Mountain Plants to Paper

There are many small enterprises in the small state of Sikkim in Northeast India.

An oddly shaped establishment like this on the edge of the mountain road from Rabongla to Borong-Polok where the handmade paper making unit is located, is a homestay and stopping point.

This is indicated by the plants and flowers out front, a tea stall and a counter selling a few provisions for tourists.

In the age of smartphones and emails, the post office of yore is almost a relic, except where life still follows old patterns and the internet does not always work.

This branch office of India Post in Ralong Lungshing has a postbox that has an antique-like quality to it, attached to the wooden wall.

The friendly flower pots welcome monks who come from the Palchen Choeling (also referred to as the New Ralong) Monastery on the hill above. It is a fairly new monastery built in 1988.

On the winding road to Borong an elderly woman gathers plants for cooking, medicinal use and fodder from the rich hilly foliage that covers most of Sikkim.

Among such flora grows the argeli plant used to make paper at the unit which is just a few kilometers away.

On a day when the mountains are covered with mist, the stately gate to the 300-year old Ralong Monastery is the only structure visible at close quarters.

On a much closer look through the archway, the monastery built in 1730 and recently renovated, appears like a faint ghost.

The Ralong Monastery seen on a clearer day has a stock of old handwritten manuscripts read by monks during prayers and on ceremonial occasions.

They are all written in the Tibetan script by hand on handmade paper.

Closer to Borong, prayer flags in white cloth hang against the mist and mountains. In the time before the advent of paper, Hindu and Buddhist scripts were handwritten on cloth as prayer flags.

Later, scripts were hand printed with carved wooden blocks which had the script carved in reverse so that they could be read straight when reversed.

Lord Buddha is the all-pervading presence in most of Sikkim. Inside the Palchen Choeling monastery an imposing image presides over many rows of tables in the main prayer all where monks assemble daily for their prayers.

One of the monks at the monastery chants from the narrow sheets of a religious manuscript. The paper is handmade but the script is wood block printed.

Sadly, they have begun to use industrial paper for their computers now despite the handmade paper unit being just a few kilometers away.

Each case of sacred scripts is lovingly packed in brocade cloth and lacquered wood at the Palchen Choeling and Ralong monasteries.

Manuscripts are laid out on every low table in the Mahakala Hall at the old Ralong monastery.

The monks at the monastery are helpful and friendly, opening as many manuscript cases as required and even posing for pictures inside the Mahakala Hall, dedicated to Mahakali, a powerful female deity in the Hindu pantheon.

On the first floor of the old Ralong Monastery many treasures are stacked carefully, including hand written manuscripts on handmade paper, that are 300 years old.

Such valuable possessions, including carved portions of the old monastery will be carefully preserved in its museum being planned nearby.

This 300-year old manuscript has a hand carved wooden casing which sandwiches the stack of handwritten sheets.

The underside of the wooden cover is carved as finely with images of the Buddha surrounded by the Karmapas serving him.

Similar script writing is taught to young monks in the monastery school on the premises.

It takes two monks to carefully wrap the precious manuscript and pack it in its casing.

After the silk cord is wrapped around it tightly it is placed back in the cupboard full of manuscripts in this room called the library.

As prayers for the morning are over, the younger monks disperse to play football, admire a motorcycle parked nearby, or pose for a photograph exuding style.

The wooden houses near them are old Bhutia houses, now preserved by the monastery for visitors to see.

Many argeli plants grow along the roadside between the Ralong monastery and Borong, where the handmade paper making unit it located.

Apart from use to make pulp for paper, the long stems of the argeli plant are also as string to tie bundles of harvested crop. It grows wild so many simply pluck them or grow them as crops to supply to the paper unit.

The Borong-Polok Handmade Papermaking unit is surprisingly compact and cosy.

Dried argeli plants are stored above the bamboo rafters on the roof.

There is one long work hall with an adjoining shed which houses the boiler, washing trough and pulper.

The pulping ‘machine’, as the head of the unit Jagannath Sharma calls it with a laugh, is the only component that is mechanical in the entire process.

Inside the main work hall, a wooden contraption that looks like a child’s cradle is used to press the stacked sheets evenly after they have been removed from the pulp.

After the argeli plant has been boiled and pulped it loses its earlier colour.

The sheets are laid out directly, one on top of the other, without a muslin sheet in between each paper. The application of slime from a plant locally called chitley or the slimy liquid from the uncooked okra is mixed with the pulp to avoid papers sticking together.

The tray that strains the pulp is made out of fine slats of bamboo like a loose mat. This sits in the frame sunk into the trough.

Urmila Gurung carefully transfers each sheet of paper from the bamboo tray to form an even pile that can be pressed together in the wooden presser.

After the papers are pressed they are laid individually onto tin trays with a broad brush. They remain stuck on their own.

The trays are hung inside and outside to become evenly flat as they dry out in the air and sun.

A large number of trays are used to dry out the sheets of paper. Some are hung in the clothesline technique inside if the weather is wet and cold outside.

Argeli-made paper is special for its fine translucent quality. Looking through a sheet against the light, the faint silhouettes of the mountains can be seen, just as when through the mist.

Paper is made in many gauges according to the thickness required. The latter are used for writing or printing. Even thicker, they are good for book covers or carry bags.

A rejected piece of argeli paper has a texture and charm of its own. It would be used as a lampshade or a notebook cover.

Coloured paper uses the only material that is not of natural origin in Borung. This is generally used for gift wrapping.

A pile of papers marked ‘Lama’ indicates it is ready to be dispatched to Rumtek Monastery, located near Gangtok in Sikkim, where monks still use it for sacred script writing.

Inside the hall workers come in according to the process that is to be undertaken that day. In this way, each works for 15 days in the month, and all do not need to come in at the same time.

Here Gita Sharma, Rabika Rai and Karnamaya work at the table making carry bags.

On another table, equipment for those doing colouring work lies scattered about during their lunch break.

In the brightly lit, cheerful showroom, coloured notebooks in varying sizes await customers.

Dip dyeing or brush painting techniques are used on handmade papers that enhance colours which soak in and spread.

Handmade paper is loved by artists, but cannot be too porous if needed for writing with a modern pen. Bamboo pens, ball points or roller pens are better for this purpose.

Sharma, the head of the unit does not allow any material to go waste. He fashions waste pulp into birds, nests, twigs and plants and makes them into attractive art pieces for sale at the shop.

The hillsides on the drive to Borong Polok resound with birdsong. Their music makes even talkative people fall silent. Around 550 species of birds live in the forests of Sikkim.

Printed book with astrological predictions at the Borong paper shop s demonstrates how well printing can be done on handmade paper made locally.

The show room for Sikkim’s handmade paper is a happy jumble of creative expression found on sheets of paper, lampshades, notebooks, carry bags, colourful paper pulp birds and even standing lamps.

Read more about Handmade paper making in India here:-
-Elephant dung paper in Rajasthan