Exhibition on Bengal
“Where the mind is without fear
And the head is held high. Into that world of freedom…”
Yes, it is a world beyond the boundaries. Where there’s a sea of knowledge, culture and arts. And it would take us a lifetime to take you on that journey.
But in the spirit of a true Bengali, Bangamela 2008 will offer you a helping hand into this amazing world.
Bengal is well-known for its superb arts ad crafts made of silk, ivory, shola, conchshell, dhokra and beautiful clay models. Also worth-mentioning are Baluchari saris and the famous woollen carpets, blankets as well as knitted garments.
Vishnupur is famous for conchshell products as well as for Baluchari saris. Malda and Murshidabad take pride in silk materials while the latter can also boast of producing exquisite ivory items.
For clay model items, Krishnanagar is the place. The hilly areas of the State specialise in blankets and woollen knitted garments and ‘tanka’ paintings (scrolls), decorative kukris and copper plates studded with stones with engravings of replicas of deities.
Rightly called the cultural capital of India, Bengal is one of the most important cultural hubs of India. Marathi freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale famously said that, "What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow". All 5 Indian Noble Laureates have worked in West Bengal. It is the birthplace of India's only Nobel laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore. The world famous film director Satyajit Ray, the only Indian to have won an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, was also born here and has used canvas of Bengal to tell his story to the World. Apart from this, Bengal gave birth to innumerable well-known poets and writers who have enriched literature ceaselessly. Some prominent members include the above-mentioned Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Also from West Bengal are the famous Indian playback singer, Kishore Kumar , legendary actor Uttam Kumar as well as the world-famous sitarist Ravi Shankar.
Literature of Bengal
Bangla is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. With nearly 230 million native speakers, Bangla is one of the most popularly spoken languages in the world (it is ranked fourth in the world). It is the main language spoken in Bangladesh; in India, and ranked as the second most spoken language. Along with Assamese, it is geographically the most eastern of the Indo-Iranian languages. The journey of Bangla started with Charyapada written sometime between 8th and 9th century. The language referred to as “Alo- andhari” has transformed into the present form by numerous writers, poets and literary enthusiasts.. The modern age of Bangla literature and language has diversified into too many directions by diversified personalities like Buddhadev Basu, Annadasankar Ray, Premendra Mitra, Satyajit Ray, Abdul Rouf Choudhury, Shamsur rahaman, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Samaresh Basu, Sanjib Chattopadhayay, to name a few. In BM 2008, we will take a fresh look at this vast treasure of literature and try to understand its direction and its influence upon contemporary society, religion, economy and politics.
Bengal with its power, its force, its emotional appeal will be aptly represented in the exhibitions and various “adda” and “sahitys sabha” throught out the Bangamela 2008. Mela will bring home the power of tradition, hope, in the wonderful outpouring of many artistic souls who created those items. Here's the quiet, subversive power of creation, doing what it can, how it can, and now rightly celebrated at the centre of Columbus.