FOLK  ART, HERITAGE  AND  TRADITIONAL PROFESSIONS

"The change you see now began only five years ago," explains Indra, who pioneered the change. Thanks to a rise in the installation and use of sanitary latrines by the government and NGOs (non-governmental organisations), Indra and his fellow potters in the village reinvigorated their occupation by linking up with the sanitary product boom. When he first saw the ring slabs of the sanitary latrines to be put in sanitary wells, it occurred to Indra that potters could make ring slabs with clay instead of cement.

Pursuing the idea, he found the cost of clay slabs would be less than those of cement. His next step was to campaign in the neighbourhood to attract buyers. His campaign yielded the expected result and customers gradually began to put in orders. Once there was a steady flow of orders, other potters joined in. Chhidam Pal, Anil Pal, Lalchan Pal, Jogesh Pal, Gouranga Pal and Govinda Pal -- all started making ring slabs as well as flower tubs and small pots for seedlings.

"Some families have migrated to India. Some changed their profession. Ten years ago, I also thought of becoming a rickshawpuller. But eventually I couldn't leave my ancestors' occupation like many of my community. We are artisans. Art is in our blood. It's not so easy to leave it," Indra remembered the hard days for his community before the new work became available.

The people in this ancient occupation have been having a hard time for years. The demand for clay utensils has diminished over time due to the availability of cheap, handy alternatives, made of aluminium or glass or plastic. The trade has also been hurt by the migration to India of many of the Hindu community.

In such a context, the success story of Bamunkushia stands as an exception. Making ring slabs is not really new for the potters. "We used to make the same things for the dug wells which are no more in use," Indra said. "This is only a new use of the old things."

Potters from Basakhanpur, Inatpur and Taratia villages are also making clay slabs now. More orders keep coming in. Seventy-year-old Chhidam Pal, one of the senior potters in Bamunkushia, happily observed the tin-shed: "We have done it with our own merit and labour."

"But getting fuel to burn the clay is a real problem nowadays. Nor are there as many boats today to carry the load of mud, as you found before. Not many boats now sail long distances," Chhidam said. Siddhipal, another potter, emphasised the need to increase their sales. "We don't require NGO or government loans. We only need proper arrangements to sell our products. Bigger markets."

But Indra is full of hope for the future. Last year, he made a dug well in Bidyut Saha's house at Kalihati in Tangail. It was a Tk 5,000 contract. "The well was dug to get arsenic-free water. I hope many more will call us to dig wells. People are returning to older days. Our pottery will surely have a comeback." (Daily Star, January 17, 2004)

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A large number of blacksmiths oof the country have been facing manifold problems for a long time. Price-hike of raw materials, lack of patronage by the relevant authorities and shortage of fuel are some of the problems the blacksmith community has been confronted with.

Some blacksmiths told this correspondent recently that they were not getting fair prices for the tools made by them despite hard labour. Very often they are compelled to sell their goods below the production cost to maintain their families. They added that the demand for their products has fallen due to easy availability of machine made tools. Subol Chandra, 36, son of Rabi Chandra of village Chandaikona in the district, told this correspondent that he had no scope to expand his business due to dearth of capital. Banks do not provide loans to them. So they are totally dependent on the moneylenders. But they cannot borrow money from them due to high rate of interest.

Once upon a time there were about 30,000 blacksmith families in the (north Bangladesh) region covering 16 districts, but now their number has come down to 2,000 only. Most of the blacksmiths quit their age-old ancestral profession and switched over to other jobs for survival.

