Traditional artworks by Rabha women on road to revival

Rabha is a tribal community based in the districts bordering Assam and West Bengal and belonging to the Indo-Mongoloid group. In West Bengal, they are forest dwellers spread across the Dooars region.
Rabhas traditionally depend on agriculture and non-timber forest produce. Women of the community, although skilled in traditional weaving, are shy in nature and were thus unable to bring their works to the art aficionados so far. Now, under an initiative taken up by Delhi-based NGO Hast Karigar Society, the creations of Rabha women are undergoing a revival of sorts.
Sharmistha Lahiri, secretary, Hast Karigar Society, said. ?Each year, we identify and take up a new cause of reviving the lives of one tribe. In 2014, we chose the Rabha tribe. At the request of the North Bengal Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers, we visited the villages of Buxa and Cooch Behar forest divisions to conduct a preliminary survey.?
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