Dr. Matiur Rahman :
Shital Pati is a unique monument of the folk-tradition of Bengal. In some villages of Tangail, a group of artisans who have been making their livelihood through weaving Shital Pati has been living there for hundreds of years. The traditional Shital Pati artisans of Tangail are in crisis during the Corona period. Due to lockdown imposed by the government to curb spread of Corona virus the sale of Shtalpati goes down. The buyers did not come, so they can’t sell their products. In this situation, they are passing a difficult time with their families.
In the rural areas of Tangail, Shital Pati is made from the bark of the cane tree. There are many names and designs of Shital Pati. It is the most popular as it has attractive design and is comfortable to use. At one time, Tangail Shital Pati products were exported after meeting the demand of the country. But at present, due to rising prices of raw materials and lack of capital, artisans are moving away from this industry.
Nearly one thousand families of Singharaghi and Hinganagar villages of Delduar upazila of Tangail are making their living by weaving Shital Pati. They have been involved in this profession for generations. Locally they are called as Patikar community. Shital Pati is their only source of livelihood. Men as well as women work in Shital Pati weaving.
By talking with some of them it is known that although the Shital Patiare sold more or less throughout the year, it is sold well at the beginning of summer. But from the beginning of Coronavirus they are facing problems in selling their products properly. During Covid-19, sometimes they had to sell it in the local market with very low price for purchasing rice, potato, salt, oil for their survival. That is why they are worried. The artisans of Shital Pati also fear if the situation continues they have to go with starvation with their families.
They mentioned that it is very difficult to weave Shital Pati. The total cost of weaving a standard Shital Pati is around Tk. 500 which is sold at Tk. 600 to 800 only. They said, we have been weaving Shital Pati since the time of our fathers and grandfathers. It would have been a good profit before. At present, the price of Shital Pati has not gone up in the same way as the price of raw materials has gone up. Many of them take money in advance from moneylenders on contract basis and get very low wage. With this money they had to run their family with great difficulty.
In Hinganagar village, a Shital Pati selling and buying market held twice in a week. Buyers from different districts of the country buy Shital Pati from this market. Many of Shital Pati weavers are forced to sell their products at low cost to repay loan they have taken from local moneylenders or middlemen. As a result, the middlemen take advantage. The weavers did not get any profit from their products.
The artisans of Shital Pati in grief said that like other handicrafts in Bangladesh, the artisans of this industry are poor and neglected. They did not get just wage. During lockdown they did not get any support from the government or other organizations. They also opined, the government should pay more attention to this industry like other industries.
According to experts, Shital Pati was announced as a cultural heritage during the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting, held in Jeju Island, South Korea, in 2017. It has been held in the highest esteem of cultural heritage worldwide. It is regarded as a cultural symbol of the nation, it upholds the rich cultural value of Bangladesh. Now the artisans of this sector feel that government and non-government initiatives need to be taken to improve the livelihood of those involved in this industry.
It is recommended to provide incentive packages for the poor Shital Pati artisans who suffered during Corona pandemic; to increase the wages who work as daily basis or to fix justifiable wages; to bring them under the specific rules and regulations through proper supervision; government initiative needs for sale of Shital Pati products; to provide loan at low rate of interest; initiatives are needed to educate their children; primary health care should be provided at free of cost; fairs and exhibitions have to be organized; creating a national web site with all the information related to Shital Pati products; to take appropriate steps to reduce the ferocity of middlemen and monopolists in the industry etc.
If the problems of this industry created during the Covid-19 are solved by the concerned authorities, individuals or organizations and take appropriate policies and actions then artisans who are engaged in this industry their livelihood will be saved. Shital Pati industry will be able to play a significant role in the economic development of the country. Besides, it would be possible to earn foreign currencies by exporting the Shital Pati products.
(Dr. Matiur Rahman is Research Consultant, Human Development Research Centre, Dhaka)
