BINDI VILLAGE 400 Years History

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.”

BINDI

Back home, ready with computer notes

AAROHI KESHAV

Siwan, April 21: Not all return of natives is as futile as Clym Yeobright’s in Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native. While Yeobright’s dream of setting up a school in Egdon Heath, his native village, was shattered, Mohammad Mustaque, who stayed in Abu Dhabi for 15 years, has not been as unlucky. He has brought computer education to the village, which was not even a dream for teenagers of Harihans village, located 8km from the district headquarters. Mustaque has helped realise dreams of many students by setting up Gulf Computer Institute. Asked what made him come back to his village, Mustaque said: “Since this is my native village where I grew up and completed schooling, I always wanted to do something for the people here. I always missed my village when I was abroad and wanted to return. I chose to educate people about computers because I feel today computer education is an absolute necessity.” Mustaque’s return to his village was not easy. He was constantly demoralised by his own people. “When I decided to come back, everyone thought it was a suicidal step because I was doing well there.” But with the kind of work he has been doing, villagers gave him a lot of respect and love. He said: “My aim is not to earn money but to provide the best possible education so that they have a good career.” Mustaque did a diploma course in computer applications from Abu Dhabi and worked there for 15 years. “While I was in Abu Dhabi, there were many like me who had very little knowledge about computers and faced a lot of problems in getting good jobs. It was at that time that I decided to learn the subject and return to my village and teach my people so that they are not caught in the same position as me.” He said his primary focus was to educate girls. The institute was started in October last year and it started with 40 students. The number has gone up to 55 now. Fifteen-year-old Masiah Anjum only heard about computers from her friends in the Arab countries earlier. Today, she is no longer fascinated by hearing stories about computers — she is learning to sit at a machine and work on it. “Earlier, I used to be really fascinated hearing stories of computers from my friends in Arab countries. Being a village girl, I was not allowed to go to Siwan to study,” Anjum said. Anjum is not alone. For many others, computer education in their villages has now turned a reality. The institute offers two courses — diploma in computer applications and diploma in financial accounts. Mustaque spent about Rs 10 lakh to set up Gulf Computer Institute, which has an ISO 90001-2008 certification.