Own a piece of Africa

If you want a piece of Africa in your home, you need not travel 14,000 odd kilometres. Handicrafts from the continent are being exhibited in the city at Africraft — An African Odyssey. From huge statues of warriors to masks to bookends, you are bound to find something to take home. Preeti Philip, who is responsible for bringing these handicrafts to Hyderabad says, “In India, I noticed that most artefacts are usually imported from places like China, Thailand etc. but none from Africa. There are a few homes that do have ‘African’ handicrafts but they aren’t original work, they are not authentic, so I decided to bring authentic African work to the city.”

All the handicrafts have been made by members of the Kamba tribe in Kenya. “The tribe has a long history of making handicrafts, it’s like a tradition for them. Most of the pieces on display are created from one log of wood and then the accessories like chains, spears etc. are added,” says Preeti. “The tribe works in a very simple way. The men do all the carving and the women paint and decorate the pieces.”

So how did the Africa connect happen? “I was brought up there, so I grew up amidst all of this. Hence there was a strong need to bring something from there to India,” says Preeti who moved to the city a few years ago.

There are about 72-80 handicrafts on display at the Gallery Cafe and the prices start from `2,000 and can go up to `2 lakh. “The pieces are crafted from a variety of wood. There is neem, mahogany, rosewood and even ebony. Ebony is quite tough to work with and is time consuming as well, so the pieces made with ebony are expensive,” she says.