Rupankar Bhattacharjee, a student from Guwahati, has designed a foldable Assamese decorative japi, which has been able to attract everyone’s attention.
The idea to design the foldable japi struck him while he was forced to sit home because of the COVID-19 lockdown.
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Rupankar is also a member of a start-up called Earth Craft, which was set-up six months ago for blending handicraft with nature conservation.
The NGO also pushed him to work on his idea and design the japi.
The japi is often gifted to people as a token of love, expressing the warmth of Assamese hospitability.
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The japi cannot be put in luggage and carried without damaging and this makes many sad who wish to take one along with them, he said.
The folding japi, however, solves the problem, he added.
The folding japi is made of biodegradable scrap and medium-density fibreboard, an engineered wood product, to fold a larger japi, 3-6 ft. in diameter, in half and an average japi to one-fourth its size.
Rupankar, however, says that the folding japi could be made with any material provided it is made piece by piece to fit onto the base plate designed to fold.