Making 'Gail' Jagannath keeps a tradition alive

Bent over his work with practiced hands, 62-year-old Jagannath Debbarma patiently runs his chisel to give his product the final touch up. He makes a ‘Gail (a traditional wooden grinder)’ generally used for grinding rice and other materials.

This traditional kitchen instrument–is ideally used in the winters–the season of ‘Pithas and Pulis’.  
Gail was once an integral part of rural life in Tripura and the wider Bengali culture. In an age dominated by manufactured alternatives and changing lifestyles, Debbarma’s efforts to act as a reminder that some traditions survive not through museums or exhibitions, but through the hands of those who refuse to abandon them.
The Gail consists of two main components–a mortar like container and a pestle. It is just that both are made of wood and much bigger in size of the mortar and pestle as people know it.    
In Ruprai, under Kalyanpur police station, Debbarma continues to pursue a craft that has gradually disappeared from many villages. While the use of the gail has declined over the years, he still finds buyers willing to pay around Rs 1,500 for each finished piece. According to him, two days of careful work go into making a single gail, yielding a profit of roughly Rs 500 to Rs 600.
For Debbarma, however, the story is not merely about earnings. His work reflects a continuity with a way of life that once formed an essential part of rural society.