Palace of Babu Khelat Chandra Ghosh of Pathuriaghata

They are celebrating the 167th year of Durga Puja this year.

Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata known to be one of the oldest residential areas in the city.

Durga Pujas of zamindar houses of North Kolkata

Some remarkable Durga Pujas are still held privately in several zamindar families, some of whom were very affluent and famous in their glorious past, especially during the British Colonial period. Their financial conditions are not affluent, as it was in their golden periods (because the Zamindari system was abolished post independence).The passage of time might have dimmed the ostentatious display of wealth, yet they have retained the old aristocratic flavour. They perform the Puja with utmost dedication maintaining all the rituals. Some of the Pujas are even 200+ or 300+ years old. Every family member gathers during this period to celebrate once in a year.

Most of these houses have their own “Thakur Dalan’ (shrine), a public courtyard often with pillars surrounded with verandahs reflecting Indo- European architecture.

Each family has their own traditional form of Idol made by “Karmakars/Potuas” (the makers of the idols) for generations.

I ventured from south to north of Kolkata on the day on “Saptami” this year to have a glimpse of some of these houses to experience some age-old traditional culture of Bengal.

I explored a rich heritage and a system of belief and reverence, and of course some mesmerising architecture.

I realised once more that I was born in one of the finest cities in the world. A city of humanity, and a rich cultural heritage.

Durga Puja

Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated in September or October, most notably in Kolkata, in West Bengal of India, but also in other parts of India and amongst the Bengali diaspora. It marks the ten-day worship of the Hindu mother-goddess Durga. In the months preceding the festival, small artisanal workshops sculpt images of Durga and her family using unfired clay pulled from the Ganga River. The worship of the goddess then begins on the inaugural day of Mahalaya, when eyes are painted onto the clay images to bring the goddess to life. It ends on the tenth day, when the images are immersed in the river from where the clay came. Thus, the festival has also come to signify ‘home-coming’ or a seasonal return to one’s roots.

The meaning of ‘Durga’

Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.

Durga, meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible", is a popular fierce form of the Hindu Goddess or Devi. She is depicted with multiple arms, carrying various weapons and riding a ferocious lion( in Bengal). She is pictured as battling or slaying demons, particularly Mahishasura, the buffalo demon.

Her triumph as Mahishasura Mardini, Slayer of the buffalo Demon is a central episode of the scripture Devi Mahatmya. Her victory is celebrated annually in the festivals of Durga Puja.

**In December 2021, 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' was inscribed in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

A strange sight........

Framed against the fading light in the middle of a place like Kolkata, these figures appeared like guardians from another world........a tad bemused on encountering citylife......seemed lost in interpreting the nuances of a city based grand puppet show......

Shot in a recent handicrafts fair........

© Shuvarthy Chowdhury Photography

Birbhum, West Bengal -- 2015

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#kantha #kanthastitch #Nanoor #Kanthavillage #kanthagram #kathastory #kanthaart #kanthaartist #natunpara #agortor #ruralart #ruralartist #indianart #indianartist #kanthaembroidery #UNESCO #shuvarthychowdhuryphotography #RuralCraft #womenartist #bengalart #bengalartist

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Kantha for the Bengali folks means embroidered qulit. Kantha is said to be 'Dorukha' meaning turning the worn out and old textiles and fabrics to things of beauty. It is the way the stitch is used, in different arrangements, that forms the complex vocabulary of Kantha.

A Kantha is often referred to as a rural woman's diary as it reflects the rural woman's personal account of her life's events and happenings.

Kantha embroidery has led to socio-economic empowerment of thousands of women of Birbhum. Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises & Textiles (MSME&T), Goverment of West Bengal in partnership with UNESCO, is developing a Rural Craft Hub at Nanoor.

Simple run stitches at the hands of skill artists create a magical artwork called as 'Kantha Embroidery'. Kantha making is a 'women's art'. It was the bengali housewife who helped the art to evolve.

The origin of the Kantha craft traces its history to a period not less than a thousand years. since then the tradition has come a long way today when the artistic brilliance of the women artists have found expressions in lifestyle products like saree, dress materials, bed and cushion covers etc. Motifs of nature including animals, birds and flowers are extensively stitched and the art work varies from intricate and heavy to light and simple designs.

There is a large concentration of the women doing Kantha embrodiery in Nanoor block of Birbhum, West Bengal. Around 2000 women of this area are engaged in doing katha embrodiery on different products. About 600 kantha artists are included in the Rural Craft Hub.

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When the Demon King Ashura got very powerful & routed the Gods from heaven or

Sarga {Indian mythology has divided planet earth into Three parts Sarga ( Heaven),

Marta ( Earth) , Patal ( Bellow Earth) this is called Tri Bhuban or Triloke. Heaven was

some where up in the Himalaya e.g. God Shiva's abode was/is Mt Kailash} at that time

all the Gods went to the supreme God Brahma and prayed to him for the destruction of

Mahishasura. From Brahma's Teja or Devine Power a Goddess was born; on

Brahma's instruction all the Gods accumulated their power and gifted it to this

Goddess, she was given the Ayudh or weapons of the most powerful Gods. Her name was Durga.

