Traditional Bamboo Basket - Agartala, Tripura
A container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers is known as a basket. It can be made from a variety of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. Baskets are generally hand woven. Special patterns of baskets were evolved according to tradition and culture. The making style of basket differs from country to country and culture to culture and also within the regions in which they are created. The style of the basket depends upon the craftsman and the available material in the nearby area. Due to the tropical savanna climate, Tripura has heavy rain. Therefore, it is the highest bamboo and cane growing state. The state is known as the bowl for bamboo and cane handicrafts in India. Bamboo is used all over in Indian craft and culture. Apart from Tripura, places like Nagaland, Meghalaya, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh are famous for Bamboo crafts. Most of the time, tribal communities use bamboo products for their basic needs as abundantly grown on the earth's surface. Debbarma, Jamatia, Reang, Tripura, Noatia are the major tribal groups in Tripura. Tripura's native people use the material for various purposes extending from fencing to housing, fans to furniture, baskets to bridges, food to medicine. Basketry is important craftsmanship of Tripura. The different baskets woven out of bamboo stripes in most rural Tripura households include Jamatia firewood basket, Riang carrying baskets, Karawala Tukri, Laii, Sempa Khari, Date basket, Grain storage basket, Dull and Sudha - the traditional fish trap and fish basket.
The Jamatia tribe of Tripura uses Jamatia baskets for carrying firewood. The Riang carrying basket, a closed-weave basket used by the Riang tribe. Both men and women use this basket to carry grains and daily required products. The Tukri is a shallow basket used by the Bengalis of Tripura. The karawala Tukri is a Tripura Bengali product, which is identical in its structure to the Tukri of Agartala with the exception that four strong handles are attached to this basket. The Laii is a small bamboo basket used by Tripura Bengalis for washing rice. The Sempa Khari is a small basket shaped like a square-based prism and utilized by the Tripura Bengalis to store small objects. This basket is used to store dates and is carried suspended from the waistband. It is woven using the diagonal weaving method. It is shaped like a deep rectangular pouch open at the top. Tripura's grain storage basket has a large square base with the sides tapering out to a large circular rim. These baskets are made by professional craftsmen and sold at weekly bazaars. They are plastered with a mixture of cow dung, clay, and rice husk before storing grain.
Mr. Sunil Chandra Nama belongs to a family of traditional cane and bamboo craft from Agartala. He possesses excellent skills in making all types of cane and bamboo products. He is a master of all the techniques involved in the preparation of delicate designs. Mr. Sunil is a very famous artisan in West Tripura. In 1982, he received the Tripura State Award and the National Award in bamboo crafts. In Agartala, Sunil Nama's major production is bamboo basketry, miniature bamboo products like chains, bracelets, earrings, toys, etc., and tableware products consisting of cups, bowls, plates, and containers. It's all made up of natural bamboo found in this region. Over the years in Agartala, people in cities slowly reduced the usage of basketry products for regular use because of the arrival of plastic carry bags and containers. Even though in Agartala, people still use these bamboo products as traditional followers.
