Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): ‘Beejboni,’ a wooden seed sowing tool, is the last ‘Exhibit of the Week’ of December 2021 on the social media page of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal.
The museum had collected the tool in 2005. It is used by the community of Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Director of the museum Paveen Kumar Mishra says that Beejboni is a traditional seed-sowing wooden tool having a cone-shaped bowl-like opening on the upper section of the body. The central hole is drawn from its aperture and is connected to five lesser holes at the bottom. Those holes distribute the seeds during sowing in the fields. As soon as the seeds are poured into the upper bowl, they pass through these five holes and then eject through five bamboo channels attached to them. The tool is attached to the plough during sowing operations.
On the outer surface of the body, there are carved motifs of animal and floral images that provide an attractive appearance and distinguish the implement from others. The side of the body contains the figure of an elephant, while the other side bears an engraved floral motif carved on high relief. The right and the left sides of the device have outwardly projected carved elements representing the Parrots. The base is rectangular with curved edges, and it is strengthened at the bottom with an iron band, Mishra adds.
