Sola-Pith Art of Bengal and Its Artisans

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Sola-Pith Art of Bengal and Its Artisans"

Joshua Hampton
5 years ago
Views:

1 Sola-Pith Art of Bengal and Its Artisans Falguni Pal 1 1. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi , Uttar Pradesh, India and Department of Museology, University of Calcutta, Reformatory Street, Kolkata , West Bengal, India ( palfalguni6@gmail.com) Received: 18 July 2016; Accepted: 23 August 2016; Revised: 14 September 2016 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4 (2016): Abstract: Bengal is the land of river. There are many ponds and wetlands throughout the landscape of Bengal. So, flora and fauna are also based on this Geographical manner. Here we can find sola-pith plant as one of the most common natural but neglected vegetation. However, most wonderful thing is that, art object prepares from sola-pith can be similar as ivory object by its pretty gorgeous look and the awesome skill of the artisan. Actually, sola-pith is a traditional and sacred folk legacy of Bengal and it has some ritualistic value also. Day by day it is facing grave threat. So, here present paper highlights the awesome skills and process to prepare this folk art objects and struggling life of malakars with this neglected traditional rich heritage. Keywords: Sola-Pith, Folk Legacy, Traditional Heritage, Folk Art of Bengal, Neglected Art, Sacred Art, Malakar Community Introduction According to Pandit Sukracharya, Yatra lagnang hi hrit - it means where heart is engaged - is called folk art (Tagore 1941: 43). From the beginning of human civilization, art is being practiced and it can be regarded as one of the defining characteristics of the human species. Folk art, characterised by native style, encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture. According to Michael Miller, folk art is the artistic expression of the people ( author/11006/michael-millerquotes/5). In West Bengal folk art is the mirror image of the traditional social life. Here, the components or materials of folk art are very simple and easy to avail. This rich heritage of Bengal was once neglected by some fine artists who ignored its aesthetic value. However, the significance of folk art was resurrected again with the earnest efforts by Dinesh Chandra Sen, Abanindranath Tagore and Gurusadaya Dutta. There are different forms of folk art in Bengal. Among them pottery, pith work, wooden doll making, etc. are specifically noteworthy. West Bengal is the land of rivers. There are many perennial and non-perennial channels along with ponds and wetlands throughout the landscape. Pith is one of the

2 ISSN Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 common natural vegetation of this very landscape. But this mere aquatic plant has earned a respectable place among the folk artists for its artistic value. Description of Sola-Pith Plant Before entering into the discussion of pith work we should know what is pith? Earlier it is mentioned that pith is an aquatic plant. Its scientific name is Aeschinomene aspera Linn. In Santali sola means water. Shoal plant, with its average height of 6ft.-7ft., is generally found floating in or under water. Its light green stem has many tiny bumps on the surface. The leaves are bi-pinnately compound and resembles the leaves of touch me not plant. The flowers have an attractive hue of dark brown combined with yellow. The dark green fruits are quite similar to that of the pigeon peas. The deep penetrating roots of this plant are of dark brown colour and have many branches. Pith is also known as Indian cork plant as the corks of the vials of homeopathy medicine are generally made of pith. There are three types of pith (Ghosh 2004: ). 1. Phool sola 2. Kath sola 3. Dhani sola The aforesaid corks are basically made of kath sola which is very hard in nature. It has no other utility. As dhani sola is also of inferior quality, all pith artefacts are actually made of phool sola. Preliminary Steps Needed For Sola-Pith Work Only the stems of sola plant are required for pith-work. So, the first step taken in this field is to separate the stems from branches and roots. Then they tie a bundle with some stems and leave it to dry in sunlight. The dried stems are dark brown in colour. This brown skin is needed to be removed by kati to get the white core. The pithworkers, known as malakars, make beautiful objects from this core pare. At first they cut it in several paper-thin pieces of 6 cms length and 3-4 cms width. Then they make a roll with pieces. Such rolls are known as cups which further make a chak with 25 cups. There are some other pieces of sola stem viz. kushi, guno, dhyap, pati, kankra and charan. Guno is a narrow strip made from a long piece of sola stem. All of these pieces are needed to make pith artefacts. Necessary Equipments of Sola-Pith Work It has been already mentioned that the equipments and materials of pith-work are easier to get and most of them are made from natural ingredients. The most important tool of pith-work is kati. There are three types of kati viz.- a. Dhosa or katail (large size) b. Kalso or kait (medium size) c. Isri or chaku (small size) 532

