work of shell cutting are carried on in partly open sheds 

 or verandahs at the rear, whereas the carving, lacquer- 

 ing, and finishing of the shell sections proceed in rooms 

 and verandahs open to the street. 



The workers belong exclusively to the Sankhari sub- 

 caste of Vaisyas ; they appear to be very conservative 

 and have the reputation of being exceedingly clannish. 

 Educationally their condition is or was till quite recently 

 distinctly backward. Their quarter was held in ill odour 

 by their fellow-townsmen as the reputed scene of fre- 

 quent robbery and undetected crime. Of recent years 

 trade has been very good and with increased prosperity 

 and greater municipal and police suoervision the Shak- 

 hari Bazaar has shown marked material and moral 

 improvement. When I visited this locality, cne street 

 and the houses appeared up to the average of working- 

 class quarters of an Indian city. Personally I met with 

 perfect courtesy and I am glad to be now enabled to 

 express my appreciation of the helpful attitude shown 

 towards myself by everybody with whom I conversed, as 

 well the workpeople themselves as their employers. 

 My enquiries necessitated many questions and much 

 cross-examination upon details of work and ot trade and 

 never once did I meet with discourtesy or impatience. 



An interesting account by Dr. Wise (Zamindar W ise. 

 whose house is still a landmark in Dacca) of the char- 

 acter and habits of the Dacca Sankharis is (juoted by 

 Risley (II, p. 221) and is well worth full quotation. Dr. 

 Wise says, " The Sankhari have the character of being 

 very penurious and unusually industrious, young and old 

 working to a late hour at night. Boys are taught the 

 trade at a very early age, otherwise their limbs would 

 not brook the awkward posture and confined space in 

 which work is carried on. When sawing, the shell is 

 held by the toes, the semi-circular saw, kept perpendi- 

 cular, being moved sideways. The caste are notoriously 

 filthy in their domestic arrangements. A narrow pas- 

 sage, hardly two feet wide, leads through the house to 

 an open courtyard, where the sewage of the household 

 collects and is never removed. Pqjidemic diseases are 

 very prevalent among them, and owing doubtless to their 

 unhealthy mode of life the men as a rule are pale and 



