The fading trade and the fading away <i>shankharis</i>

A shankha craftsman at work at Shankhari Bazar.Photo: Star File Photo

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.