3 Pal 2016: Kat, kyat, ashtar, etc. are also used as synonyms of kati. Along with this major instrument, many other minor instruments, e.g. scissors, needle, thread, bulen, pin kait (a 3 long kati with saw-toothed edge used for delicate works), different types of knives, flat edged small bamboo stick (to polish the sola pith) are also used in pith work. Other necessities are old news paper, colouring paper, art paper, chart paper, cellophane paper, decorative stars, glistening ribbons, various chemical and herbal colours, brush and gums. The gum preparing method varies from place to place. In Nadia district gum is prepared with flour while at Munshipara (Alipurduar district) boiled pulps of khagar and bijli ghanta plants are used for this purpose. At Dakshineswar, Kolkata malakars use mulberry plant to obtain gum but at Mejbill of Alipurduar barley is the necessary ingredient. In olden days only biraja gum, made from boiled tamarind seeds, was used to make sacred pith artefacts. But now-a-days it is almost an obsolete practice. Currently, chemical adhesives e.g. super fix and calikol are becoming popular. Malakars usually buy sola stems from market but at some places they may collect them from wetlands by themselves. At Munshipara of Alipurduar district people sell sola stems measured by two pygmēs sized rope. It is called 'chote'. Previously 'chote' was considered as 3 and a half pygmēs. Malakar Community The magic workers, who make fascinating objects from simple sola pith, are known as malakars. Literally, malakar means garlander (malang karoti ya sa). They are included in the nabo shayak community. According to' Brahmavaivarta Purana' - "Vishvakarma cha sudrayang biryadhanang chakah sha. Tato babhuya putrashchanabaite shilpakarinah.19 Malakara karmakara shankhakara-kubindakah. Kumbhakara- kanshakarah sharate shilpinang barah.20" (Brahmavaivarta Purana, Brahma khanda, Dasham Adhyaya) [The races of -Garlander, Ironsmith, Conch-shell worker, Oil producer, Potter, Bellmetal workers are children of divine artist Vishvakarma and his sudra wife.] But in 'Brihad-Dharma Purana' it is said that the malakars are the result of marriage between kshatriya male and Brahmin female. The folklore of malakars tells that- "Lord Krishna s friend Sudama loved to adorn him and his brother Balarama with wild flowers. Sudama used different flowers each day. This adornment was a time consuming affair which resulted in his poor financial condition. On the day of lord Krishna and lord Balarama s departure for Mathura they went to Sudama s house to get ready in vira vesha instead of mohan vesha. But found out that basically Sudama was homeless who lived on a mat under an ancient maulsari tree. However, Sudama prepared them thoughtfully. In Mathura lord Krishna killed Kansa and claimed the throne. But they never forgot Sudama. One day they summoned him at the court. Sudama made two garlands and wrapping them in leaves he went to Mathura. When 533

ISSN 2347 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Sudama reached lord Krishna embraced him. Sudama put the garlands on the brothers' neck.

4 ISSN Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Sudama reached lord Krishna embraced him. Sudama put the garlands on the brothers' neck. Krishna-Balarama asked him in unison dear friend, what do you wish for? Sudama, who was ignorant of court-etiquettes, replied while trembling, oh friend, what should I wish! Please keep our friendship unbreakable. We are lower class people. So, please give us some status in society. Lord Krishna and lord Balarama assured him and said, granted. From now, you shall be considered as the sacred malakar community "(Biswas 2008: 5-6). District Wise Some Special Sola-Pith Items of Bengal If we divide Bengal into North-Bengal and South Bengal we can find so many districts on those parts (Fig. 1). Most of those different districts are famous for sola-pith work. If we give a look we can find some special artefacts of sola-pith are present in each district. Among them solar saj of Krishnanagar, choukhupi of Midnapore, solar phool of South 24 Parganas, saitol bishahari and daini putul of Alipurduar, pith crown and mask of South Dinajpur, ras-gachh of Howrah, sculpture of Murshidabad and melli of Maldah are especially noteworthy. Figure 1: Map of Bengal 534

Pal 2016: 531-541 North Bengal Saitol Bishahari, Alipurduar District Saitol Bishahari is a unique visual representation of goddess Manasa made in Alipurduar.

5 Pal 2016: North Bengal Saitol Bishahari, Alipurduar District Saitol Bishahari is a unique visual representation of goddess Manasa made in Alipurduar. At first the malakars paint an image of the goddess in black and red and affix it on a quadrilateral pith-framed white foolscap paper. Then they attach another trilateral framed paper containing pictures of the goddess, her goose and snake at the top of the previous one. Finally a snake, made of pith, gets attached at the very top. Worshiping this particular pith item is a common practice among the Rajbanshi community of North Bengal during Manasa puja or before the marriage ceremony of their children. Figure 2: Saitol Bishahari 535

ISSN 2347 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Daini Putul/ Warlock Doll, Alipurduar District Warlock doll (Fig.

