Sholapith or Shola Pith (also referred to as shola and Indian cork) is a dried milky-white spongy plant matter which can be pressed and shaped into delicate and beautiful objects of art.[1]
Shola grows wild in marshy waterlogged areas. The biological name of shola is Aeschynomene indica or Aeschynomene aspera (bean family). It is an herbaceous plant, which grows particularly in the marshy areas of Bengal, Assam, Orissa and the Deccan. The sholapith is the cortex or core of the plant and is about 1 ½ inch in diameter.[1][2]
Traditionally sholapith products were used in decorating Hindu idols and in creating the headgears of brides and grooms for a traditional Bengali wedding. In more recent times, sholapith handicrafts have found a wider application in home décor, as artistic objects.[3]
Almost similar to thermocol, which is artificially produced, sholapith is much superior to thermocol in terms of malleability, texture, lustre and sponginess.[1]
In West Bengal this craft is mainly practised in the districts of Bardhaman, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Nadia, Hooghly and some other parts of this state. The people engaged as sholapith craftsmen are known as ‘Malakar’, meaning “maker of garland”, probably because they made garlands made of shola for idols and for the noble class. About 5,000 artisans are involved in this craft. Craftsmen spend several months on a piece to meticulously curve out the details.[4] In Murshidabad the shola crafts are flowery designs, decorative head-wears of gods and goddesses, garlands, exquisite figurines like faces of gods and goddesses, elephant-howdahs, peacock-boats, palanquins and so on are made of sholapith.[1]
The idol makers of Kumortuli who traditionally produced clay idols have taken to making idols of sholapith and fibreglass. While the fibreglass ones can cost around Rs 110,000-120,000, those prepared from sholapith cost Rs 90,000. The height of the idols can vary from four to nine feet. These are mostly meant for Indian community puja organizers abroad.[5]
The shola (sola) style pith helmet, also known as the sun helmet, topee, shola topee, salacot or topi, is a lightweight helmet made of shola pith, with a cloth cover and a particular design and thickness designed to shade and insulate the wearer’s head from the sun. It was formerly much worn by Westerners in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, Irak, Transjordan, Palestine, Sri Lanka and other tropical & subtropical British colonies until the late 1960s. Later this style of hat became associated with colonial oppression and was slowly abandoned by the military, government, traffic police..etc. The Shola style pith helmet usually has a flattened top and thick brim with either square or rounded edges. It is easily confused with other styles of "pith helmets" that were manufactured outside India and which are usually made from cork or other materials.Some shola style pith helmets feature a criss cross quilt stitched cloth cover. The latter had more rounded edges at the brim. The cork style pith helmets, contrary to their misleading name, are not made out of pith, they are much thinner, heavier and more rounded on the top. Both syle hats feature puggarees, air vents, khaki or white cover, and green inner brim liner. Some have chin strips from leather, in others they are made of cloth. Some Shola style pith helmets feature a thin leather belt that runs from under the puggaree aross the top. The chin strap commonly runs across the front brim. Shola style pith helmets are still being sold in Indian, Pakistani and Nepali Polo equipment stores though they are seldom used in actual polo matches.[6]
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