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P.C. Gupta

"I am P.C. Gupta. I have inherited the craftsmanship of marble stone from a rich family trade. Several of my kinsmen are also well entrenched in this traditional vocation. I, aided by my manager Raja Ram Singh (born 1954), have been able to expand our work so that fifty skilled artisans and an equal number of semi-skilled helpers work in our establishment. We make exquisite boxes, plates, vases, coaster-sets, napkin holders, vessels, tiles, and animal icons of marble embellished with elaborate inlaid work of semi-precious stones like jasper, coral, sodalite, turquoise, polyliene, malachite green, etc.

"I almost wholly do the designing. The artisans collaborating with us execute the design, since it cannot be one man's job. It is a complete handiwork and the work, even if not sophisticated at all times, is always laborious, time-consuming, and trying on the patience. To make a three-dimensional objects of art, a suitable marble block is cut according to adumbration from a large chunk of stone. The marble comes from Makrana, in Rajasthan (northwestern India). Since there is no possibility of a dice being used, everything is wrought over and again with bare hands. The surface of an artifact is then minutely dented to make space for elaborate inlaid work of semi-precious stones. Polishing is also done by hand or with rudimentary mechanical devices. We also make statuary carvings with snow-white alabaster stone that actually comes from Italy.

"We have introduced novel artifacts, watching the demand in the market. Water jugs, wine cups, and passport-size photo frames are some instances. Now the customer has become increasingly quality conscious, and that makes us constantly spruce our quality. Our future experimentations will also depend upon popular customer demand. We want to introduce the statues of Hindu deities, at least to watch the customer response. We want to cater to a large spectrum of discerning and novice customers in marble and alabaster. I wish this craft to continue in our family down the generations. It is really a pleasure to be associated with Novica. I wish its valued customers would let me know what more innovation they need from us."