According to Indian Mythology , Durga was/is the most beautiful lady in Triloke. She

lured Mahishasura to give her a fight and ultimately killed the demon with her trident or

Trishul ( this weapon is the weapon of God Shiva). Before his death Mahishasur asked

for pardon and prayed that he be given a place at her feet.

Once in a year during Autumn, Goddess Durga is worshipped through out India,

specially in West Bengal or Bengal, every neighborhood makes arrangement of her

worship for four days, it is the main festival of Bengal where Bengal's art & culture gets

reflected. Idols are drowned in the river Ganges after the fourth day. New idols are

made and worshiped every year. Begal waits for a year to get a visit from her daughter Durga.

© Shuvarthy Chowdhury Photography

Birbhum, West Bengal -- 2015

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#kantha #kanthastitch #Nanoor #Kanthavillage #kanthagram #kathastory #kanthaart #kanthaartist #natunpara #agortor #ruralart #ruralartist #indianart #indianartist #kanthaembroidery #UNESCO #shuvarthychowdhuryphotography #RuralCraft #womenartist #bengalart #bengalartist

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Kantha for the Bengali folks means embroidered qulit. Kantha is said to be 'Dorukha' meaning turning the worn out and old textiles and fabrics to things of beauty. It is the way the stitch is used, in different arrangements, that forms the complex vocabulary of Kantha.

A Kantha is often referred to as a rural woman's diary as it reflects the rural woman's personal account of her life's events and happenings.

Kantha embroidery has led to socio-economic empowerment of thousands of women of Birbhum. Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises & Textiles (MSME&T), Goverment of West Bengal in partnership with UNESCO, is developing a Rural Craft Hub at Nanoor.

Simple run stitches at the hands of skill artists create a magical artwork called as 'Kantha Embroidery'. Kantha making is a 'women's art'. It was the bengali housewife who helped the art to evolve.

The origin of the Kantha craft traces its history to a period not less than a thousand years. since then the tradition has come a long way today when the artistic brilliance of the women artists have found expressions in lifestyle products like saree, dress materials, bed and cushion covers etc. Motifs of nature including animals, birds and flowers are extensively stitched and the art work varies from intricate and heavy to light and simple designs.

There is a large concentration of the women doing Kantha embrodiery in Nanoor block of Birbhum, West Bengal. Around 2000 women of this area are engaged in doing katha embrodiery on different products. About 600 kantha artists are included in the Rural Craft Hub.

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© Shuvarthy Chowdhury Photography

LOCATION-- Charida, Purulia, West Bengal- 2015

CHAU MASK - INTRODUCTION

Chau dance an acrobatic martial danc e form of Purulia.It has been already enlisted in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Huminity.Chau is indegenous part of Eastern India. It originated as a martial art and contains vigorous movements and leaps. The barren land Purulia with its tribal inhabitants and multilayered influences of vedic literature, Hinduism and Martial Folk-lore have all combined to shape the PURULIA CHAU DANCE which has only one message - The triumph of good over evil.

The Purulia Chau dancers wear large stylized masks while performing chau dance. The Chau Mask is traditionally associated with this age old dance form of Purulia, where the performers wear masks of different mythological characters and also different animals.

The masks are made from paper pulp, mud and clay. First the outline shape on the mud is created. then the ultimate shape of the muddy layer is given with the wooden structure. After drying that under the sun it is covered with the white ash dust layer before the pulp paper layering with the glue. It helps to remain separated after drying of the paper laye under the sun. The Hard paper layer with a thin mud layer on it is painted in attractive shades with the acrylic colours usually brought from the Barabazar area of Kolkata. The masks are of different shapes and sizes starting from small to large one.

At present the Mask Making Industry is not only bounded in the traditional old mask making culture for the chau dance artist. The mask making artist are now being skilled of making various size and shape masks for Ineterior Decoration. Some artist are also making masks with modern painting styles.

THE STARTING OF CHAU MASK VILLAGE

Around 150 years ago during the rule of King Madan Mohan Singh Deo of Bagmundi the tradition of making chau masks started in the CHARIDA village of Purulia. Presently there are around 300 traditional Artists in the village known as "SUTRADHAR" community.

#chau #ChauMask #ChauMukhosh #mask #mukhosh #banglanatakdotcom #UNESCO #ruralart #WestBengal #India #Indianart #art #artist #ruralartist #Bengal #bengalart #bengalartist #homemadeart #Charida #charida-art #Purulia #purulia-art #purulia-artists

#shuvarthychowdhury #shuvarthychowdhuryphotography

Mother Goddess Durga with her son Ganesha; Bengal style painting

Madur is a Bengal term for floor mats. Before concrete and brick became common, most village houses had walls made of clay, and earth floors polished with a mixture of clay, cow dung and finely cut hay. The floors were cool in summer but too cold in winter, and grass floor mats were ideal for keeping out the cold. Large madur mats are still used in most households in Bengal, woven from coarse grass, and lasting about a year.

