There was a time when Punjabi villages were completely self-dependent. Crucial items of daily use– like tokri (baskets) and gohle (pots) were widely manufactured locally. The baskets in particular were made out of the wood of Mulberry trees (shahtoot), which were a staple part of the landscape of pre-modern Punjab. These trees, crucial to a number of traditional crafts, were quite common alongside wells and fields but you would be lucky to come across them in rural Punjab today.
Mulberry trees used to be associated with a number of other uses as well. Owing to the density of its canopy, it was popular among the travelers for a rest under unrelenting summer heat. The wood of these trees was also used for various traditional games – the flexible timber being ideal for little boys to fashion rural bows and arrows. These trees have also entered the common culture, being associated with a number of folk songs as well, the most popular of them being Malkiat Singh’s ‘Tutak tutak tutiaan’.
Credit of above text is to Eh Mera Punjab blog - This blog is on everything about Punjab and Punjabi.
0 Comments