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Rural Community Supported By Handicrafts

Village- Kharirghat
Bustop- Kashinagar
Assembly Constituency- Bishnupur
Police Station- Raidighi
Post Office- Kashinagar
Administrative Subdivision- Diamond Harbour
District- South 24 Parganas

About 72 km East of the city of Kolkata, near the town Kashinagar in the district of South 24 Parganas, lies Kharirghat, a small sleepy hamlet of almost 50 families. This village is surrounded on all sides by the towns of Jaynagar, Baruipur, Bishnupur, Narendrapur and Raidighi.

The menfolk are traditionally occupied in making and trading of rural handmade cane baskets for fishing and food grains. Some men have forsaken home to earn a living in the bustling city of Kolkata. The womenfolk- Maharani Bibi, Jasmine, Kashmira, Cholehar Bibi, Shalehar Bibi are all neighbouring householders taking care of home and children. The village school has not succeeded in teaching the children to wear footwear when walking through the mud and grass around their huts but the students do conscientiously attend classes regularly.

These women, though self-effacing, have surprising tenacity and a quiet confidence in their skill-sets. They are curious, bright and unafraid in asking questions. Neither are they reticent about taking on new challenges. They are eagerly enthusiastic when shown some new handiwork and they are unhesitatingly eager to learn how to accomplish it. Such women are a tribute to the women of rural Bengal, who live in their mud-huts, painstakingly and meticulously hand stitching and weaving in the ancient almost dying tradition of Bengal handicraft.

In spite of their obvious lack of education their faces exhibit an unusual recognition of the ways of the world. Outwardly, they seem reconciled to their poverty stricken situation but that has not in any way diminished their will to survive. They are quick to respond to any opportunity and their shy yet open smiles are heart-warming.

These women are not asking for a hand-out. They do not plead for charity of any sort. They simply ask for the opportunity to do some work so that they may earn a living for themselves and their children. They are willing to put in the hours if they are compensated and although their faces will instantly harden if they feel that the remuneration is not satisfactory, yet, they will never refuse the work on those grounds. They are simply looking for an opportunity to earn an income at their own doorstep; a dignified and respectable income generating opportunity, without compromising on their household responsibilities and without having to commit time and money in commuting to work.