Artisan Anup Nag has a rich family tradition of making ornaments and wind instruments from the conch shells.
Anup, born and bred at Shankhari Bazar, home to conch shell artisanship, is displaying his products at the weeklong Craft Fair organised by Bangladesh National Museum at its Nalinikanta Bhattasali Auditorium.
The fair will continue till next Saturday.
He makes bangles and other ornaments with floral designs, geometrical shapes and the motif of animals. According to the artisan, it takes about a month to make a wind instrument engraved with the beautiful images of Hindu gods and goddesses on the outer layer. ‘It is a delicate work that requires a high level of devotion and concentration,’ the artisan told New Age.
Anup learnt the technique of making the spectacular fancy items from dull looking snails with simple tools such as wedge, small saw and mini hammers in his boyhood from his father named Jadu Nath. ‘It is our family business. I learnt the skill from my father, who had leant it from his father. In fact, I don’t know when my ancestors took up this profession,’ Anup Nag said.
However, life is getting harder these days as people are becoming more attracted towards the ‘imitation ornaments’ instead of the handmade conch products, said Anup lamenting that even the Hindu families have also left the tradition of blowing conch aerophones in the sunset. ‘So, such items have less demand
‘In fact, the traditional shankha industry is now struggling for less demand as the other fancy products have flourished in the market. Price of raw materials is becoming higher. It’s true that a few traditional artisans in the area are making economically viable products with machines. But, those products are not spectacular and divers as the handmade conch products are,’ Anup Nag said.
‘As a result, most of the traditional families in Sakharibazar have already given up the business. But I’m still continuing it as I love the job and also want to uphold the family tradition,’ Nag added.
A torchbearer of the family tradition Anup Nag said that he had participated in the Setouchi International Art Festival in Japan last July along with 38 Bangladeshi craft artists. ‘Such opportunities encourage us to carry on our family tradition,’ Anup Nag said.
Nag wants that more craft fairs be organised regularly where the traditional artisans will display their creativity.
-With New Age input
