Forty-one year old Chhobi Besra, who belongs to the Santal community, is a first generation natural fibre ornament maker. Completing her graduation thanks to the fierce determination of her daily worker mother, she and her sisters initially began by crafting ornaments from fruit seeds like sandalwood, gulmohur, tamarind and date palm and selling them at the Shonibarer haat or Khoai Mela at Santiniketan that was set up for local artisans twenty years ago.
Such ornaments became a huge trend and soon an abundance of this colourful jewellery flooded the melas of Santiniketan and elsewhere. Looking to break away from the clutter, it was a maternal uncle, a basket weaver who experimented with various fibres, who inspired Chhobi and her sisters to turn to natural fibre.
In Tagore`s Santiniketan, worship of nature and floral adornments, inspired by tribal communities in the vicinity, have long been a way of life among the students of Viswa Bharati. It stood to reason therefore that the concept of extending the basketry weaving technique to weave ornaments from natural fibres was born in and around this region.
Using primarily palm fibre, the leaves of the palmyra and date palm, vines and wild seeds all of which she collects from nearby fields, Chhobi with her family have been crafting intricate necklaces and earrings from plant material for the last 15 years.
She continues to sell them at the weekly Shonibarer haat in Santiniketan and especially looks forward to the months starting from Durga Puja up to Holi when holiday makers throng this popular mela. This is her primary source of income. However, in recent months, the nature of the Shonibarer haat has been steadily worsening, with more traders than artisans present.
With Daricha Foundation`s support, she has participated in fairs organized by various state governments and has also participated in fairs in Delhi and also at various A Hundred Hands events in Bangalore. More recently her work was showcased for the first time in Mumbai at a Paramparik Karigar exhibition. Chhobi has workshopped with school children in Kolkata and has also taught at workshops for women in her community in Purulia, organized by Daricha Foundation.
Constantly creating new designs and experimenting with a variety of sustainable materials, Chhobi`s artistry will be on view again in Mumbai at the August 2024 Paramparik Karigar event in Mumbai.