IN PICS | Intrinsic To Pohela Baisakh Festivities, Here Is How Haal Khata Is Made

On Bengali New Year, haal khata assumes a lot of significance for traders and is considered auspicious (Photo: Abhishek De)

Haal khata or kheror khata is basically a ledger book used by traders to note down their transactions. Here a labourer can be seen at work at Nitai Shah & Sons, the largest manufacturer of haal khata in Kolkata's Baithakkhana bazaar (Photo: Abhishek De)

Making a haal khata is a cumbersome and painstaking job since it is fully handmade. There are four types of haal khata available depending on their sizes — jabeda khata, dak khata, khana khata and khotiyan khata (not made now). The image shows jabeda khata and khana khata (Photo: Abhishek De)

Making a haal khata is a cumbersome and painstaking job since it is fully handmade. Due to the dip in demand, work to produce haal khata now begins from February and continues till April 14. Earlier, work used to start from December. (Photo: Abhishek De)

The red rough cotton material used as the cover for these books is called "khero", hence the name kheror khata. Some manufacturers use the cheaper lal shalu material as well. (Photo: Abhishek De)

Here we see Mohammad Rahim, who hails from Joynagar, at work in the workshop of Nitai Shah & Sons. He has been involved in making kheror khata since he was 13 years old. Rahim said kheror khata was basically used by people from East Pakistan. (Photo: Abhishek De)

The use of haal khata by the Bengali business community dates back to the 18th century even though there is no exact account when this practice started. Even 8-10 years ago, the 'haal khata tradition' used to be a ceremony in itself, but now digitisation has turned it into a mere formality. (Photo: Abhishek De)

To make a haal khata, first the red cloth material is cut and glued to fims of canvas of the same size. These are then hung in the ropes outside to dry. The books are then stitched using a thread and a twine is used to tie the books. (Photo: Abhishek De)

Apart from depleting sales due to low demand, the Covid-19 pandemic and rise in cost of paper has come as a double whammy to the haal khata manufacturers in Kolkata's Baithakkhana bazaar. (Photo: Abhishek De)