The Decadence of Tradition

The City Of Joy has many hidden treasures which are rarely explored in the fever of modernism which has broken over the entire world. These traditional art forms are  famous only in rural Bengal. In fact this is the only method of survival and occupation , these families have been involved in for generations and thus till today their daily bread is earned through such art forms.Though many are found all over Bengal, I would be highlighting only five such decaying folk forms.

5# Chau Dance is a popular folk dance in Orissa , Jharkhand and West Bengal . Mostly seen in Purulia it is performed by the tribal communities of Munda, Bhol, Sahoo to name a few. This folk art has three different components - music provided by the Mukhis, Kalindis etc; masks made by ace artisans of the Sutradhar,Maharanas or the Mohapatra clan and the dancers. Chau dance itself has variations depending on its origin- Purulia chau, Mayurbhanj chau and Seraikella Chau. Interestingly Mayurbhanj chau is the only folk form which does not make use of any masks. The dance itself is a blend of martial arts and traditional dance steps.In 2010 Chau dance was honoured by UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible cultural Heritage of Humanity. Special measures have been taken by the Government of Orissa to look into the preservation of this art form. But sadly in Bengal, it is a dying art.

CHAU MASK

CHAU DANCERS

4#  Bhawaiya is a traditional music form popular in Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling and North Bangladesh. These places came under the state of Kamtapur in older days . Hence, the Kamptapuri language is also used while singing the songs. The biggest performers of this art were those associated with the Rajbari of Kamtapur. However , today, these songs have spread to all communities living in the area. In fact many Bhawaiya songs have been adapted in Bengali cinema. The music in this folk form reflects a typical tone of natural, environmental, ethnic phonetic and topographical influence.

3#  Alkap is one of the primitive ways of mass communication. It was originally used to raise awareness regarding social issues and taboos. But today the original form of Alkap which included men dressing up as women, musicians singing songs and sexual connotations , is becoming extinct. It is replaced by Bengali film songs and women taking part in this form of performing art. The participants are divided to put forward arguments in support and against the social cause to communicate it to the people. However due to lack of interest and finance this art is rarely seen today.

ALKAP IN PROGRESS

2#  Gombhira which originated in the Nawabganj region is a another folk form of increasing social awareness through music and songs. It is distinct as it is performed by two males playing the role of a son and his maternal grandfather . Sometimes this art is also accompanied by masked dancers who enact the verses in the song.

MASKED DANCERS

GETTING READY FOR A PERFORMANCE

1#  Bhatiali are traditional boat songs which fishermen and boatmen sing while they are on their journey in the river. Bhatiali mostly deals with descriptions of Nature from those who are living in close harmony with nature. Influence of this form of music is found on the ghats of Brahmaputra in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

PAINTING OF BHATIALI SINGERS

These forms of art are becoming rare and extinct in contemporary times . Probably the instruments and technologies of modernism is to be blamed for this. With people remaining glued to television and cell phones, they neither have the time nor the interest to spare a thought about traditional art. There are a few heritage fairs in the city where performers from all parts of the State come in to showcase their talents; however, they have less audience and also the number of traditional groups that come in are decreasing year after year.The good news is many theatre groups, NGOs and private organisations are trying to revive these traditional art forms. It is a venture which I personally support and encourage everyone to support for tradition is a guide for a better future.

A Calcutta That Was. .

                                     “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we                                                                                             remember it.” 
                                                                                                    ― L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl

I begin today's post with such a quote as it is specially connected to what this post is going to be about. Today I write about memories forgotten by many and unknown to many . Kolkata as we now know it , which is home to many of us has turned so modern that many cannot visualize what Calcutta was like. Though I do find some remains of old Calcutta here and there and mostly in North Calcutta, much of what was, is lost to us. The buildings demolished, the mansions brought down to make multi-storey buildings and above all the people who knew the past are fading away quietly  burying with them the many secrets of Calcutta.

Unfortunately I myself have not ever had a chance to communicate with such people but the good point is that these scenes are captured by great artists in their works. These works would never die and remind us of our culture and heritage whenever we forget it . I still remember during one of my college breaks when I entered a famous bookstore in Park Street and while my friends were looking at books I was staring at some paintings of Old Calcutta. A  young man called for an attendant  and asked him about the paintings to which the attendant looked clueless. In fact he replied that no one ever buys those and they just lie there year after year gathering dust. I was amazed by the reply which the young man gave and that reply is one of the primary reasons I am writing this post today he said and I quote" I am most unfortunate to not have been able to see the beauty of Old Calcutta and I am just trying to discover and keep that fire alive in society". That day he stunned two people with his reply- the attendant and me as well.

Since then I have started my own research about paintings of Old Calcutta and I think it would be best that they tell their own stories rather than me describing them today. Though there are lots of copyright issues I have still managed to find some that will not put anyone in trouble.

Starting with the oldest, anyone who has ever read the history of Calcutta would know the Battle of Plassey.

