The call of Bangladeshi crafts

A woman from Rangamati working on the loom

The metal sculpture section had brass statues of Ganesh, Buddha, Radha-Krishna, and Lakhi, among others. The deities were seen both seated and standing while Buddha was seen surrounded with snakes. The statues were first cast in wax and then turned into metal in hot ovens. Metal horse carts, bowls, spoons, jugs, and carved trays were also for sale. Carved pandaans were also to be seen. To carve each piece with intricate floral and geometrical motifs took four days. These came from Dhamrai. Md Ripon, the craftsperson, has been specialising in metal carving for 15 years, having learnt the craft from his uncle.

The next stall had displays of satranji or rugs, table mats, cushion covers of jute, wool and cotton. The motifs were mostly geometrical. There was a pink and blue rug with motifs, stars, rectangles and triangles. Sailing boats in deep red and blue also decorated the stall. One rug with a pink and white backdrop had rectangles and bars. Birds in green, red and black embellised another rug and the motifs of the wings, legs and beaks had been created by setting one triangle upon another with layers of red and white. There were door mats too, some of them been embossed in red and orange. There were also sling bags for young women as well as pouches in brown and green, pink orange and blue. Stripes and checks were also included in the motifs.

A 7ft by 5ft rug was the largest display here in the jute section and it cost Taka 1750. Their head office was in Rangpur and is called Karupunnya. The Dhaka office is simply called Satranji. Shahidul Islam, who ran the section, has been working for 13 years at this craft and earned about Taka 200 a day.

In another section, flowers, birds and dolls were made of shola. The flowers included roses and jasmine and cost Taka 40 a dozen. Decoration pieces for the homes cost Taka 300.There were also toys which one found only in villages.

Indra Komol Shur sold jewellery made of coconut shells and wood that had been painted over. There were spoons and bowls made from sea shells. There were cards made from wood and slightly painted over along with the bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Some of them were quite modern in design. Rattles and dugdugis (little drums) were also there. Other draws were wooden jewellery boxes, flower vases and oyster shell evening bags. He said that they worked from home at Shakhari Bazaar and supplied to Arong and Shetuli.

There were also mats made from paati and these contained geometrical designs , star and floral motifs on a beige background. The mats from Sylhet ranged up to Taka 4,000. Nitai Chandra Das sat nearby with his shoras (pitchers) which he painted with brilliant red, black, yellow and blue. They contained mythical and religious figures of Gazir Pot and Radha-Krishna. Nitai had come from Bikrampur.

Nakshikanthas, with motifs of birds, boats, snakes, humans and flowers were also displayed in brilliant red, beige and black and they included bed covers, pillow cases, and wall hangings.

There was an old lady, Shukroputi, from Rangamati, who sat on the floor making khadi from brilliant gold, red, green and black threads.

The craft display was an interesting change from the flux of imported items that we normally see in Dhaka shops.