Traditional villages of Bengal get their own Folk Art Centres

Since 2013, Government of West Bengal’s Department of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises & Textiles took the initiative of setting up 10 Rural Craft Hubs in West Bengal with the vision of unleashing the potential of the handicraft sector for socio-economic development in the state. 10 Rural Craft Hubs were developed across the state which led to substantial improvement of the targeted outcomes. But, more importantly it led to holistic development and overall happiness amongst the targeted communities.

In 2016, armed with new business linkages, confidence, the traditional artist communities from the Rural Craft Hubs of Sitalpati in Ghughumari, Cooch Behar, Wooden Mask in Kushmandi, Dakshin Dinajpur, Wooden Doll in Natungram, Bardhaman, Dokra in Dariyapur, Bardhaman and Bikna, Bankura and Patachitra in Pingla, Paschim Medinipur. These Folk Art Centres have been built with the support West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board on land provided by the community which are now owned and managed by the artists’ collectives. These centers are envisioned as a multipurpose building which on one hand work as a common workspace for the community which doubles up as a space that for display of their artifacts. These are a comprehensive selection of artifacts and vivid information about the origin and evolution of the tradition.

With the arts flourishing, the regions are emerging as destinations of touristic interest. The Folk Art Centers have accommodation facilities for the visitors to stay at a modest price payable to the community. These allow the visitors to be amongst the community and enjoy their traditions in the context of their lifestyle, as the truly living heritages that they are. Guests can appreciate the display along with documentaries on the craft and their making process or spend time browsing through the literature.

These Folk Art Centres may in near future demonstrate best practices for community museums compelling the world to sit up and take notice. For the already happy communities with rejuvenated pride in their own traditions, this will give them further more reasons to rejoice and be proud.

Comments

Village Festivals: Celebrating Traditions

Village Melas are the annual festivals of artist villages that work with indigenous art and craft forms. In interest of the artist communities , the melas have been significant in strengthening identity of the traditional artist communities and alongside have been operative in creating market linkages for the art. These melas were initiated as resourceful interacting platforms for artists , visitors and the market . Apart from that the melas also staged for the implementation of social changes within the communities of the artists. Initially these festivals were started to familiarize outsiders with the artist identity and legitimize artists pride conforming the knowledge of the art and craft forms. Eventually the melas became grounds for community development as not only outsiders, but also nearby villages started to acknowledge the abilities of the artists and appreciating the art forms. This year the Melas were quite successful, some of them like...

Leaf 'n' Grass, an Exhibition, Sale and Demonstration of Eco Friendly Handmade Products of Bengal

Leaf ‘n’ Grass Echoes Message of a Greener and Better World Going Green isn’t about a product, it is about a process. It is an ephemeral phenomenon that requires one to become friendly to nature and in the process, friendly to oneself. It involves exploring the intricate details of God’s creations, and using that knowledge of protects them. The words of Robert Swan more than fit in here, “The Greatest Threat to Our Planet is the Belief that someone else Will Save it” Eco friendly or Green products are a manifestation of our distant dream to do away with carbon footprints. Their production, use and disposal does nothing or very little to damage the environment. Naturally, the embrace of such a potential ‘Green Economy’ has created a demand of ‘Green Skills’. Go Green Mission , launched in December 2015, aims to leverage this global trend to promote handicrafts of West Bengal supporting the large craft fraternity of West Bengal, sustain their green skills, and promote a g...

Nepal Mahato

After Gambhir Singh Murah the next legendary chau persona was Nepal Mahato . Besides being an Chau artist he was also a Guru. He played a massive role in spreading Chau worldwide. He was born in the Abadan village of Purulia on 17th June 1954. Nagendra Mahato and Tushtha Mahato were his parents. He showed his competency in all the three traditional Chau forms; Purulia, Mayurbhanj and Seraikella. His initial exposure to Chau Dance was at a very early age when he was in the sixth standard in Shikshashatra High school. His first guru was Anil Mahato. He had a vast range of interest ranging from Jhumur song, Nachni Dance and cock fighting. He loved to play football but his love for Chau was beyond everything else which led him to his destiny. Nepal Mahato passed his school final examination in 1993. During his academic years in Shikshashatra his cultural talents became exposed in front of the eyes of Secretary Ajit Mitra and Dulal Chowdhury. Under the patronage of...

banglanatak dot com

Search This Blog