Shola art is one of the folk arts of Bengal. They are made from shola(sponge wood) or shola -like plants. The shola plant grows in water bodies. Shola is a white soft core extracted from the stem of a spongy plant and then used in art to make beautiful things. Shola artists in Bengal are known as Malakar. It is also an eco-friendly craft. The Malakars have traditionally made a variety of Hindu Bengali wedding topors (conical-shaped headgear), chandmala, ornaments and outfits of gods and goddesses, Durga chala, garlands from shola. The most common crafts are miniature Durga, elephant, peacock-shaped boat, palanquin, flowers and other decorative items. In Bengal, the use of shola in the decoration of Durga idols is an aesthetic part of Durga puja. Which is popularly known as âDaaker Saajâ. Daak means post. During earlier days the adornments for Goddess Durga were crafted out of beaten silver foils which came from Germany through post (daak), thus giving it the name âDaaker saajâ. But around the time of World War II, this practice came to a halt and the âSholar saajâ came in to take the place. Even now in Kolkata people throng pandals to enjoy this beautiful decoration of shola. Presently the price of shola decoration has increased tremendously. Because day by day this shola is becoming insufficient. Ashish Malakar, a shola artist said that their village Bonkapasi once had a lot of water bodies and shola was cultivated there. These sholas used to be in ponds. So, it was very soft. These sholas are best for work. Shola, which used to be available at Rs. 500, has now increased to around Rs 4000. So its value is increasing day by day. However, the cultivation of shola is decreasing as a result of dredging the reservoirs. Artist Ashish Malakar is a resident of Bonkapasi village. His workshop is here. His grandfather Mritunjoy Malakar was a shola artist. His shop was in Kumortuli , Kolkata. At that time Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came to Kumortuli . After seeing the work of Mritunjay Malakar, he became infatuated. At the request of Netaji, Mritunjoy Malakar decorated the Kali Pratima in his house. Later he decorated around 16-17 Durga idols in Kolkata. Then due to shop related disturbances in Kumortuli Mritunjay Malakarâs family moved to Bonkapasi village. From here started sending work to Kolkata. Mritunjay Malakarâs wife Katyayani Devi used to work on shola with her husband. And so, the years went on. Gradually their son Aditya Malakar got involved in this work. In 1974, artist Aditya Malakar won the Presidentâs Award. Artist Aditya Malakar participated in around twenty to twenty-two international exhibitions.
Then in 1979, his mother Katyayani Devi received the Presidentâs Award. Ashish Malakar learned the work from his father Aditya Malakar. Artist Ashish Malakar received the Presidentâs Award in 1990. Again in 2007 he received Shilp Guru award. Bonkapasi village is famous for shola art. Every year the artisans of this village go to different parts of the country to decorate big idols or mandap. About 1500 people live in this Bonkapasi village. About 100 of them are involved in this shola art work. This village can be called a small factory of shola industry. Throughout the year, the work of decorating the idols of Durga, Kali, Jagaddhatri and Saraswati continues. But here the Malakar family is basically Ashish Malakar. The rest are not Malakar. They are just artisans. Now people of different castes are associated with this shola work. Ashish Malakar went to various exhibitions in the country and abroad. He saw that people hardly knew Shola. Then gradually various folk artists are benefited by the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, Manjusha and now Biswa Bangla. And there has been some interest in shola art among people. Folk artists are not only getting money from these organizations, several artists have also got jobs here.
Currently artist Ashish Malakar works for Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. About 10-12 types of designs which will be as art pieces in their global showroom. This is a big opportunity for him. In the words of artist Ashish Malakar, âShola(sponge wood) is quite an auspicious thing. Our Hindu religion calls for its use in rituals on occasions of birth, marriage and even death. Look out for its use in Hindu households. When a baby is born in rural Bengal, Shosti Puja(worship) is held to celebrate its birth. A small chandmala- three delicately designed circular shola plates tied and hung in vertical position-has to be offered. Then in a Hindu marriage, the groom has to wear a topor, a conical-shaped headgear with design made of shola. And again, when someone dies, after his or her sardh ceremony, a small float of shola, is set off on water. We the Malakar community, serves the Almighty dedicatedly and work to keep this tradition aliveâ.
