Odisha Man Without Hands Finds His Calling In Colours & Canvas

Bhubaneswar: His colourful paintings are creations of perfection with almost no handicap to take note of. But those are not strokes of a pair of deft hands. Simply because the artiste behind those creative works has no hands.

He is Pravakar Pradhan who had come from Paradip to Bhubaneswar in search of work a few years back but took to begging till he was given a new lease of life by an NGO.

Pravakar had lost one of his hands due to burn injuries in his childhood. He lost the other hand and a leg in a train accident in 2012. After the accident, his father expired and it was a tough task for his mother to take care of the family. Unable to find anything suitable to do in Port Town, he came to Bhubaneswar for a change in fortune.

Staying near Kalpana bus stand, he did odd jobs to make both ends meet. But he was soon deprived of that also as the COVID pandemic started spreading and shutdown snatched his meagre sources. Finding no other way to survive, he started begging.

However, two months back, Odisha Patita Udhar Samiti in Bhubaneswar came to his rescue. “He was begging near Master Canteen square. Our volunteers rescued him and brought him to our shelter home. He tried to escape first. But, after four days, we saw another side of Pravakar. He started taking care of the elderly at the shelter home,” said Abharani Choudhury, secretary of the Samiti.

“Once, he told my daughter that he wants to do painting as it was his childhood passion. We brought acrylic colour and brush for him. Since then, he has never stopped in experimenting with them,” she added.

She further said Pravakar uses his elbows to hold the brushes to paint. Besides painting the images of different Gods, he has acquired skills in Warli and tribal paintings.

Speaking on his creative talent, Pravakar said he had an interest in painting since childhood. “I won a prize for my painting once in my school. But I did not get opportunity thereafter and gave it up totally after the accident,” he added.

He said, “I once depended on others. Now, I am confident of doing anything like a normal person. It has been possible due to determination and willpower to overcome the odds. I love life now,” said 22-year-old Pavakar.

Since his paintings have received appreciation, he plans to sell those and other creative works, he added. Besides painting, Pravakar is an expert in preparing ‘Balita’ (hand-rolled wicks) and ‘Agarbatti’ (incense sticks).

A man with a kind heart, he likes to do his bit for the weak and infirm. “In my free time, I take care of elderly people staying in the shelter home,” he added.