But in the absence of suitable jobs they are leading sub-human life with their families. They make knives, billhooks, spades and axes. Their skill makes our lives easy because without these tools we cannot spend a single day in the city or in any village. They are blacksmiths otherwise known as Karmakars or Kamars as several of these communities live in the city. At Karwan Bazar around 250 blacksmiths work in 25 workshops. The air filled with the odour of smelting iron in manually regulated foundries, harsh sounds of the anvil on the hot iron as it flares and sparks characterises the area. They working environment is risky; hazardous to their health. They find difficulty in breathing because of the lack of oxygen in the air. They inhale iron dust, which, according to doctors is a cause for cardiac disorders. To run the profession smoothly, the blacksmiths need crude iron, steel, gas pipes, charcoal and other raw materials, but prices of these materials have been increasing from time to time. A kilogram of charcoal is selling at Tk 25 to Tk 30 in different markets

Blacksmiths make tools like spade, axe, hoe, rake, plough, sickle, knife and other household materials. But the demand for these tools has fallen remarkably in recent times. They have urged the authorities concerned to provide them with short-term loans to help continue their ancestral business (The Independent, October 15, 2004).

Blacksmiths now in peril, seek technological, easy loan facilities

BHAIRAB, Feb 22, 2005:—Blacksmiths in the haor area of Itna, Mitamoin, Nikli and Austagram upazilas of Kishoreganj are passing hard days as they can not produce iron made products for marketing due to price hike of necessary in­puts and capital shortage. The blacksmith community of the upazilas living on their ances­tral houses are producing and selling iron made products like dao, axe, spade, sickle, knife, kitchen knife, pins, agricultural in­puts and other items essentials for daily use. But the unusual rise in the price of raw materials mainly iron has pushed them into ex­treme difficulties to maintain their traditional profession. In the wake of the price hike of iron they cannot manage capital to run their pursuits.

Besides, the demand of indige­nous products is on decrease due to availability of quality imported products comparatively low price. Some blacksmiths have left their ancestral profession and leading miserable life with their dependents. The blacksmith community should be provided with im­proved technological support and easy loan facilities to run the an­cestral profession (The Bangladesh Observer, February 23, 2005)

Blacksmith industry grapples with problem

About 2,000 blacksmiths in the under the district are facing great hardship for a l ong time. Lack of patronzation, hike of raw materials, crisis of fuel and charcoal and, for the setting of welding workshops, the blacksmiths find it difficult in carryout their ancestral profession. Besides they do not get fair price of their products due to lack of marketing facilities. They are forced to sell their goods at a nominal price. According to different sources there were more than six thousand blacksmith families in the district. But now the number has come down to about 2,000. Many of the blacksmith community have already quit the profession and changed their professions for the cause of survival and many of the are thinking to quit finding no other alternative. Talking to a blacksmith Anil Chandra Kamaker at village under Sadar upazila it is learnt that they have inherited the age old profession. Now they are passing their days in extreme hardship due to want of capital fuel and raw materials. hey need steel and iron as raw materials. But the prices of raw materials have increased manifold and informed they need fuel for heating the steel and iron to make various agricultural instruments. Kitchen , carpentry instrunents and joining tools used in furmiture making. They usualy use kath-koila (charcoal) for hearing raw materials. They used to purchase charcoal at Taka one per kg a few years ago. Now they purchase it at the rate of firewood, he added.

But the supply of coal is not available at all. So they have to look for charcoal in the rural areas. According to reports supply of spade hoe, rack plough blade, sickle billhook knife chisel hammer house and furniture making pin hinges ring etc. made of steel and iron have reduced largely. Non availabilty of raw materials has hampered in making of those ones.

A good quality of steel is necessary for making sharp iron stoll like , plough blade, cutter etc. According to sources market position of the iron made articles has quite changed after introduction of mechanized cultivation, Talking to some blacksmiths in the district town it was learnt that the demand of plough blade locally known as Langaler Fala is decreasing day by day due to use of power tiller largely. Now a-days ready made modernized tools for house hold works and cultivation purposes are selling in the markets at a cheaper . With a view to present and market prices of raw materials the artisans can not make profit as their cost of production is exceeding the selling rate Nipa Karmaker in age old blacksmith industry nBazar in Sadullapu upazila told this correspondent that traditional blacksmith industry is almost closed down due to want of fund. They need a large amount of money to purchase steel and iron. But they are not in a position to draw loan from banks as they do not have sufficient fund to mortgage to banks. As a result they are mainly depending on the money. This profession is of more gainful that is why many of them have meanwhile left the profession and are living in sub-human condition. The blacksmith community of the district appealed to the commercial bank authorities to districts to grant loan among them at easy terms for the survival of the age old cottage industry (The Bangladesh observer, June 20, 2007).