Very fine and high quality madurs are also made, using the natural colour variations in the dried grass to create subtle patterns in the mats. These madurs are made from fine and soft grass from which the inner pith is removed to give more flexibility and longevity. They are very pliable, so are used on beds during the very hot summer months. They are also quite expensive, but will last a lifetime. The best traditional mats are large, and are woven out of long grass on a simple floor loom. Shorter grass has traditionally been a loss for the farmers, who have simply had to discard it.

Kumortuli (also spelt Kumartuli, or the archaic spelling Coomartolly) (Bengali: কুমোরটুলি) is a traditionally potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata (previously known as Calcutta), the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. By virtue of their artistic productions these potters have moved from obscurity to prominence. This Kolkata neighbourhood, not only supplies clay idols of Hindu gods and goddesses to barowari pujas in Kolkata and its neighbourhoods, but a number of idols are exported.It is one of the seven wonders in Kolkata.

Kumortuli images are generally ordered well in advance and there a few for off-the-shelf sale. Nowadays, Kumortuli’s clientele has extended to America, Europe and Africa, among the Indian communities living there. In 1989, Durga images made out of shola pith by Amarnath Ghosh were flown to Sweden, Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria. The images weighed only three kilograms each and were ideally suited for air travel.In modern times, Statues and replicas made out of Fiberglass are also being produced and exported to various parts of the country and the world.

In 2006, Kumortuli supplied 12,300 clay deities of goddess Durga. This potter's town supplies images to about 90 countries worldwide with new nations joining the list every year. Many East European countries, where religious ceremonies were previously banned, have started buying images from Kumortuli. A spokesman of Kumartuli Shilpi Sangha (KSS), an association of the craftsmen, said the NRIs of countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, Austria and Poland, come to Kumortuli to buy images. U.S. based NRIs, including the Bengali Association of Southern California, Bengali Association of Greater Chicago, Dakshini, Sanskriti, Garden State Puja Committee of New Jersey, East Coast Durga Puja Committee of New York, North America Sarbojanin Kalipuja Association of Connecticut[13] come to Kumartuli to select deities to ship to their cities. Additionally, hundreds of agents in Kolkata service NRIs seeking idols from Kumortuli.

In Kolkata, the icon-artisans mostly dwell in poor living conditions. The more popular among them are Mohan Banshi Rudra Pal and his sons Sanatan Rudra Pal and Pradip Rudra Pal, Rakhal Pal, Ganesh Pal, Aloke Sen, Kartik Pal, Kena Pal, who are still reigning figures of Kumortuli and despite the threats from the ‘theme artists’, they are booked by major puja organisers who admire the old school. Women are not lagging behind. Kumortuli boasts of the presence of some 30-odd women-artisans, like Minati Pal, Soma Pal, Kanchi Pal and Chapa Rani Pal. They have been in the business of idol making for a long time.Kumortuli’s own Durga Puja dates back to 1933. The image maker was Gopeswar Pal.

© Shuvarthy Chowdhury Photography

LOCATION-- Charida, Purulia, West Bengal- 2015

CHAU MASK - INTRODUCTION

Chau dance an acrobatic martial danc e form of Purulia.It has been already enlisted in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Huminity.Chau is indegenous part of Eastern India. It originated as a martial art and contains vigorous movements and leaps. The barren land Purulia with its tribal inhabitants and multilayered influences of vedic literature, Hinduism and Martial Folk-lore have all combined to shape the PURULIA CHAU DANCE which has only one message - The triumph of good over evil.

The Purulia Chau dancers wear large stylized masks while performing chau dance. The Chau Mask is traditionally associated with this age old dance form of Purulia, where the performers wear masks of different mythological characters and also different animals.

The masks are made from paper pulp, mud and clay. First the outline shape on the mud is created. then the ultimate shape of the muddy layer is given with the wooden structure. After drying that under the sun it is covered with the white ash dust layer before the pulp paper layering with the glue. It helps to remain separated after drying of the paper laye under the sun. The Hard paper layer with a thin mud layer on it is painted in attractive shades with the acrylic colours usually brought from the Barabazar area of Kolkata. The masks are of different shapes and sizes starting from small to large one.

At present the Mask Making Industry is not only bounded in the traditional old mask making culture for the chau dance artist. The mask making artist are now being skilled of making various size and shape masks for Ineterior Decoration. Some artist are also making masks with modern painting styles.

THE STARTING OF CHAU MASK VILLAGE

Around 150 years ago during the rule of King Madan Mohan Singh Deo of Bagmundi the tradition of making chau masks started in the CHARIDA village of Purulia. Presently there are around 300 traditional Artists in the village known as "SUTRADHAR" community.

#chau #ChauMask #ChauMukhosh #mask #mukhosh #banglanatakdotcom #UNESCO #ruralart #WestBengal #India #Indianart #art #artist #ruralartist #Bengal #bengalart #bengalartist #homemadeart #Charida #charida-art #Purulia #purulia-art #purulia-artists

#shuvarthychowdhury #shuvarthychowdhuryphotography