6 ISSN Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Daini Putul/ Warlock Doll, Alipurduar District Warlock doll (Fig. 3) is also another important pith item of Alipurduar district. It is popularly known as daini putul. Basically it is related with local beliefs. According to them, when an individual gets possessed by an evil spirit or people identify someone as a witch, the Ayurvedic physician (kobiraj) performs a special offering of the daini putul to bring the said person back to his/her normal self before starting his/her actual treatment. Figure 3: Daini putul /warlock doll 536

Pal 2016: 531-541 Pith Crown, South Dinajpur District Different types of crown (made by pith) have been found in South Dinajpur.

7 Pal 2016: Pith Crown, South Dinajpur District Different types of crown (made by pith) have been found in South Dinajpur. Here, reputed pith worker Madhumangal Malakar himself makes 9 types of pith crown among them topor, mukut, patasi and sehra (for Muslim groom and bride respectively), tribal pith ornaments for girls and tribal topor, special topor for Rajbanshi groom and mukut for Rajbanshi bride are remarkable. Mask, South Dinajpur District Mask is another expertise of South Dinajpur. Usually they make masks of goddess Durga (Fig. 4), goddess Kali, goddess Chamunda and Asuras by papier-mâché and decorate it by sola-pith. These masks are essential accessories of some folk dance forms such as mukhakhel, gambhira, etc. Figure 4: Durga Mask of Gambhira Dance 537

ISSN 2347 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Melli, Malda District Pith pat chitra of malda is called melli.

8 ISSN Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Melli, Malda District Pith pat chitra of malda is called melli. Joining the pith sheets in circular shape the malakars paint the pictures of goddess Manasa, snakes, etc., through natural colours. Pith bur flowers are hung at the bottom. Local people use these items during Basu puja. South Bengal Solar-saj, Nadia District Krishnanagar of Nadia district is famous for solar saj. Malakars prepare solar saj by making everything such as- ornaments, apparels and mukuta of deity by pith. We can find adequately this type of solar- saj at the time of Durga puja and Jagaddhatri puja celebration. Figure 5: Solar -Saj of Devi Durga Sculpture, Murshidabad District The sola-pith sculpture of Murshidabad (Fig. 6) has magically transported this art work to another level. Here, the malakars have shown their skill with their creation of beautiful home decors e.g. statues, elephants with haodah, mayurpankhi boats, idol of Lord Buddha, ship, cannon, etc. 538

9 Pal 2016: Figure 6: Lord Buddha 539

ISSN 2347 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Sola-pith Flower, South 24 Parganas District In south 24 parganas the malakars are very skilled in making

10 ISSN Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4: 2016 Sola-pith Flower, South 24 Parganas District In south 24 parganas the malakars are very skilled in making artificial flowers of pith (Fig. 7). They make various flowers, e.g. rose, night queen, lotus, jasmine, dahlia, zinnia, bur flower, etc. Figure 7: Sola-pith Flower Ras- Gachh, Howrah District Rameswar village of Howrah is famous for its ras-gachh. The malakars prepare this extraordinary item only for the ras-purnima celebration. They make branches of this tree with bamboo cones which are attached with another bamboo sticks. Beautiful pith flowers like lotus and bur flowers are used to complete the decoration, fixing them on the branches. They also place an amazing plumaged pith-peacock at the top of this tree. 540

11 Pal 2016: Choukhupi, Midnapore District Malakars of Midnapore make a five storeyed pith temple like chariot which is called choukhupi. When a person dies at the day of obsequies his family set it to sail in the river to wish to peaceful crossing of Baitarani River of heaven for reaching Baikuntha- Dham safely through chariot. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the malakars with their magic wand have gracefully displayed pith, a simple aquatic plant, to the world. In spite of that at present this rich heritage is facing a grave threat of extinction. The sole cause of this problem is related to the financial condition of the malakars. Even though they find joy in their creation, the earning from this work is not enough to support their family. There are also no incentives from the government. Naturally, the young generation malakars are losing interest in their traditional livelihood. So, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the only hope to save as well as further enrich this amazing folk art is the kind cooperation and thoughtful initiatives form the government. References Biswas, B Solashilpa, Kolkata: Lokosankriti o Adibashi sanskriti Kendra, Tathya o sanskriti Bibhag, Pashchim Bangya Sarkar, p.62. Biswas, S Sola Shilpa, Murshidabader Karushilpa, Baharampur: Arkestra Prakashan, pp Ghosh, P Banglar Lokoshilpa, p Tagore, A Bagiswari Shilpa Prabandhabali. Kolkata: Ananda Publishers Private Limited, p.309. Verma, D Pranta Uttar-Banger Rajbangshi Samajer Sola Shilpa, Lokojo Shilpa, Calcutta, pp

INTRODUCTION. Joy Karmakar*

INTRODUCTION. Joy Karmakar* Journal of Economic & Social Development, Vol. - XIV, No. 1, 2018 Infiltration or Natural growth of Minority in West Bengal (India) : an evaluation Joy Karmakar* ISSN 0973-886X The paper try to explore