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Subodh Karmakar, 38, works in his small outlet, Sananda Jewellers at Khorompotti in Sherpur. Two other young boys help him. As winter is considered the marriage season, he is rather busy. This year, unlike previous ones, his business is very dull and few orders are coming in. Subodh has been involved in this profession for over 23 years while his family for generations, but most of his family members have changed their profession. He opened Sananda Jewellers independently in mid-June in 2003. Before that he had been working at Muslim Jewellers in the town. "As I don't have education, I have no choice but to get involved in this profession," says Subodh.

According to him, people of the traditional jewellery-making families no longer get encouragement from their guardians to be involved in the profession because it has lost both its novelty and the wealth. Only youngsters, who do not have education and do not get the chance to be employed elsewhere, take to this line of work. Every year, many workers, who are involved in this kind of profession, are changing their occupation. "Many workers have become rickshaw-pullers or farmers. The people, who are new in this profession, do not have much of a reason to keep at it." Subodh said. Jewellers are no longer getting orders to make traditional hansuli, boyla, kantabaju, bangaguli, bank kharu, moti chur, basanta bahar churi, chakra har, sat nari, machhipat, elokeshi ring. "The prices of these items are very high; we cannot afford them." said Momena Nahar, a young housewife who had come to buy a makori and kanphol.

Almost all the owners of small outlets take orders from big shops like Subodh, who takes his orders from the Muslim Jewellers, where he used to work. He feels that the situation has worsened due to the price hike of raw materials. Like the other parganas in Bengal, different areas of Sherpur were ruled by zamindars from the Sultani period. During the British rule, there were some 15 zamindars in this region. The jewellery industry had spread widely in these areas at that time.

According to goldsmiths, the degradation in this profession, in fact, started in the 1960s. After independence, the situation became even worse. The people of Basak, Malakar and Karmakar families, who were famous for their traditional jewellery works, are now changing their profession.

This traditional business is now facing tough competition. Many of the shops are buying substandard readymade jewelleries from Dhaka and selling those here because of which costumers are losing faith in the producers. Suresh Malakarer Dokan, the oldest jewellery shop in town, has been there for eighty years. The proprietorship has been passed down the family for the past seven or eight generations. About the present condition of this profession one of the proprietors, requesting anonymity, said that the goldsmiths were not surviving, as they were not adopting the modem technologies and new fashions. According to him, lack of capital, non-cooperation from financial institutions, lack of any government and non-government assistance are the main causes for the slump in this industry.

"The smiths cannot afford new machines. So they cannot introduce new designs. The light and poor quality products as well as the high price of raw materials have also took the industry to the verse of destruction," he comments. Over the years, certain areas in Sherpur have become specialised in jewellery and known as Sonaprara. Most of these villages have now lost their fame.

They said that the industry in Nabinagar Sonapara has faded away. "Some of the families of Pakuria Sonapara, another locality near Nabinagar Sonapara, have had the tradition for many generations. This indicates that this industry had flourished here many years ago.

The goldsmiths of the town think that the jewellery industry is improving and flourishing day by day in India. Both government and non-government organisations are assisting this small industry and guiding the owners of the jewellery shops as to how to better their sales. They are earning huge amounts of foreign exchange, exporting jewelleries. But in Bangladesh the scenario is pretty much the opposite. When asked about the loan distributing programmes, the authorities concerned at Sonali Bank and Janata Bank in town informed this correspondent that they do not have any special plans to distribute loans to revive the cottage industry. They also said that many of the jewellery shop owners had come to take loans for other purposes. There are about 300 shops, including 100 showrooms, throughout the district.

