If there is one thing more worthless than driftwood, then it would be termite-infested driftwood. Rotten wood that is infested with termites does not make for suitable building material, even if the infested wood is treated for termites. In fact, rotten wood that is being damaged by an active termite infestation cannot be salvaged for any purpose, unless you happen to be an artist who wants to create aesthetically unique pieces of furniture, of course. Rather than letting perfectly good termite-riddled wood materials rot and go to waste, Prantosh Kumar Das collects infested wood debris from the many trees that termites have claimed in his home country. Das uses the collected wood to construct items such as tables and cabinets. Of course, Das has the termites eradicated from each log that he plans to use for building. In addition to being used as a construction material, the termite-damaged wood also serves as a conspicuous decorative feature that gives Das’ final products their distinct artistic style.
Prantosh Kumar Das is an officer with the Bihar Military Police in Begusarai, India, but his real passion is finding new and creative uses for the termite infested logs that are abundant in many parts of India. Das’ latest creation is an almirah (cabinet) that was made partly from logs that were once infested with termites. The almirah’s structure is supported with logs that are marked with quasi-geometric patterns that were inflicted by the log’s former termite inhabitants. In order to retain the log’s original shape and termite-markings, Das avoids applying external varnish and does not resort to carpentry of any kind. According to Das, the idea to make creative use of termite-damaged wood came to him when he was living within an apartment that became infested with termites that had originated from a tree within the building’s front yard.
Das fell in love with a picturesque Gulmohar tree that beautified his former apartment grounds. A termite infestation in the tree eventually saw the destructive insects access several apartment units by crawling along the length of the branches. Once this occurred, a majority of the apartment dwellers voted to remove the infested tree from the property. In an attempt to save his beloved tree, Das offered to personally pay to have the termites professionally eradicated from the tree, but the tree was eventually removed in spite of Das’ protests. In the weeks prior to the tree’s removal, Das collected the tree’s fallen and infested limbs in an effort to retain mementos of the tree. Once Das secured a hefty amount of the tree’s limbs, he had each one cleared of termites by applying insecticide so that he could memorialize his favorite tree in the form of furniture. Two tables that Das created with formerly infested logs have been transferred to the Das Driftwood Museum-cum-Park in Budhapur.
Do you think Das is being reckless by collecting and storing termite-infested logs?
