Sholapith
Sholapith or Shola Pith (also referred to as shola and Indian cork) is a dried milky-white spongy plant matter which can be pressed and shaped into delicate and beautiful objects of art.
From the biological viewpoint the used-part, is the wood (secondary-xylem) of stem, (that is often mistooken as pith, but it is not ).
Aeschynomene sp. woods considered to belong the top lightest-woods in the world.
Shola grows wild in marshy waterlogged areas. The biological name of shola is Aeschynomene aspera of the bean family. It is an herbaceous plant, which grows particularly in the marshy areas of Bengal, Assam, Orissa and the Deccan. The sholapith is the cortex or core of the plant and is about 1.5 inches across.
Traditionally sholapith products were used in decorating Hindu idols and in creating the headgears of brides and grooms for a traditional Bengali wedding. In more recent times, sholapith handicrafts have found a wider application in home décor, as artistic objects.
Almost similar to thermocol, which is artificially produced, sholapith is much superior to thermocol in terms of malleability, texture, and sponginess.
In West Bengal this craft is mainly practised in the districts of Bardhaman, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Nadia, Hooghly , Malda ,south 24 parganas district and some other parts of this state. The people engaged as sholapith craftsmen are known as Malakar, meaning "garland maker", probably because they made garlands made of shola for idols and for the noble class.
About 5,000 artisans are involved in this craft. Craftsmen spend several months on a piece to meticulously curve out the details. In Murshidabad the shola crafts are flowery designs, decorative headwear of gods and goddesses, garlands, exquisite figurines like faces of gods and goddesses, elephant howdahs, peacock boats, palanquins and so on. All are made of sholapith. A collection of sholapith work is available with www.purwaaii.com. products of shola are exported to different countries in the world butit is a the artisans are not get their actual share instead the middlemen and the big companies grab the lions share from the export.in south 24 parganas many poor family earn their livelihood from making flowers, birds, etc. from shola. big puja pandels of calcutta are decorated by shola works beutifully.its demand are increasing day by day if banks are giving loans this cottage industry which involves few thousands with farmers included can give more livelihood and earn foreign money for the country as well.
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