A view of the Bangladeshi crafts

Ethnic creations of terracotta, cloth and fibre

Titled 'Enjoy Crafts Support Artisans', the exhibition was held at the residence of Ergin on March 24 from 10am to 5pm. Explaining the objective of this function, Ergin said, 'This exhibition will enable the diplomatic as well as the expatriate community in Dhaka to have a closer view of the talents of Bangladeshi crafts persons.'

There was a good response from the expatriate community. Present at the exhibition were the diplomats and other foreigners. Fascinated by the shapes, colours, textures and images of crafts, the visitors showed interest in the ethnic creations of terracotta, cloth and fibre like jute, and other crafts creations such as natural fibre, mansha pot, nakshi kantha and jamdani, all of which need to be promoted.

Perveen Ahmad, a pioneer in the movement for bringing recognition to the crafts of Bangladesh, agrees that there is a need to provide support to the crafts. In her view: 'Today we have given recognition to many master crafts persons. However we need more support. KARIKA has researched and documented many of the traditional crafts of Bangladesh, but does not have funds to publish and print these valuable materials. It would be a worthy cause to invest in such a project.'

KARIKA was set up by a few women volunteers way back in November 1974. Their aim was to foster the national pride and folk traditions of Bengal. The name KARIKA (or artisan's work) was given by Poet Shamsur Rahman. Eminent artist Qamrul Hasan designed the logo from the traditional clay toy horse seen at village fairs.

It is the first artisans' co-operative organisation in Bangladesh that is credited with the unbroken continuity of the age-old tradition of the pre-Aryan Indo-Gangetic culture, such as that of terracotta, and other ethnic creations.

In continuation, Perveen says, 'Handicraft artists of Bangladesh have been suffering negligence due to the lack of interest of the public. KARIKA assists these artists with money and input. It provides necessities, such as raw materials, and a market for the finished products, whether at home or abroad.' The greatest difficulty that KARIKA, and for that matter the entire handicraft industry, faces as she says is, the growing indifference among the artists themselves. Since business opportunities are becoming scarce, handicraft artists, many of whom have had their skills handed down from generation to generation, are leaving their traditional trade to pursue more lucrative areas of work.

Perveen also added that one important reason for the diminishing popularity of crafts is that the city dwellers do not pay enough. Consequently in its exhibition KARIKA sought to focus on crafts which need immediate preservation.

'What sets KARIKA apart from other such organisations is that the producers are shareholders and participate in the management. It acts as a platform for the people to produce the crafts, which was once produced by their forefathers,' says Perveen.