Many of those employed here are loosing their jobs. "Those who loose their jobs find employment in different sorts of job. Those, who do not get new jobs, are setting up new outlets in their own areas so that they can also do their domestic household works." said Abdur Rashid Majid, Joint Secretary of the Bangladesh Jewellers' Samity in Sherpur (R. Rosan, October 22, 2004).(

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The Lost Art of Metal Casting

The lost-wax technique is an ancient art that dates back over 2,000 years or older in India, China, and Egypt. In the 15th century it was used by the likes of Donatello for the making large-scale bronze nudes. Bowls and plates made with intricate etchings are made using other methods.

Process

Most of the figures are made from bronze (a copper and tin alloy) or brass (a copper and zinc alloy). Hindu figures are made out of eight metals believed to have an auspicious connection to the planets. The eight metals are: copper, zinc, tin, iron, lead, mercury, gold and silver.

Once a dying art, metal-casting is being revived by Sukanta Banik, whose business in Dhamrai has been in the family for five generations. Until recently, Banik's forefathers had been making household items with brass and bronze -- kasha and pittal. But in 1971, Sukanta's uncle Shakhi Gopal Banik and his partner, Mosharraf Hossein, changed direction and started producing works of art: figures from Hindu mythology and folk art as well as Buddhist and Jain sculptures.

During Durga Puja season most of the artisans go home to work on clay murtis for their family business. "Wax figures are harder to work on than clay ones because we do replicas of museum designs, but clay murtis are our own creation," says Gautam Pal, the sole remaining artisan of the season.

Designs of the gods and goddesses

Designs of the gods and goddesses are based on the art of the Pala dynasty. They tend to be very intricate, and stand distinguished from statues made elsewhere,

The lost-wax technique allows helps Banik's artisans create more pronounced detailing. In contrast to most Indian statues, whose details are etched onto the solid metal form, the details of one of Banik's statues are made on the soft wax at the initial stages of the sculpting, using soft wax thread, which is then carved into with a bamboo stick. Thus, the embellishments take on a three-dimensional quality.
Murtis from India also differ in that they are usually made from a Master mold.

We must attempt to preserve this age-old tradition, not just in Dhamrai, but in other centers like Jamalpur, Islampur, Tangail, Kushtia, and Dhaka." In the words of friend and supporter, Matt Friedman, "If [the metal casting] trade is someday lost, an important part of Bangladesh's artistic tradition will vanish forever." Hats off to Mr. Banik for bringing this decidedly Bangalee tradition back to life (Manisha Gangopadhyay, November 8, 2004).

Even if it's not Aladdin's magic carpet, the lure of the 1,000 year old traditional jute rug --Satranji continues to have buyers in its thrall. The elegance and splendour of the rug is believed to have captivated even the great Mughal Emperor Akbar. The charm of Satranji was evident both in palaces and huts. Recently, the lyrical beauty of the Satranji was on display at the lounge of the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. Hanging on walls, placed on a traditional Palanko( the highly decorative antique bed of kings, nawabs and zamindars), the soft lighting created a dreamy atmosphere with splashes of bright colours at the exhibition premises.

With the title 'Colour Your Home with Village Art', a three-day exhibition started on October 3, 2004. The organiser was famous designer Bibi Russell in collaboration with Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. The exhibition is a fund raiser.' Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital. The rest of the funds will go to the North Bengal weaver community who made these magnificent rugs,' said Bibi. 'We are focusing on the women weavers of Rangpur. They have suffered a series of natural adversities- the harmful flood, devastating rains and drought. Consequently, these people are uncertain about how to celebrate Eid.

In the exhibition, around 80 Satranjis made of 100 percent jute, are on display with various colours and designs in folk tradition. From Pilpa, which was known as Hatipaya to Jafri, Itkhati, Latai the traditional mingled with modern designs depicting the motifs of elephant footprints, motifs from Jamdani and the intrinsic geometrical patterns. About the designs Bibi says, ' The traditional motifs are absolutely superb (Afsar Ahmed, Daily Star, November 5, 2004).

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Bamboo-based cottage industry in Shariatpur, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Rajbari and Faridpur is on the verge of extinction due to lack of raw materials and shrinking of market for the products. Market sources said the short fall in raw materials is triggered by indiscriminate extraction of bamboo trees for building houses and various goods, uprooting the bamboo for setting up settlements and lack of any initiatives to preserve or grow bamboo clusters.

