Peek into Kamala Bakery, Kumarakom, on any given day, one would be surprised to see its owner sitting by a corner busy with a coconut. The sight might come as a surprise to those new in the area but for the rest, Sabu Krishnan and his coconut sculptures is a regular story.
“No, I do not know baking, but own a bakery. But I do know to sculpt a coconut,” he chuckles. “I have been creating sculptures out of coconut for nearly six years now. It started with mini ‘vallams’ (boat) first with wood pieces. Slowly, I moved to carving on coconut shells and then coconuts as a whole.”
Sabu says he has always loved painting as a child and as years passed, he developed a fondness for sculptures and taught himself to sculpt. “I used to pick pieces of roots that resemble an object and used to model them to perfection. That’s how I started sculpting.”
Although carving coconut started as a hobby, Sabu always picks his raw materials with utmost care. “I do not pick just any fallen coconut to sculpt. It has to be big and well-dried. Sometimes, I go out and buy them, but most of the times my friends supply it to me when they find a coconut that fits my work.”
Elaborating more about the effort that goes into creating the sculptures, Sabu says, “Sometimes when I sculpt Buddha statues, it takes nearly two days. Rabbit and other animal carvings can be done in just one day. I use normal knife and pen knife for carving; there are no other special equipment.”
Today Sabu’s sculptures are picked up by resorts and tourists for its handmade perfection. “Most people request elephants, which are rather hard to carve out. There are a lot of takers for Ganapathy as well, especially people from North India. Foreigners like it without any varnish or colours, so I keep them simple.”
Sabu’s coconut sculptures are priced between Rs 200 and Rs 1000. “My wish right now is to hold an exhibition of all these sculptures. I’m in the process of creating more for that.”
