PESHAWAR: Shah Madar Kaka, a born clay master, moulds mud images of pet animals and individuals, who had played a significant role in the society.

Born on August 13, 1946 in Manirai village of Swabi district, he did his matric from a government high school in 1965. He was brilliant in the subject of mathematics since his early age and loved geometrical shapes.

His two elder brothers -- Sikandar Sher and Shams Tabriz -- were equally talented as each of them was expert in a local game ‘koda’ and playing different musical instruments without help of any tutor respectively.

“Whenever I see a person of substance playing a significant role in our society for its good, I say to myself, he or she deserves a clay image. It’s a way of my personal tribute. I have been doing it for the last 50 years. It costs me nothing. It is not even time consuming. I would gladly favour a project at Hund museum to showcase clay images of important personalities of Swabi,” Shah Madar Kaka told this scribe.

The media shy artist said that the credit went to Qaam Qalam, a local literary organisation, that brought him to a spring festival function held at the site of Hund museum on Saturday to showcase a few of his mud-made images.

“It was my maiden solo exhibition in a way. I keep good relations with local Pashto poets because they create ‘word images’ and I create ‘mud images’. Farming gives me bread while clay images give me thread, a spiritual satisfaction,” Shah Madar Kaka said jokingly.

Sculptor Shah Madar Kaka believes commercialism robs one’s art

Born with a talent of mud artwork, he got retirement from Wapda as a surveyor in 2006 and had enough time to get engaged in farming and making various items from clay that gave him solace and a sense of fulfilling call of his internal urge.

“I am not doing it for money. It just gives me mental satisfaction. Since early childhood, I used to be fascinated by geometrical shapes in nature around me. Human figures would attract me much more than other thing on earth,” the artist recalled.

He has no mentor but nature. He draws inspiration from facial expressions of the pet animals and those individuals, who have played pivotal role in shaping human society. The founder of Khudai Khidmatgar Tehreek, Bacha Khan, is the first-ever human figure, who stirred artistic vigour in the clay master to mould his image into mud.

Noorul Amin Yousafzai, a noted research scholar, said that a gallery showcasing the artworks of stone engravers, wood carvers and clay masters of the local artists would lend beauty to Hund heritage museum.

“It will also help us preserve our local art. During the glorious days of Gandhara civilisation in this region, local artists enjoyed heydays. The art of stone, wood and mud work were at its peak. Shah Madar Kaka’s clay artwork is unique in the whole area,” Mr Yousafzai said.

Shah Madar Kaka said that mud extracted from waterlogged area could be best used for making things as it combined soil, silt and clay. “I never use colours to maintain originality. Glazed pottery or simple pottery is a different art. Clay image is far superior art. I personally believe it involves a creative vision with an edge of aesthetic sense,” he said.

He gifts most of mud images to anyone, who bumps onto his artwork. Bull and cow are at the top of his priority list when it comes to pet animals. He said in village farming, bull and cow held a significant position.

“I have a collection of around 200 different mud images. I don’t keep them for long. I also mould images of my close friends, plants and birds and also of those young girls and boys, who are fond of unique fashion in hairstyle and facial getup,” the artists said.

According to him, commercialism robs one’s art. He gifted out his entire stall on his first solo exhibition to art lovers.

“Visitors were impressed with my mud art. On the basis of first come, first serve, I gifted out all items to art lovers. My objective is to share pleasure and in return get a word of appreciation for my piece of art and not necessarily for myself,” the sexagenarian artist said with a ray of simile on his face.

Published in Dawn March 23rd , 2015

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