Transforming Grass/Wood into Beautiful Objects : Tharus of West Champaran Bihar India

Transforming  Grass/Wood into Beautiful Objects :

 Tharus of West Champaran Bihar India

Tharu Schedule Tribes are very simple and peace-loving community but they are extraordinary in many ways.The Tharu women are very skilled in some field. They have the exceptional skill of giving  special shape  to grass and making flowerpot, decorative pieces and beautiful baskets. The Tharu women of Udhamsingh Nagar  district of Uttarakhand have made the "kush" grass as the passport to their progress and prosperity. These handicrafts have given new identity to them. These objects are being exported to Malaysia with the help of Women Group  and naturally with the cooperation of local administration.

Image courtesy Navendra (Sub Inspector) Tharu from Bakhari Bazaar, West Champaran Bihar

The Tharus of West Champaran district of Bihar are also in no way inferior to their brethren of Uttarakhand. But what is required is help and cooperation from the local administration for the recognition and marketing of their beautiful products of handicraft. 

The great Tharus of West Champaran has great rare  untapped potential. A rare quality of them is excellent work done with the help of wood like plough, spade, chair, even bed etc.  The Tharus are very skilled in various kinds of wood work. Not only that. They are very efficient in making rope(rassi), dagara, dauri, mawni, dalia, dhakia (all different kinds of beautiful baskets for different purposes) on a large scale  with a special type of grass called 'Puja' &  'Sawai or sabai' found in abundance in Tharuhat.

Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha

Have the bureaucrats/ politicians who are in power ever  thought of  exploring the possibilities of providing all sorts or required support for the development and growth of  such small scale industries. Small countries  like Japan  or South Korea thrive  on fast  growing small scale industries being run in almost every homes.

The items made by Tharus of West Champaran are very environment friendly and can even replace the use of polythene which has become threat to environment and is without doubt,  great health hazard.