HARI HANS KA SMALL SCALE BUSINESS "BINDI"

Bindi-makers reminisce lost glory in dark days- Declining business
AAROHI KESHAV

A labourer works on the bindis. Telegraph picture
Patna, April 20: Madonna and Katy Perry have been sporting it in their videos but that hasn’t helped the once-flourishing bindi business in the state, which is facing multiple setbacks.
Harihans, a village 8km south of Siwan headquarters, was especially known for its small-scale bindi industry. It was a prominent and flourishing business at one point of time and even attracted attention of national newspapers and magazines in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The bindis were also supplied to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The bindis, which were once made from gold, silver and glass, changed over to velvet imported from South Korea.
At a time, Harihans was self-sufficient, youths could earn their pocket money to buy branded clothes and accessories and women were independent. Labourers from more than 50 villages around Harihans were also employed in the industry. However, in the past 10 years, the village, known for its entrepreneurial skills, has lost its glory.
Ahmed Ali was in the business for many years but later shifted base to Calcutta and set up a fashion accessory shop. He said: “During 1990s, every household in the village was engaged in the business, as there was huge demand for handmade bindis. The village was the biggest supplier of bindis in eastern India and the products were famous in Kanpur, Lucknow, Benaras, Jhansi, Delhi, Bangladesh and Nepal. However, with the influx of machines and rising price of materials, people were forced to close their business. At present, there are only 10 per cent people who are in the business.”
Ali Akbar, a resident of Harihans, said: “Our village was once very prominent in Bihar as it was economically sound. Everyone was self-employed. But now there is no electricity and we are not able to set up machines which can enable us to continue with the business that was handed down to us through generations.”
He added: “Setting up a bindi factory costs around Rs 10 lakh, which is not a very big issue for us. We know our market but manufacturing is a problem. If there is no electricity the machines will not work and using generators is very costly — our investment is then more than our profit.”
Salauddin Ansari, who is in the business for the past 15 years, said: “In the past 10 years, the industry has declined as the profit has gone down. In 1998-99, the industry was at its peak and the profit earned was 15 per cent. However, now it has come down to hardly four to five per cent. The price of materials is on the rise and labour charges have also gone up. One box contains 145 patta bindis that are sold for only Rs 85-90 in the market.”
Sabina Naz, who has been pasting bindis for 20 years, said: “We get Rs 4 for pasting 145 pattas. In a day, I paste around 2 gurus (145 pattas make a guru) and earn Rs 8, which is nothing when it comes to cover the family’s daily expenses. Moreover, the income is not regular as the materials are not available everyday. The situation has worsened in the past 10 years. Earlier, I used to earn at least Rs 20-25 daily and the rate was higher as well.”
The declining industry has given way to social problems in the village. Now, the village has turned into a drunkards’ den because of unemployment and ignorance. More than 20 illegal liquor shops have come up in the village. Kanti Devi, a villager, said: “My husband has become a drunkard. He has sold all my belongings and jewellery for his gambling. This has become a regular feature in the village.”