This is a painting of one of the famous animal sports played during the Raaj. Armed men would be seated on top of elephants and begin their hunt to kill an animal. These were some of the atrocious animals sports played and I sometimes wonder whether they are one of the reasons that wildlife is becoming endangered and extinct today.

Up next two of the most renowned and famous temples of Kolkata- Dakhineshwar Temple (Above) and Kalighat (Below). Earlier one used to cross the Ganges on shared boats to reach the Dakhineshwar Temple but today the infrastructure is so developed that hardly one sees anyone coming there by boat. In fact the boats seen in the sketch of Kalighat are near extinct. If one is lucky one might get to see some of them parked at the Ganges Ghat.

If temples are found in Calcutta, churches are also no less. Considering that the British ruled over us for 200 years it is impossible that churches were not built. The Scottish Church (Above ) and St Peter's Church in Fort William (Below) are two of the oldest churches in Calcutta. However if one visits them today, one would not be able to imagine the difference between the paintings and reality.

These form three of my personal favorite paintings and sketches. The First painting (above) is a view of the Esplanade road from Chowringhee. Looking at the place today it is hard to imagine that horses roamed the very streets once.The next one (Middle) is a painting of Belvedere  House Alipore. Interestingly such old houses today are the hotspots of ghost stories . Whether these stories are true or just tales told by locals to scare away people for their own personal gains is yet to be discovered. The third (Below) , a pencil sketch of Victoria Memorial  by Samir Biswas would always remain etched in the minds of those who take one look at it.

Since this post deals with sketches and paintings it would not be fair if I do not add a painting of an art gallery. And lastly I end the post with two very popular traditional Bengali paintings. The first by Jamini Roy and the second depicting the famous Sindoor Khela during Durga Puja.

 Though much has changed today in terms of technology and infrastructure development, still I sense that “Sometimes. . . . the things I remember are more real than the things I see. ” 

  

The Walls of Kolkata . . . And Beyond

 I was walking down the street randomly looking , searching for an idea for my blog when I saw the walls around me . Something very familiar greeted me which I have seen in many places- Golfgreen, Jadavpur, Park Street etc. -these were nothing but graffiti's.  Many support it and many think it as vandalism .Personally, I think they are a means to beautify the worn out walls and provide colors to the otherwise dull streets and walls.It was this interest in graffiti and a search regarding it which made me befriend a well known graffiti artist in Kolkata. Hereon, my friend will be known by the name of Srek as most of the graffiti writers work under pseudonyms. They write their pseudonyms on falls to earn recognition or else charges of vandalism can be put up against them. They can truly be called "ghost writers".

Srek and his team have made numerous trips to various different lanes and by lanes of Kolkata and have created visually appealing graffiti which are recognized by their signature marks"Zypher".

This particular piece has been made in Lake gardens.The multi-coloured filling inside the alphabets spell out "ZYPHER". Underneath the signs of the artists have been made so that their identity can be retained.

Both these are a replication of my friends name. One (above ) made in Picnic Garden while the other one (below ) made in Sudder street. Having visited these places myself I can truly vouch for the fact that these break the monotony of the same brown -grey coloured walls cracking from different places and transforming the dullness into a masterpiece.

If you think that graffiti can only be done on walls and streets then it is a wrong notion. It can be done just about anywhere - even a truck. This particular truck was parked for a short time and within that time the graffiti magic was worked on to it to make it  look colourful in a manner one could never have imagined. This is what my friend calls as  The Truck Bombing in Lake Gardens.

PHOTO COURTSEY: SOVAN RAY AND SREK

While the young kids have different kinds of bags like Barbie bags and cartoon sketched bags, people going to college or carrying laptop bags have a dull blackish one, and even if it is not black it is always a monotone. But this monotone was broken by Srek again by actually painting  the bags. Mobile phone covers are also customized by doing graffitis of common superheros or cartoon characters.

In fact the wind of graffiti has also caught in other places. Recently, Srek was invited for the Graffiti jam in Delhi. The next one was created there.

Graffiti is now going global. Not many people are actually into this and those who are in it know each other through Social Media. A lot of sticker trade also goes on between different countries like Germany, Portugal, Spain, India and other places. Srek was recently invited as a guest to judge the Graffiti event in St James school as well.

 I must say about an year ago when I wrote an article on him and his group, Graffiti was evolving. It was despised by many and accepted by many. Today a year later I see a transformation in the attitude of the people. Many from the older generation actually support these groups when they come and work their magic. The Graffiti warehouse is where they meet , jam and plan out further events (details of which will not be revealed here though! ). It is great to see the people accepting it and actually supporting and promoting it. It is even a greater pleasure to see more and more youngsters, all school- college goers and some professionals  come together for regular graffiti jams hosted in the city.

On this note I wish all my luck to Srek and his team and all those involved in Graffiti for their wonderful endeavour in keeping it alive in the upcoming years. I will also acknowledge him and his team for the photographs .I end this post with two favourites of mine. The first one made in World Wide Battle for graffiti  and the second which literally means "Something done with a bang" 

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