The art and industry of shankha

From the pristine conch shell, artisans create intricate bangles carved with designs both ancient and modern

by SHAFIQ RAHMAN

Photo: Bablu Chowdhury

It’s mid-day, but the tiny square-shaped room is almost dark, as if it was late evening. The feeble light of a flickering candle is hardly suitable for the kind of work Monohari Sur is doing. Sweat runs down his back in incessant large drops. The room is suffocating, sweltering hot. But nothing distracts Monohari. He is bent intently over his piece of shankha, drawing his sharp metal tool back and forward over it. And after hours of continuous work, a design begins to emerge.

Sur is one of the rapidly disappearing craftsmen who have been carrying the legacy of the shankha, the traditional white conch shell bangle that Hindu women wear and cherish so deeply. The intricate design is masterfully worked in the shell by the craftsmen like Sur at Shakharibazar in Old Dhaka, The design reflects traditional folk motifs.

Shankha as an artwork is also very much a part of Dhaka’s history and Shakharibazari has been the dwelling place of the shakhari community for several hundred years. It is a part of Dhaka’s history and rich heritage. Unfortunately these people do not get the respect and money they deserve. “We have kept this art form alive, but no one recognizes our efforts,” Sur says sadly.

It is not known when the shakhari people exactly came to this country. Some say three hundred years ago and others think more than that. Again, some of the designs the craftsmen use also date back hundreds of years. No one knows who created those designs. If asked, they have the same answer: “We have learnt it from our forefathers.” However, new designs have also been added over the years to cater to contemporary taste. One of the old and popular designs is the sheaf of rice. Another design is like a pitha (rice cake). When Sur is asked where he has learnt this design, he says, “No one has given us the design. We have conceived it ourselves.”

The condition of the factory or workplace of the shakhari community is miserable. The room where Sur is working is so small that one can hardly move freely about in it. It is located under the staircase like most other workrooms where shankhas are made.

Politicians and the city's elite are often heard lauding the art and industry of the shanka, pointing it out as the legacy of Dhaka’s rich heritage. But little has been done to help the shakhari community or their work. Due to absence of any sort of patronization, the shankha is gradually disappearing as the shakhari people can no more make their living out of this craft. Some older craftsmen like Manohari Sur have still stuck to what their forefathers had been doing for many generations. “I don’t do it just for earning bread; I do it because I love to do it. I feel very good when I look at the design on a shankha over which I have toiled for hours,” Sur says.

Variety of design

The shankha artisans also try to create designs that would attract customers. The taste of urban customers is quite different from the rural ones. “The rural women usually like thicker shankhas. Their favorite designs include dhaner chhora (sheaf of rice), bandhan (knot), dari petch (rope), beni (braid) and leaves,” says Mithun Nag, the proprietor of Nag Bhandar. Then there are some designs which both rural and urban women like: kangkan (bangles), golap (rose), juiful (jasmine), shankha (conch shell), makar mukh (crocodile face), etc, he adds. There is another variety where gold is used on the shankha. Some of the more common ones include teen line (three lines), teen petch (three knots), cross, nakphool (nosepin), Darjeeling, etc.

The unusual names of the designs are derived from the shape of the design. For instance, the design called moyurer mukh ( peacock face) features the face of a peacock. The shanka called Ma Monsha Devi has a design featuring the image of the goddess of that name.

The craftsman charges according to the kind of design he has to work on and the time required to do it. The usual rate ranges from Tk 8 to Tk 18. The daily income varies, but it generally remains between Tk 200 and Tk 300.

How is a design created?

While often using the old designs, the craftsmen are always creating new designs as well. Anup Kumar Nag says he gets his ideas of design from the things he sees around him --shapes of the birds, fish, flowers, sheaves of rice, leaves and such. The artists imitate life in their art, in their shanka designs.

Things are changing

Even in the near past most of the people living in Shakharibazar were directly or indirectly involved with shankha business. But things are changing now. Many members of the shakhari community are turning to other business as they find it hard to earn their living making shankha bangles. Though there are officially 82 craftsmen in existence in Shakharibazar, in reality the number has dwindled to about 30 to 35. Again, only half of they are actually actively involved in the shankha business full time.

One problem in this business is that it is completely dependant on imported shankha. 'We used to import the entire raw material from Sri Lanka. The people there did not even know what we do with them. But recently India has started importing from Sri Lanka, causing a sharp rise in its price. We now have to pay more to procure the raw material, but cannot raise the price as the customers are not willing to pay the price,” artisan Madhab Krishna Nag explains.

Again, like any other art, machines have also intruded in shankha making too. This has made the manually produced bangles costlier. 'One can produce bangles in large numbers in a very short span of time with machines and the production cost is also not much. In comparison an artist has to work for several hours to carve a certain design on a bangle. Therefore the cost of his bangle goes up. Besides that, though the hand-made designs are of greater value, the machine produced bangles have a better finishing. The average customer does not bother about art. His concern is price and the shiny look,'  Nag points out.

The quality of raw material is also deteriorating. The present day artists are as good as those in the past, but the kinds of conch shells that are coming from Sri Lanka are of low quality. So the artist can not create the same magic as he could in the past. Also, it is the quantity more than quality that matters now, says artist Ajit Sur.

Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) has taken up a unique initiative. It is trying to encourage the artists to work on jhinuk (cockle shells) instead of shankha. Artisan Indrakamal Sur has already worked on jhinuk with the support of BSCIC and the venture proved successful. “We do not have shankha in our country, but we have jhinuk. So we are trying to promote it. Moreover, products made on jhinuk also have a good market abroad,” says a BSCIC official. Some are critical about this imitative of BSCIC, thinking it is discouraging the traditional art and industry of shankha making. They think the government and other related institutions should patronize this craft as the shankha is of immense traditional value.

Art of the ancestors

Artist Anup Kumar Nag Tomo is a promising shankha artisan. He wants to go back to the ancient designs that are disappearing fast. He brings out a bangle with designs featuring leaves and creepers. “Look at the designs of my ancestors,' he says with reverence, 'They are done so beautifully, in such fine detail and carved so distinctly. I want to work like them”. While Anup along with his son Bappi are trying to revive the almost extinct designs, they also do run-of-the-mill work to earn their bread. Their finer creative work has however started to attract attention and appreciation in Shakharibazar as well as at places outside Dhaka. Their designs such as ma mansha (the goddess), hati mukh Elephant image) and golap kata (rose and thorns) have great demand. They also have another special, almost magical, skill. They collect the parts of a shankha that are thrown away and use these to carve little images of Baba Loknath, Panchamukhi Monosha mandir (a temple), shinghashon (throne), etc. Anup proudly says that his son is very creative and he never imitates his (Anup’s) work. He always try to create something new. In fact Bappi’s work has won recognition from Bangladesh National Handicrafts Association which selected Bappi as the best craftsman of 2005.

'The market that determines the future of shankha'

SR Osmani

Chairman, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC)

'Our job is to promote small and cottage industries and we try to provide all kinds of service to people involved in such enterprises,' says SR Osmani, Chairman, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC). 'No doubt, the shankha industry is also a cottage industry and one of our valuable traditional crafts. There are demands to promoting this craft and we do not have any problem doing that. But I do not think people involved in this industry ever approached us.'

'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 shakhari community have involved in this craft for generations. People will have to be interested in learning this craft. You cannot force people to come into this industry. Again there is also scarcity of experts. Plus, the demand of shankha bangles is narrowing as more attractive and modern alternatives are available now in the market. Like any other product, it is the market that determines the future of shankha bangles.'