Emporias or commercial galleries, the arts andcrafts scenario in Bengal is vibrant. All you have to do is find yourown individual connection with links that are steeped in tradition ormodern ideologies.
Bengal’s traditionof arts and crafts is deeply rooted in her people. The averageBengali, for better or worse, has been sensitive to his artisticenvironment. Look at thealpana design created for specialoccasions on the floor with just rice powder or chalk, marvel at theway a hundred different garlands are woven for a hundred differentoccasions, watch the Durga images created and sunk into the Gangesevery autumn and you will know what I mean.
The crafts tradition inBengal is primarily folk in character and linked to people’severyday life and geographical location. But even mundane items ofdaily use like cooking pots or baskets or combs or mirrors or humblereed mats reflect great beauty along with their utility.
Bengal is immortalizedall over the world through its humble terra-cotta Bankura horse butyou visit any village in this state and you are bound to find thekumbhakars creating items of daily use on their basic potter’swheel. The source of their raw material is the rich, alluvial clayfound in Bengal’s rivers. These are shaped and fired in simplekilns. From pots, containers, plates for food to toys and ritualfigurines, the Bengal potter moulds it all.
At Kumartuli inKolkatasome of Bengal’s most innovative clay-potters fashion thevarious images of popular gods and goddesses worshiped en masses. Thehigh point comes when, every autumn,Durga idols are made. Some ofthem are indeed exquisite works of art. Today, some renownedsculptors are also commissioned to produce replicas of Durga byBengali NRIs who carry the image all the way to the USA and England!If you look at the rich decorative terra-cotta panels of temples inMurshidabad, Bishnupur and Midnapore, you will realize how much afistful of clay means to the Bengali’s artistic psyche.
Reed mats and basketsfind a variety of uses and often, on a humid summer evening, you willchance upon themadur-mat seller carrying his ware through thewinding lanes of lush villages. This mat is woven on a simple bambooframe loom. The warp is cotton thread and the weft a thin, softmadur-reed but the designs are ignited by the weaver’simagination and often become a rare marvel. Theshitalpati isanother kind of mat found in Bengal, Assam and Tripura. These arewoven with flat strips in check, twill or zigzag designs, sometimesincorporating stylized human and animal forms. Fans are made frompalmyra leaves which are dyed in different colours and beautifulgeometric designs are created by deft fingers. Cane baskets havetraditional shapes and are made in different sizes. Many are used bycity people now as plant-holders and fashionable bric-a-brac.
Thekanthaembroidery of this state is famous all around the globe. In the pastfew years it has received rave reviews and tremendous attention fromfashion designers in the Occident and the Orient. The old kanthadesigns are rare possessions and are now flaunted on sleek shawls andother items of costume. In the village, however, a woman may spendmonths and years on a single piece, covering it with intricate folkmotifs via a simple running stitch.
Handloom saris come in anexotic variety and are available all over Bengal. Brass, metal anddhokra items are also part of traditional craft. Speciallybeautiful are dhokra measuring bowls that come in all shape andsizes. Bengal’s jewellery has an unique Mughal flavour. Evenwood and stone are fashioned in this State for decorative panels oritems of utility.
The Crafts Council ofWest Bengal has done a lot to revive dying forms. However, for arange of items you can savour or buy, look into the handicrafts shopsstrewn all overKolkata. You can stroll into the state emporia orwalk down Kalighat or Gariahat and the variety of goods will leaveyou amazed.
The fine arts scene hereis just as stimulating whether you are interested in the revivalisttrend pioneered by Rabanindranath Tagore or the folk idiom of JaminiRoy. Do not hesitate to walk into the Academy of Fine Arts inCalcutta. If you travel to Shantiniketan, Tagore’s hermitage,you will be able to witness the works of Nandalal Bose and thestunning sculptures of Ramkinkar Baij that form part of thelandscape. The Kalabhavan there is a good haunt for art-lovers.
WONDER WEAVES
Cotton fabrics spun byBengali weavers have become a legend worldwide for their finetextures and lightness. Known as muslin ormul mul thefeatherweight textiles were celebrated in the international market asthe ‘woven wind’ and the ‘wonder gossamer’.
Under royal patronage thetownship of Dacca (now in Bangladesh) became the production of muslinduring the Mughal rule. The fabric was so fine and transparent that,as the legend goes, once Emperor Shahjahan expressed his displeasuretowards the inadequate and indecent dresses worn by Princess Jehanaraeven though six folds of muslin covered her! A five metre length ofmuslin could easily pass through a finger ring. The marvel of muslinsand of the Dhakaijamdani (needle embroidery), however, endedin the 18th century with the British seizing control ofBengal under the East India Company. It is said that to protect theinterests of the textile mills of Manchester, the muslin weavers ofDhaka were persecuted and coerced to stop weaving. The art-heritageof fine weaving so remained crippled for nearly 20 years.
However, with thedeparture of the British, many skilled weavers of Dhaka graduallysettled in West Bengal around Shantipur in Nadia district and AmbikaKalna of Burdwan, both traditionally renowned centres for hand-wovenfabrics. Encouraged with government aid and other incentives, thesetalented weavers soon revived their ancestral occupationand the artof exquisite weaving once again flourished. Today, finely wovenfeather-touch textiles and saris in exotic designs and colours arebeing produced in the vast weaving belt of Shantipur, Phulia,Samudragarh, Dhatigram and Ambika Kalna—each centre producingsuperb fabrics in its own unique weaving style. Dhatigram producesjacquards and jamdanis while Kalna is famous fortangails andgorgeous jamdanis. Phulia and Samudragarh specialize in a combinationof jacquard and jamdani work while Shantipur is known for superfinedhotis and jacquards. The produce is marketed throughco-operatives and various undertakings. The Kalna Chamber of Commerceand Industry organizes weekly sarihaats (markets) offeringthe weaving industry as well as individual weavers opportunities tocome into direct contact with customers thus avoiding middlemen andfetching better renumerative prices. Every Saturday weavers fromdifferent centres and distant villages assemble at Kalna Sari Haat.This unique market dealing exclusively in saris is worth a visit.Ambika Kalna is 82 kilometres from Kolkata and can be reached bytrain in three hours. The weekly bazaar sits in a large square undera roof near the town hall. Amidst saris galore are seated thetanties(weavers) surrounded by buyers. The haat is a kaleidoscopic displayof the finest saris. Prices range from Rs. 200/- to Rs. 2000/- apiece and above depending upon the quality and labour involved.
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