Tag: Folk art & Folklores

Folk art is an expression of the world’s traditional cultures. It is made by individuals whose creative skills convey their community’s authentic cultural identity, rather than an individual or idiosyncratic artistic identity.

Culture

Chhau Dance & Paryavaran Mela in Ranchi

We went to the Paryavaran Mela in Ranchi and saw a lovely Chhau dance in the evening. Chhau binds together people from different social strata and ethnic backgrounds with diverse social practices, beliefs, professions, and languages. This semi-classical dance form originated at the royal court of Saraikela, now in Jharkhand. However, increasing industrialization, economic pressures, and new media are leading to a decrease in collective participation with communities becoming disconnected from their roots. Continue reading Chhau Dance & Paryavaran Mela in Ranchi

Judhajit Roychoudhury10 Comments
Culture

Bahurupi | Dying Folk Culture of Bengal

A Bahurupi is a street performer, dressed up in various characters in different times and it is considered one of the ancient professions. For most performances, there is a story structured into the persona of the performer himself within his make-up, costume and role. Historically, these bohurupis would dress up as Hindu gods, goddesses, or mythical characters like Ram, Shiva, Kali, and so on and perform in front of Kings and zamindars. My first encounter with a bahurupi happened through one such immensely popular literary work titled Srikanta by ‘Katha shilpi’ Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Continue reading Bahurupi | Dying Folk Culture of Bengal

Indrajit RoyChoudhury17 Comments
History

Mukhosh | Masks of Bengal

I was travelling to Ranchi from Kolkata. I saw traditional Bengali masks were being displayed at the departure terminal of the Kolkata airport. It’s a nice way to promote the ancient craft of mask-making in Bengal. Throughout the world, masks are used for their expressive power as a feature of masked performance — both ritually and in various theatre traditions. Continue reading Mukhosh | Masks of Bengal

Indrajit RoyChoudhury18 Comments
History

Cosmogonic myths of Kolarians

The Kolarian tribes are believed to be one of the earliest settlers in the Indian subcontinent. Kolarians are Austroasiatic speakers. Genetic studies of Austroasiatic speakers suggest that the Austroasiatic language family may have arisen in India and spread east. Santhals, Mundas are two major Kolarian tribes. A myth may be defined as a story that serves to connect individuals to their cultures and to explain natural and supernatural phenomena, including the creation of the world and the origin of humans. Continue reading Cosmogonic myths of Kolarians

Indrajit RoyChoudhury23 Comments
Culture

Sohrai | Unique Indian Harvest & Art Festival

Sohrai is a winter harvest festival and one of the most important festivals of santhals in Jharkhand and West Bengal. It is mainly celebrated at the beginning of winter harvest, when the paddy has ripened, on the new moon day of the Bengali month of Kartik, coinciding with Diwali or Kali puja, in the month of October-November. Continue reading Sohrai | Unique Indian Harvest & Art Festival

Indrajit RoyChoudhury33 Comments