A popular but expensive mat made in the northern Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Bangladesh. The word shitalpati literally means cool mat. The shitalpati mat-makers of north Bengal are from the Kayastha caste; one step below are the madur mat making Mahisyas who belong to a caste group higher than the nine traditional craft castes. The Kayasthas use mutra cane, this raw material grows in Cooch Behar. It is soaked in water for 24 hours before it is slashed into thin strips to make the pati. Some of the strips are dyed magenta for pattern work. Sagareswar Ghugumari and Pashnadanga in Cooch Behar are the most important centres of shitalpatti.