By Krishna Tiwari
Garuda, Feb. 13:Many traditional tools and equipment invented by our ancestors have started disappearing thanks to modernisation. This is happening all over the country and Rautahat has not remained untouched.
According to locals, easy access to new state-of-the-art machines, even in the rural areas, is causing the decline of old indigenous technology and the elders worry that the knowledge accumulated by our forefathers will be permanently lost if the trend continues.
The Rising Nepal documents a few such machines that are fast falling out of favour with the people of Rautahat.
Tulo
Tulo is a beam balance used to weigh meat. It uses the native Nepali scales of Dharni, Bisauli and Aathpaul for its measurements. Tulo has not only fallen into disuse but has actually vanished entirely. Finding one in the district has become next to impossible.
Jhulo Chakmak
Once upon a time, Jhulo Chakmak used to be found in every household. Now, it is as rare as Tulo.
Jhulo Chakmak is a machine that used flint stones, pieces of iron and banana husk to make fires. The stones or the iron pieces would be rubbed against each other to produce sparks which would, in turn, light the husk or pieces of traditional Lokta paper to make fires.
This machine has now been replaced by matchsticks, lighters and gas.
Deli
Deli is a bamboo armoire or a cupboard that used to be used to transport grass and fodder for the livestock from the field to people’s homes. People used to fill it with grass and carry it on their heads.
Dhiri
Dhiri is a type of water container made by carving openings into bamboo. But the availability of water bottles and mugs has made Dhiri redundant in today’s age.
Khalati
It is a leather bag that was used for blowing air into a metalsmith’s furnace. It was especially used by members of the Bishwokarma community.
Kol
Kol is a crushing machine used to crush sugarcane, make Chuk and extract oil from mustard seeds is still used in some places but it looks set to meet the same fate as many other traditional machines in a few years.
Similarly, many other indigenous machines which were once considered an absolute necessity to have such as Dhiki, Janto and Okhal have now become a thing of the past, seen only in photos and heard only in stories, said 90-year-old Asarfi Ray, a resident of Madhopur.