“I grew up watching my grand-fathers make these bamboo artefacts. It is our family profession,” says Biswajit Biswas, an artisan from Tripura, who has a stall of bamboo and cane craft items at the North-east Craft Festival at Gandhipuram. Bamboo mugs, water jars, table mats, wall decorations along with cane earrings, necklaces, pocket mirrors and hair clips are on display here. A lot of farmers cultivate bamboo and cane, says Biswajit. “There are huge bamboo fields. It is full fledged business there. The farmers sell the bamboo to artisans who make bamboo craft.”
The bamboo sculptures in his stall are eye-catching. Jesus Christ, Lord Krishna and Lord Vinayaka have been carved out of the bamboo tree. The faces look three dimensional and life like.
From the same corner of the country, but from Assam is Haider Ali who has carted bamboo and cane chairs, sofa sets and moodas, besides bamboo candle stands, mugs and lamp shades that are priced around Rs. 300. Block printed saris range from Rs 450 to Rs. 1,200 at the stall of Abdul Kareem from Tripura. The Mangaligiri cottons have zari work and ethnic prints, depicting scenes from Indian mythology. There are also Manipuri silk saris that give off a subtle sheen. “We apply rice water on the fabric to get this sheen,” Abdul explain. He says it takes around one-and-a-half day to make a sari.
Young girls huddle around the Manipuri stall of Ibemcha and her niece Ngoureu. Ngoureu is demonstrating how to wear a gamcha , a wrap-around, traditionally worn by the Manipuri women. “There is a way to wear it and no matter what you are doing, it won’t fall off,” she laughs. They are also selling warm stoles made from yak wool, cotton dupattas with floral embroidery and boat-shaped cane purses.
The aunt and niece are on an all-India tour. “We are always on the move during this time of the year, taking part in exhibitions in Kerala, Goa, Orissa and Tamil Nadu,” says Ibemcha. From April to September, they are home in Manipur to weave and design products. There is a good market for our wares among the fashion conscious young crowd, says Ngoureu.
“And usually, when we make these wares, we keep one piece to ourselves for our record. After all, these are hand-made. They are special.”
The mela is on at Sri Seshadri Swamigal Mahal, Gandhipuram till December 28.
