Boishakhi fair kicks off in Ctg with a glut of traditional products
Sumona Akhter patiently waits for the Boishakhi fair at the end of April every year so that she can enjoy her favourite Jabbarer Boli Khela, as well as do some shopping on the sidelines.
The fair — famous for its diverse collection of traditional earthenware, brooms, bamboo and cane products — is organised on the occasion of Jabbarer Boli Khela, the most popular folk wrestling held on Laldighi ground in Chattogram city with fanfare and festivity.
This year's fair and the 114th edition of the centenary Bali Khela began on Tuesday.
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Sumona, a housewife, could not resist buying eight flower brooms and a few other household essentials such as a handcrafted mat (popularly known as Shital Pati) and clay pots from the fair
"I have been buying brooms and clay pots from this annual fair for the past 20 years. I can tell you that the best flower brooms are available only here," she told The Business Standard (TBS) while visiting the fairground on Tuesday.
The people of the port city and surrounding districts and upazilas swarmed the fairground, as usual, to buy household goods. This three-day fair has been organised centring the Bali Khela since 1909.
At times, this fair lasts for six-seven days with more than 2,500 shops offering various traditional goods. In addition to household goods, there are shops for flutes, toys, jewellery, and local food.
Products made of plastic, silver or glass are suppressing the sale of products made of clay, bamboo, cane, rope or other traditional materials. The market for clay pots, Shital Pati, bamboo and cane-made furniture, and native carpets is shrinking and this fair presents an opportunity for the sale of these locally-made products.
Traders at the fair said that the use of plastic brooms is increasing while the use of flower brooms is decreasing day by day. A flower broom is selling for Tk40-150 in the fair while stick brooms are selling for Tk40-80, depending on the quality.
There was a time when hundreds of broom shops participated in this fair but now about 100 shops are selling brooms, each will make a sale of an average of Tk2 lakh, according to traders.
Ziaur Rahman, a broom trader, told TBS, "The demand for traditional brooms is gradually decreasing due to the popularity of vacuum cleaners and other plastic cleaning materials. But some people are still fond of the local products."
Innovations in clay products
Suman Basak, a private employee, came to the Boishakhi fair with his five-year-old son Sudipta Basak. The kid wanted to buy a clay plate. After a bit of bargaining with the vendor, Suman bought a plate for Tk130.
Suman told TBS, "I used to dine on clay pots when I was young. Now we use a melamine dinner set at home because earthenware breaks. But clay pots have a special place in my mind."
Ceramics, melamine and plastics have taken over the clay pot market in the last two decades. But the earthenware industry is now creating multi-dimensional products.
Clay pitchers, glasses, cups, plates, pots and pans, vases, and delicate tubs are also being made with a variety of paint jobs. Innovation is being brought in tune with the needs of the time. The demand for clay showpieces is also increasing.
Ruhina Feredous, a college student, told TBS, "My mother has a hobby of collecting earthenware. So, I came to the fair to buy her something unique."
According to traders, there are more than 100 stalls of earthenware at the fair. Some of these shops sell products worth Tk 15-20 lakh.
Shopkeeper Mufizul Islam said, "The fair is a meeting place for people involved in the pottery industry. New product designs and ideas are exchanged here."
Cane and bamboo products
At present, rural housewives in Rangpur, Bagura, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Comilla, and Chattogram leisurely make Shital Pati — a cane-made mat which feels cold by nature. But these handcrafted mats lose the market to rexine mats.
Rexine mats have flooded the market due to low prices. Almost all shops in the fair are now selling Shital Pati as well as rexine mats.
Shopkeeper Swapan Nath told TBS, "It takes a month to make a Shital Pati by hand. On the other hand, Rexin rugs are machine-made. A small Shital Pati costs about Tk400 but the rexine mat is available at Tk150 only. The production of Shital Pati is falling as it takes more labour and time but fetch less money."
Plastic chairs are giving no space to bamboo or cane-made chairs in the market. In spite of this, the cane-made chair of the hilly district Khagracchari is appreciated all over the country due to their durability.
According to traders, cane-made chairs are selling for Tk300-3,000, depending on size and quality at the fair.
Khagracchari businessman Mohammad Delair Hossain told TBS that it takes at least a week to make a pair of cane chairs by hand. These products are mainly sold at various fairs and exhibitions.
