Bamboo Craft Process

A majestic bamboo grove creates an atmosphere of delicate shade.

A young bamboo plant at Baansh Gram, located in a rural area of Tripura.

Tiger bamboo, Bambusa vugaris, is aptly described for its and patterning and colour.

Stacks of bamboo are freely available for construction or the making of any product by craftspeople.

A major export item in bamboo from Tripura to UK, USA and Europe is fishing rods.

Bamboo poles are carried to their destinations on labourer’s shoulders, bullock carts or small trucks

Strips and handles made separately are attached to carry baskets used in urban areas as containers for gifts.

The initial formation of a bamboo basket.

Small shaped bamboo chips are cut to form flowers and petals to be attached to the surface of a screen.

Light saws and small cutting instruments, including indigenous cutting knives called takal and dao are the only tools needed for bamboo work.

Small remnants and thread enable the creation of fashion accessories like jewelry small table top artefacts.

Smaller pieces of differently textured flat matting lie waiting to be used in panels.

Thin strips of wood are cut to form frames for screens and panels.

Fine framing with strips of bamboo are pasted on to bamboo matting.

Small designs are sometimes made on the surface of strips that form part of a screen.

Finely woven matting made of thin bamboo strips are laid on flat ply board and decorated with miscellaneous fittings over it.

Women make decorative panels with pieces made from different modes of bamboo.

A part of one panel displays their modular nature.

The bamboo weaver prides himself in splitting bamboo into extremely fine strips and weaving them together with cotton thread into blinds or for paneling.

One of the finest Tripura bamboo weaves is a flower-like lacy pattern made of fine strips of bamboo. These can be used for paneling or hung as blinds instead of curtains.

Decorative bamboo panels can be of multiple design and textures.

The maker of fine screens, Bhajan Sharma, who lives in a tiny lane tucked away in the East Aralia area of Agartala prides himself on his artistic wall pictures made of finely cut and carefully arranged bamboo sticks.

Bamboo woven loosely to look like netting is made in sheets to made into panels. The vivid pink rings are made separately as edgings for baskets.

With a decorative element at its base, this basket nears completion.

Even an incomplete basket has its own charm as a stand-alone contemporary design.

Incomplete baskets await finishing upon the return of basket weavers to their workshed after a local holiday.

Simple but sophisticated bamboo baskets are made by dyeing the bamboo strips in a variety of brilliant hues.

The basket maker’s workspace is littered with finished and unfinished material.

Read more about bamboo craft from Tripura here:
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