Decorative wooden stool

Besides rosogolla, sandesh and mishti doi, Bengal’s artistic skills, too, bring one great joy. This stool (‘tool’, as they say in colloquial Bengali) is totally eco-friendly, being made from entirely organic materials. The neem kath (wood from the neem tree) has insect repellent properties as well. The seat is woven with ropes made of jute and other natural fibres. The four legs of the stool – oops, ‘tool’ – are carved and hand-painted, depicting the pyancha (owl), the vehicle of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Almost every Bengali household has an owl in one form or another. I found this seat while pandal-hopping this Puja season in Kolkata. A carpenter from the nearby town of Barddhaman was selling this just outside Mudiyali Club, south Kolkata, for Rs 250 a piece.