Besides, the local markets are being flooded with metal or plastic goods leaving no rooms for the bamboo made ones. Consumers are increasingly buying metal or plastic goods instead of bamboo-made products because of their cost effectiveness and durability. As a result, thousands of bamboo craftsmen have already left their inherited profession in search of alternative jobs. A large number of them have become jobless finding no other alternatives, the sources said.

Bamboo the life blood of the people: Alarm to Ecosystem

Talking to BSS people involved in the bamboo industries said the government should take programmes to plant bamboos in the areas to help the craftsmen for survival in the competitive market. They also stressed banning on carrying indiscriminate extraction of the bamboos from the areas (Independent, December 12, 2004)..

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Uttam Naag, one of the oldest and most gifted shankharis (shankha craftsman) in the city's Shankharibazar area, showed the door to this reporter when approached for an interview. “If I give you an interview will it bring food for me? I have done it many times in the past 10 years. Many reporters talked to me. Stories were printed. But none of it changed my life. It has become quite tiresome for me,” said a frustrated Uttam.

It was midday but inside his 3X10 feet workplace it seemed like evening despite a single low-power electric bulb giving feeble light. There is hardly any space for one person to move freely. Dust of the conch shell made the room suffocating. Uttam and his five colleagues work in this room in such a harsh condition.

Once part of Dhaka's rich history, the art of shanka (conch shell bangles) and the craftsmen are now just awaiting extinction. “There was a time when every household of Shankharibazar area was involved in shankha trade one way or the other. Shankha used to be the identity of this area. Today it exists only in name,” said Uttam who has been involved in this trade for the last 40 years.

Only a handful of craftsmen now remain in the profession. According to Shankharibazar Shankha Shilpa Karigar Samity, at present only 25 designers work in four workshops and another four work at their home. Only eight are engaged in shankha cutting in the samity's automated factory.

There are many problems and intricacies behind the depressing state of the age-old trade and the tradition, shankharis and the shankha traders pointed out. The first blow came during the Liberation War. Shankaribazar, which has been the home of shankha trade for several hundred years, faced the wrath of the Pakistan Army in 1971.

The shankhari community saw a massacre along with their rich heritage. Besides, many artisans migrated to India during and after independence.

Artisans attributed the influx of cheap Indian shankhas to the dying shankha trade and blamed the mahajons for destroying their livelihood. “Indian products have taken over the local market taking away the business of Shankharibazar's craftsmen forcing them into starvation,” said Uttam. “Influx of Indian products means fewer work orders, reduced earning and changing of profession for us.”

He mentioned that charge of the craftsmen depends on the intricacy of the design and the amount of time it requires. The usual rate ranges from Tk 6 to Tk 20 per shankha. The workers' daily income varies, but generally it ranges between Tk 150 and Tk 300. The shankharis abandoned the age-old manual saw and started using electric saws around 20 years ago. It increased the production and reduced time of their work.

Shankharibazar Shankha Shilpa Karigar Samity possesses the only factory that employs automated cutting machine. The entire community in the area uses the machine. “Hindu women use to wear shankha for religious reason. Today's modern women wear it also as a fashion statement. So it has tremendous business opportunity. But for the lack of patronage the trade is dying,” said Madhushudan Dhar, a cutting labourer.

Mahajons on the other said supply shortage of raw materials and high import duty is the main reason why local shankha industry is facing a depression. “The basic problem with the trade is that the raw material, the conch shell, has to be imported, as it is not available in Bangladesh. Majority of the supply comes from Sri Lanka,” said Mithun Naag, owner of Naag Bhandar.

The quality of raw material is deteriorating but its price is rising. In addition to this, there is very high import duty. As a result, the local products get costlier, he said. Price of a good piece of locally made shankha starts from Tk 600 and it can go up to Tk 1,200, whereas Indian shankhas cost between Tk 150 and Tk 500.

