transport. Television was a far dream and we did not know anything beyond our village. Radio was our only means of contact with the rest of the world, or country even. For us, our village was our country and our world, and it was fun growing up here.

"I grew up in a small family, and I studied up to the 8th standard grade, which is as high as our local school taught. The nearest school that taught the subsequent grades was 10kms away, and since there wasn't a proper transport system, I was unable to pursue my studies. However, by the time I completed 8th grade I was already 18 years old, which meant I was old enough to take on the responsibilities expected of me.

"I learned the art of wrought iron from my family. This is a family legacy that began with my grandfather, continued with my father, and now I am doing it. I remember how, after we'd come back from school, me and my brother would sit and watch them work, helping them whatever way we were allowed. This is how I learnt.

"In the beginning, my parents and grandparents made farming tools, deities and diyas (lamps) used during weddings, but now we make different styles of sculptures intended to portray our village's culture and people. Most of the people in our village are into farming so you'll see a lot of farming and harvesting scenes in our work.

"I am so glad to be associated with Novica because we do not have any source or outlet to promote our products. It is only during government-sponsored exhibitions that we get to sell out products. I hope Novica customers will appreciate and like our hand-crafted works of art."