Using of Sholapith

Being soft and light-weight, shola is often used for making the attire, ornaments and other decorations of idols. It is also used by many indigenous communities of Bengal as part of their sacred rituals. For example, in north Bengal, shola is used to make the ‘manasar chali’ or the cluster of serpents that serve as the representative of Manasa, the snake goddess.

Probably influenced by the Mughal court, craftsmen in Murshidabad (capital of the independent Bengal province prior to the decisive Battle of Plassey) had mastered the fine art of ivory carving. But the lack of patronage after the capital’s fall from grace and later the ban on ivory trade may have led to the end of this craftsmanship if the artisans had not chanced upon a substitute, the shola. Owing to the whiteness of the material and the fine craftsmanship, you may mistake the shola handicraft for ivory. Some of the typical products made here that hark back to the ivory carving days are decorated elephants, ‘mayurpankhi’ or the peacock shaped boat, palanquins, flowers, etc.