The import duty on conch shells is currently 35 percent and it takes about three months to receive the shipment from Sri Lanka as it has to come via Singapore. On the other hand, the Indian conch shell traders pay only 5 percent duty, which makes their product cheaper. Another problem with the shankha industry is that it involves a very small community and they live in a particular area. There is little opportunity to expand this industry as only the shankhari community is involved in this craftsmanship for generations. With current pay new apprentices are hard to find, Mithun noted.

The Hindu myth of shankha bangles

In Hindu religion it is mandatory for married women to wear shankha bangles. By wearing shankha a Hindu woman seeks well-being of her husband. It is considered as a symbol of her purity. Shankha is also an expression of love and devotion to the husband. It is believed that shankhas protect women from bad omen. Use of broken shankha is considered ominous.

These bangles come with magnificent carvings. Carving out these bangles from a hard conch shell is like making a sculpture out of stones. Making a shankha needs time. First the softer part of the shell is taken out by breaking the tail end of the conch. Then the shell is washed up. The conch is then cut in a bangle shape to go through a scrubbing machine for smoothing its surface. Finally the motifs are crafted. Only a deft hand can produce the finest.

The motifs are images of nature, myth, traditional beliefs, rites and rituals. Popular motifs are dhaan chhora, motor daana, griho lakhmi, shabu dana, ek konkon etc. There are hundreds more --- dori patch, pachdaana, beni, shati lakhsmi, bandhan, shankhabala, juiful, golap, latabala, jaalfash, taarpach, uporbeni, do shapa etc.

There is another variety where gold is used on the shankha. These however are the luxury of the wealthy segment of society (S. Parveen, Daily Star, September 15, 2008).

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The survival of khadi and subsequent rise in its recognition as a tradition worth preserving for its historical and economical value is certainly a remarkable story. Khadi has been very much an integral part of our life and fashion, and its evolution has occured for hundreds of years. From the economic point of view, khadi earned fame in the early nineties and has kept our local weaving industry from the onslaught of smuggled Indian garments that have flooded the markets. In the last fifteen years or so, fashion houses have succeeded in bringing khadi back as part of contemporary fashion.

Khadi or khaddar refers to the different versions of coarse cotton cloth, which have been hand woven using hand spun yarn. Peasants and artisans in pre-industrial India always wore Khadi that had been made from locally grown organic cotton, harvested by local labourers, spun into thread by their womenfolk and woven into cloth by men from various specialist-weaving castes. The exact technology involved in the production of khadi would vary from region to region, as would the techniques used for its decoration (dyeing, embroidery, printing etc). It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. However, being a cruder form of material, it creases faster than other preparations of cotton. In order to improve the look, khadi is often starched to have a stiffer shape. It is widely accepted in the fashion world.

The first promoter of this cloth was Mahatma Gandhi when he recommended all the people of India to wear khadi garments. It was not only an attempt for self-reliance but also to find some common thread (literally) to bring about unity among Indians. Khadi was given a more prominence by Gandhi after his return from South Africa. While in search of the charka (spinning wheel) Gandhi felt that for a nation to be self-reliant, it had to revive indigenous manufactured goods. Gandhi wrote: Swaraj (self-rule) without swadeshi (country made goods) is a lifeless corpse and if Swadeshi is the soul of Swaraj, khadi is the essence of swadeshi. Consequently, khadi became not only a symbol of revolution and resistance but part of an Indian uniqueness. Gandhi acknowledged though, “When I first discovered the spinning wheel it was entirely through perception. It was not backed by knowledge so much so that I confused charka with kargha (handloom). These two forms of fabrics have always confused people. While khadi is hand made, handloom yarn is processed at the mills.”

