Vadha Jenti Vekya

Lacquered wooden craft

Lac, famously known as a material taken from insect resin has been used since centuries to color Indian craft work. The process includes applying lacquered color on the wood on a turning lathe through the heat. The lacquered goods are created from the lacquer colors from the local market and stones obtained from forests.

The Vadha community has worked day and night to preserve their traditional way of crafting in this world of machines. The lacquered art is termed as putting colors in some of the nondescript items with the bizarre and zig-zag pattern on them. The formation of lacquerware is done manually on a lathe. The products are formed using a locally available Babool, Iliahi, and neem wood which is first carved into shape and then is smoothened by the wooden tool.

The piece is then placed on a lathe which is manually powered using a rope and a wooden stick. The rope is rolled around the carved wood and is moved using the stick attached to it. Using smoothening tools, the surface is smoothened and then different stones are used to apply different colors to the product. The stones and lacquer impart their color on the wood due to fiction produced of the fast rotating object. Then after the final smoothening of the object, it is given a glossy finish.