The Impure Hands

Between the artisans of Thachi and the venerated visages of deities they painstakingly craft from metal stands an invisible yet almost impervious wall of caste

- Ashwani Sharma

TULE Ram stands with folded hands and bowed head at a distance from the procession as the devrath-palanquin of the goddess, borne on the shoulders of young devotees-sways in harmony to the rhythm of traditional instruments played by a band of local Dalit artistes known by the name of their caste, Bajantri.

Nobody watching the procession could miss the palanquin's most eye-catching feature: the mohras or visages of Mata Ambika Adi Shakti-feminine aspect of Shivashakti, the primal force that spontaneously gave rise to all creation according to Hindu mythology-handcrafted from metal by Tule Ram. The 39-year-old, however, is not allowed to touch the sacred creations of his artistic labour-the skilfully shaped forms depicting the revered deity of Banwas village in the Thachi valley of Seraj region in Himachal's Mandi district.

Belonging to the fourth generation of a local family of traditional metalwork artisans, Tule Ram's birth in the Lohar or blacksmith's caste-a Scheduled Caste in most of Himachal Pradesh except a few districts like Kangra where they are listed among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)-is sufficient to deem his touch 'impure' by the caste norms of purity-pollution that have traditionally determined who touches what and interacts with whom, and how.

Even though Article 17 of the Constitution of India, enacted three years after Independence, explicitly forbids the enforcement of any disability arising out of the age-old practice of untouchability, it often happens behind the veil of ancient customs and religious practices. This is why, while he accompanies the procession up to the kothi, the goddess's temple in his village, the artisan ensures there is always a gap between him and the palanquin made beautiful by the visages he had crafted.