Comilla has been playing a significant part in producing woven crafts since the days of the Mughals. There were numerous weavers in the Tripura state during the 17th century. The 1890 Tripura Gazetteer notifies us that a woven craft existed in the area which employed thirteen thousand men and two thousand women weavers. Among them most were Hindu and came from Mainamoti, Chandina, Gauripur, Nobinagar, Kalikachha, Dhamti and Borkamta. Brightly coloured lungis in check design as well as sarees and gamchhas were made in Mainamoti. These cost between two taka and five in the currency of that time. The weavers from Shorail, Kalikachha and Nabinagar used to make very good quality dhotis and bed sheets. These used to cost from two to five taka a pair, depending on their quality. Woven craft was mainly concentrated within the areas of Moinamoti, Muradnagar, Gauripur and Chandina. These weavers who had been practising this craft for generations were apt in this field long before the craft became famous in Europe. Even when the demand for material imported from London and Manchester was high, the demand for material woven within the country remained unaffected. Apparel of modern design were made from the posh imported material whereas the everyday clothing of the people of the country, such as lungis, dhotis and saris were made from our own material.

Mahatma Gandhi's exemplary principles and protests against foreign cloth inspired the beginning of>khadi craft in Comilla. In 1921 Gandhi came to Chandina to inspire the weavers and taught them the handling of charka. A branch of the Nikhil Bharat Tantubai Samiti was founded in Comilla which supported to promote the exceptional products of the khadi industry in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. After the partition of India in 1947, khadi work was almost on its way to extinction due to various changes in the political and social environments. Comilla also suffered the effects of those changes. As a result about 5000 spinners in several thanas of Tripura district were thrown out of their part-time employment. Through Abhoy Asram, Comilla tried their best to keep the programme alive, but its organisational capacity was found to be inadequate to cope with the demand of such a large number of spinners. A

fter the language movement of 1952, Dr. Akhter Hamid Khan, who was a Professor of Victoria College and the Director of the Bangladesh Academy of Rural Development, Comilla, along with the then Governor Firoz Khan Noon established “The Khadi and Cottage Industries Association”. The objectives of the association has been stated in the by law as to encourage and provide facilities to produce and manufacture Khadi and other cottage crafts like tanning, pottery and sericulture etc and to arrange sale and marketing there: Akther Hamid Khan in his report for the first quarter (from October 1, 1956 to December 31,1956) mentioned that the aim of the association was to revive and encourage cottage industries by providing trained workers to organise production of Khadi. Another objective of the association was to educate and organise the village artisans to form various types of artisan cooperative for their self- improvement.

Khan received three Ambar charkas with one trained operator as donation from Indian government in 1957 and took up a small project on an experimental basis for six months with the donated charkas. The purpose of the experiment was to ascertain the productive capacity and the cost of producing Ambar yarn and the quality of cloth produced with Ambar yarn. The result was encouraging and later on the small industries cooperation approved a scheme of Rs. 3.5 lakhs and imported 400 Ambar charkas from India. The charkas were handed over to the Khadi Association but later on they were given to the women's programme of the academy for propagation of Amber spinning wheels among the village women.

On the other hand, some weavers of Comilla region had played an important role to produce and promote khadi in our country; among them Shoilen Guho is considered as one of the pioneers of the khadi creations and was known as Khadibabu. Shoilen was so determined to promote this craft that he used to gather the thread from surrounding villages and spin and sell his own cloth and spent a lot of time to his own village Chandina Comilla to create and promote khadi as well as to instruct and educate the locals in the art of spinning. His business expanded, as there was a boom in the demand, and he started supplying his products to Calcutta. After his death in 1995 his eldest son Arun has been continuing his father's dream to protect our heritage by improving Khadi to make it more appealing to all classes of people. There are many others who have kept this age-old craft alive: Prabodh Das, Noni Saha, Taruni Mohan Raha, Dinesh Babu, Manmohan Dutta, Shantosh Dutta, Samar Majumdar, Swapan Majumdar, Bahar Mia, Jairam Shaha, Prodip Kumar Datta and Shankar Babu.

After independence, a growing sense of national identity has made people realise the worth of our indigenous crafts. While muslin was once the most sought after textile by the elite of the world khadi earned the love of the common people. Now however, the appeal of khadi has crossed classes and generations although the producers of khadi have been fighting hard for their survival with the modern industry made cloths. “We have to import most of the raw materials to produce the textile, as a result the cost of production is becoming high, moreover, we have to fight with the free trade economy” said Prodip Kumar Dutta owner of Bishuddah Khadi Bhandar.

