It is rare to find crafts from West Bengal in Goa
and visiting Kolkata to pick up an exquisite piece
of Dokra is not always feasible. But come April
13, 2015, dropping in at Kala Academy, Panjim
is all you need to do to experience the creative
treasures of West Bengal as Banglanatak dot com
will be organising the first edition of Baisakhi Mela
from April 13 to 16, 2015. The festival will see ten
communities of artisans presenting their works
under one roof.
Sayantani Raychaudhuri, Managing Committee
member of banglanatak dot com, says, “Baisakhi is
a special festival celebrated by the entire country.
Since Goa is a place which is open to different
cultures, we decided to bring this festival here.
Through Baisakhi Mela, we will be able to bring
artists from the East of India to Goa. It binds the
tangible connect between East and West of India.”
She further adds, “The Baisakhi Mela will be
representing ten rural crafts and as the Bengal
handicrafts industry is not that big, the efforts of these
artisans should be encouraged. These are traditional
skills which have been with these communities for
years. This is a concentrated effort to unleash the
potential of the artists from West Bengal.”
The artisans who will be visiting Craft Mela
will include craftsmen from Cooch Behar who
will display Sitalpati, a woven mat, Birbhum will
display garments with a special stitching method
using Kantha Stitch, Nadia will showcase clay dolls
while Bardhaman craftsmen will bring wooden
dolls and Dokra, metal sculptures. Bankura artisans
will also display Dokra and terracotta items at the
exhibition. Artisans from Purulia will display the
famous Chau mask which is also imbibed into a
folk dance, Chau Dance. Patachitra are traditional,
cloth-based scroll paintings which has stories from
the Ramayan and Mahabaratha and will be brought
in by the artists from West Midnapore while East
Midnapore will show their skills in Madurkathi, a
famous tradition of grass work. South Dinajpur
will display Mukha, wooden masks. Besides West
Bengal, there will be artists from Bihar bringing
Madhubani paintings to the fore.
“These artists are coming to Goa for the first
time and it will be wonderful for them to get
the required exposure. We wanted to present
something different with regards to art and craft
for the people of Goa,” says Nandolal Amhato, who
is handling the project in Goa along with Konkan
Jyoti Kargoria.
“There will be two members of each of the
community hubs that will be representing the
200-300 members of the community. They will
learn first-hand how well their handicrafts are
being appreciated by the Goan community and
they will return to their village with the feedback,
encouraging the rest of the community to give their
best,” says Sayantani.
The musical evening on April 15, 2015 will
comprise an amalgamation of Goan and Bengali
sounds. The evening will be inaugurated at 5.30pm
followed by a performance of Bhawaiya Music.
Elvis Lobo will then take the stage with Elvis
Lobo Project for an hour. Telengana will present
their music followed by Talking Drums by Carlos
Gonsalves and Elvis Lobo and later Bangla Qawwali
will be presented by Nur Alam and group. The
highlight of the evening will be the Bengal Goa
Collaborative music at 9pm.
The Mela, which includes the exhibition cum
sale, will be open throughout the day from April 13
to 16, 2015 at Kala Academy, Campal-Panjim.
