[sadhuji]

Much is being talked about banning the use of polythene carry bags. These are convenient but results in immense damages to the environments due to the basic nature of being non degradable. Gone are the days when leaves of the sal plants used to rule the packaging market – fast foods in the fifties and the sixties were confined to the piping hot singaras (also known as samosas) and jilebis or the kachuri and chholar dal. These were priced dead cheap and one could get sixteen singaras for a rupee, if the shopkeeper felt inclined to do so, he would add an extra piece.  The items would be transferred to a hemispherical basket woven out of thin strips of bamboo and covered with a layer of the sal leaves. The singaras would be covered by another sheet of the leaves and these would be threaded by means of tooth pick like staples. Once the eatables were disposed off, the packaging would be dumped in the dust bins and be gobbled up by the stray cattle or goats. There was satisfaction all around. Sweets that are best served in the juicy syrups (rasogolla, ladykeni, raj-bhog etcetera) were sold in earthen vessels called khuris. Some shops have now switched over to polythene bags – they even sell curds in such bags.

Paper bags were once upon a time a home industry of sorts with the women toiling day and night to prepare these bags out of waste newspapers and magazines. These would then be sold to the shopkeepers. Some shopkeepers had regular suppliers and the demands would increase during festival times – since the basic raw material were the old newspapers and magazines, the rates of these would increase proportionately. Hence, the women in the families would hold on to their stocks of old newspapers so that they got better prices while disposing them off.

Along with paper bags the cardboard boxes have also vanished from the scene as have vanished the  corrugated packaging within the boxes – those were wonderful material to make roof tops on the tiny cottages that we would make out of empty match boxes. Unfortunately, cottages have surrendered to high rise buildings. This is the age of thermocol packaging.