Despite all these hurdles, some courageous entrepreneurs are trying to make khadi a product of our everyday life and heritage. Some of them have already become successful and gradually khadi-craft has turned into an industry. The weavers of Comilla have kept up with the changes in design with time, and they now follow the modern designs of Madras and Bombay to keep their work up-to-date and suitable for contemporary designs. Conversely, Ashraful Rahman Faruq was one such individual who presented khadi as a fashionable collection. He opened Nipun the first shop to sell khadi goods at Malibagh in Dhaka in 1973. He introduced traditional khadi made products (sari, punjabi, shalwar kameez) as well as brought diversification, such as blankets, napkins etc. He did not stop at simply constructing the clothing materials but went on to connect value by utilising colouring, printing and block techniques. Thus, other shops displaying khadi sprouted such as Champak, Kumudini, Joya etc. It was the birth of a new country and what better way to join the jubilation than to revel in the country's own product? With such a mindset, K S M Faruq opened up Khadi Bitan near the Dhaka Science Laboratory, selling khadi from Comilla.

The 80's saw a revolution in the demand for khadi. Men could find everything from winter jackets and scarves to summer outfits like punjabi. Aarong, Kumudini and later Prabartana promoted khadi in a different light as something desirable. They had their own designers along with their own factories and craftsmen.

Internationally celebrated designer and model Bibi Russel came back to Bangladesh in 1994 and started work on promoting the local weaving industry. She set her eyes on the jamdani, muslin, check and khadi introducing these textiles for a fashion development programme. A lot of the work revolved around Shoilen Guho's khadi products. The duo helped to bring khadi further into the limelight during the mid-nineties. Bibi arranged fashion shows at home and abroad to increase the popularity of khadi resulting in a significant following alongside Indian khadi. Bibi commented that people prefer to use natural and ecologically friendly materials like khadi. She is endeavouring to further the work that Shoilen Guho started and also trying to protect the Comilla khadi society. The khadi industry has been struggling for survival as it has had to make do with outdated equipment, inconsistent product quality, lack of professional expertise and funding, and lack of unity and resolve within the industry to adjust to changing market trends. In contrast, the country's overall textile sector has grown tremendously with the adoption of modern technology, branding, and strong marketing.

The art of spinning needs continuous practice. Some spinners are leaving their profession and switching to other work. Many of them have left the country and their replacements have not been proportionate to. A continuous training programme can solve this problem. But running a training programme is an expensive affai (Tithi Farhana, June 6, 2009). ,

Long staple cotton of good quality is not grown in Bangladesh. Import of such cotton from foreign countries requires spending of hard earned foreign exchange. Storage of supply of cotton has become the most serious problem. This problem can be solved by widespread plantation of cotton trees in Bangladesh. There is shortage of other materials such as dyestuff, printing equipment and spare parts for charka.

Echnology are not being linked to this industry. “Thus,” she says. “While India is thinking about its revival, we are losing our heritage.”

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is lending India $150 million to restore the popularity of khadi, a widely revered handspun and hand-woven cloth left behind by poor production and marketing. Reviving the khadi industry is anticipated to bolster employment opportunities in India, predominantly in the rural areas where 73% of the country's poor live. India's 11th Five Year Plan acknowledges that khadi production has huge employment prospects, particularly for women and minorities. A $2 million grant will be provided by the Japan Special Fund, through ADB, to maintain the implementation and monitor the progress of the khadi industry reform package funded by the ADB loan. The programme will promote khadi by establishing a “Khadi mark” including the design of a logo to indicate the product is genuine and to help build awareness and popularity of khadi. A marketing organisation with majority shares owned by the private sector will also be set up. In spite of the huge demand and passion for khadi, it's not expanding as much as expected. So our government and other stakeholders should come forward to give policy support as well as financial support. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), for instance, can arrange more fairs locally and internationally with subsidised subscription and SME loans should be extended for this sector with easier conditions. As a whole, it is our collective responsibility to protect this heritage that has such great economic potential

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