Aribam (O) Th. Sylvia Devi, mother of two supportive sons is one among the emerging artisan of flower- making in Manipur. She was born to Th. Ragen and Th. (O) Kamala hailing from Nagamapal, Imphal. After having married to Aribam Pritamjit Sharma from Lairikyengbam Salan Leirak in 2006, she began to think about management of unemployed human resources as well unused wastes above maintaining her family. Crafted items of made by Sylvia are displayed at Stall No 5 provided by DC Imphal East.
The idea of flower-making was unfolded to her curious mind after seeing those displayed in Melas. Her sons Parash, who is now 8 years and Partha, 3½ years became her strength and the one most encouraged her was Pritamjit. Gradually her dormant talent began to evoke and she began to work on such handy-craft with Kouna but due to unavailability of the raw material round the year, she happened to shift the profession. She thought of very unusual materials for workout but without a proper guidance she was helpless. Sylvia shares to MT stating that she even approached to some expert in those field but the charges were unaffordable. For learning flower making art, she had to spend 1000 for single design. Her dilemma vanished away after struggling for a long time.
Internet was the only solution to her problem. She depends on this latest technology and through this she learnt herself of Know-How about flower-making. The best part of her profession is utilization of locally available parts of plants, cane, bamboo, dry-flowers reeds, and even weeds. She even uses the waste parts of Maize to make flower. Some raw materials are imported from Kolkata and Delhi. Under the sponsorship of NYK, she is imparting training to 20 individuals from different locality in her area. The duration of the training is 4 months wherein she provides the necessary raw materials. Some school going children who love this art also work under her supervision. She welcomes anybody in her work shed innovating any new design. In the training beyond the main profession she trains for food preservation and reed making. Sylvia is holding the post of Accredited Social Health Assistance (ASHA) for her locality at present.
