Purba Medinipur, West Bengal

Egra Shankha Bangle & Ritual Conch

Paired shankha (conch shell) bangles, blowing ritual conches and carved decorative shells made from sea conches harvested off the Bay of Bengal. The craft is practised by the traditional Sankhakar (Shankhari) community of West Bengal, which cuts, turns and hand-polishes the shells into bangles for married women (shakha-pola sets), sacred puja conches and engraved ornament pieces. Egra's bazaar is a long-standing retail hub for this shell craft, with local shankha dealers (such as Ma Durga Shankha Bhander) selling and shipping bangles and conches across India. A buyer gets a genuine natural-shell item carrying the auspicious, Vishnu-associated ritual symbolism of the conch.

Typical price: ₹150-3000

Buying tip: Prefer bangles that feel warm and heavy in the hand with irregular natural whorls (plastic imitations are cool and uniform), and before buying a blowing shankha, blow it yourself to check the aperture opens cleanly and the sound is clear.