lOO 



As an ofYset to these favourable factors is the 

 tendency among the women of the better classes to 

 discontinue as far as possible the use of chank bangles 

 in order to emphasize their disassociation from low-caste 

 customs, and in the endeavour to be more ' fashionable ' 

 in the style of their personal ornaments ; they wish 

 where possible to procure gold bracelets and where their 

 means will not allow of this they too often prefer to wear 

 gaudy glass bangles of European make. 



In Dacca and Calcutta labour in the less skilled 

 branches of the industry is abundant and wages are low 

 in consequence. Highly skilled men can however 

 command good pay and were they of a provident 

 disposition they should be very well off. 



At the small centres located in country districts, 

 remuneration and conditions of labour are greatly 

 superior to those prevailing in the large towns. There 

 is a fairly regular and stable local demand to rely upon, 

 the necessaries of life are cheaper, and temptations to 

 waste earnings in outbursts of self-indulgence are few ; 

 the open surroundings also conduce to a healthier tone 

 both of mind and body than do the slums of Dacca. 

 Best of all, in many places the bangle-maker has some 

 agricultural occupation to afford other interests in life, 

 to give a healthful change from the monotony of a 

 sedentary occupation and a means whereby his savings 

 may be put to remunerative account. In one district I 

 found the local Sankharis engaged in tobacco cultiva- 

 tion as a secondary occupation. Elsewhere I found 

 many of these bangle-cutters cultivating plots of paddy 

 or of jute in the season. The relative importance of the 

 two callings varies considerably as is natural, but they 

 are largely complemental, as there are so many intervals 

 in small cultivation after the crop has been sown when 

 the fields require almost no attention that a Sankhari 

 has no difficulty in carrying on both satisfactorily. Under 

 these circumstances, these men are quietly prosperous, 

 they earn good wages from their chank trade, their 

 fields supply almost all their food and their houses, 

 fairly roomy and well-built and fairly well-ventilated, are 

 made of grass thatch, walls as well as roof, while the 

 supports and rafters are of bamboos which grow luxuri- 

 antly everywhere around. Many families are reputed to 

 possess good savings in cash, the money being buried 



