CRAFT & performing arts

Highlights

13
Arts

16
Crafts

12091
Artists

7658
Men

4433
Women

15
Hub

65
International Visit

100
Award

71
Village Festival

697
National Exposure

Flash

A 5-member Folks of Bengal music team will perform at Urkult Festival in Sweden on August 4, while two Madur artists from Bengal will conduct a workshop at the fest from 2 to 4 August.
An exhibition of Kantha Embroidery, Wooden Dolls, Sabai and Basketry at Sushila Birla Girls’ School, Kolkata, from 2 to 4 August. Time: 7:30 am to 2:45 pm. Entry restricted. Contact school authorities to visit.
Folk performance and handicraft demonstration at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on 15 April.
Bengali New Year celebration with Raibenshe performance and Chau dance at Biswa Bangla Haat on April 14 - 15, 2018.
25 Baul singers, Dokra & Patachitra artists are participating in cultural exchange with young students from US under Communities Connecting Heritage programme.
Chandan Shil and Sumanta Das Baul will perform Baul songs at Biswa Bangla Haat on April 7 - 8, 2018.
A four-member team of Baul singers and musicians will participate in a music festival in Britanny, France, from May 5 to 10, 2018.

Find arts and crafts

Crafts

Bamboo Works

Bamboo works and Basketry are among the most ancie..

Men - 209 | Women - 294

Dhokra

The weaving of Dhokra mats on back strap looms is..

Men - 0 | Women - 1957

Medinipur Patachitra

A traditional form of scroll painting.

Men - 156 | Women - 82

Pottery

The art of making clay products.

Men - 191 | Women - 138

Sholapith

Natural reed-based exquisite creations.

Men - 148 | Women - 23

Folk Instruments

Folk musical instruments are mostly hand-crafted.

Men - 158 | Women - 10

Madur

Madur is an integral element of Bengali lifestyle.

Terracotta

Terracotta horse symbolizes the artistic excellenc..

Clay Doll

Clay Dolls of Nadia are famous for their realistic..

Wooden Doll

Colourful Wooden Doll represents Bengal's rich han..

Kantha

Kantha is embroidered quilt known for its traditio..

Wooden Mask

Wooden masks are worn during Mukha Dance.

Sitalpati

Sitalpati is integrally linked with Bengali lifest..

Dokra

Dokra is age-old metal craft tradition of Bengal.

Chau Mask

Artists wear Chau masks for performing Chau dance.

Arts

Jhumur

Jhumur is an age-old music genre of indigenous com..

Men - 796 | Women - 261

Khon

Khon is a popular satirical folk drama of Uttar &..

Men - 131 | Women - 26

Mukha

Mukha Naach, locally known as Gomira dance or Pala..

Men - 74 | Women - 1

Raibenshe

Raibenshe is an acrobatic dance form.

Men - 287 | Women - 1

Baul and Fakiri

Baul and Fakiri music is a rich, vibrant and livin..

Men - 1038 | Women - 114

Bhatiyali

It is the boatman’s songs with long drawn notes.

Men - 57 | Women - 11

Bhawaiya

Bhawaiya is a genre of North Bengal folk songs.

Men - 1356 | Women - 926

Bonbibir Pala

Bonbibir Pala is a mythology-based local folk dram..

Men - 255 | Women - 119

Chau

Chau is a colourful, martial dance form of Purulia..

Men - 1973 | Women - 0

Darjeeling Folk Dance & Song

RCCH covers 16 indigenous hill communities.

Men - 456 | Women - 442

Domni

Domni is a satirical folk theatre of Malda.

Men - 142 | Women - 1

Puppetry

RCCH engages string puppeteers of Bengal.

Men - 179 | Women - 8

Purulia Patachitra

A traditional form of scroll painting.

Men - 52 | Women - 19

Events

14 Apr

Choit Parab will be celebrated at the heritage building “Galleria 1910” located at 7, Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata-700029 from April 13 to 14.

Choit Parab will be celebrated at the heritage building “Galleria 1910” located at 7, Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata-700029 from April 13 to 14.

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29 Dec

Festival Calendar 2019

Rural Craft & Cultural Hubs in Bengal organize their own annual Melas between winter and spring. Check out their Village Festival Calendar for 2018-19.

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09 Feb

Sur jahan 2019 Delhi

Sur jahan 2019 Delhi

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01 Feb

Sur Jahan 2019 Kolkata

Sur Jahan 2019 Kolkata

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06 Feb

Sur jahan 2019 Goa

Sur jahan 2019 Goa

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18 Jan

Explore the world of woodcraft at Wooden Doll Mela in Natungram from 18 to 20 January.

Explore the world of woodcraft at Wooden Doll Mela in Natungram from 18 to 20 January.

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16 Dec

Welcome to Darjeeling Hills Folk Festival in Kolkata at Rabindratirtha in New Town.

Experience the colourful songs and dances of Darjeeling at Rabindratirtha, New Town on December 15 - 16, 2018 at 6 pm to 7.30 pm.

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28 Dec

Bengal's biggest Chau-Jhumur music & dance festival begins at Bamnia in Purulia on December 22 - 28, 2018

Bengal's biggest Chau-Jhumur music & dance festival begins at Bamnia in Purulia on December 22 - 28, 2018

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28 Dec

Celebrate the year-end with Sunderbans Utsav at Pakhiralaya, Gosaba.

Celebrate the year-end with Sunderbans Utsav at Pakhiralaya, Gosaba from Dec 28 - 30, 2018

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14 Dec

Three-day Chau Mask festival at Charida in Purulia begins on December 14

Three-day Chau Mask festival at Charida in Purulia from December 14 to December 16, 2018.

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02 Aug

An exhibition of Kantha Embroidery, Wooden Dolls, Sabai and Basketry to promote Bengal’s folk arts and crafts among students at Sushila Birla Girls’ School, Kolkata, from 2 to 4 August. Time: 7:30 am to 2:45 pm. Entry restricted. Contact school authorities to visit.

An exhibition of Kantha Embroidery, Wooden Dolls, Sabai and Basketry to promote Bengal’s folk arts and crafts among students at Sushila Birla Girls’ School, Kolkata, from 2 to 4 August. Time: 7:30 am to 2:45 pm. Entry restricted. Contact school authorities to visit.

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04 Aug

A 5-member Folks of Bengal music team will perform at Urkult Festival in Sweden on August 4, while two Madur artists from Bengal will conduct a workshop at the fest from 2 to 4 August.

A 5-member Folks of Bengal music team will perform at Urkult Festival in Sweden on August 4, while two Madur artists from Bengal will conduct a workshop at the fest from 2 to 4 August.

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30 May

Patachitra Presentation by Swarna Chitrakar at 7th General Assembly of UNESCO on 4 - 5 June, 2018 in Paris

Patachitra Presentation on 4-5 June, 2018 at UNESCO, Paris

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30 Mar

Festival Calender

Festival Calendar

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Publication

CD

TARAK KHYAPA

Tarak Das baul aka Tarak Khyapa is one of the leading Baul who recently passed away. He was widely appreciated for his performing skills by audience in India and abroad. He set up his own Ashrama which is a platform for spreading Baul music and Philosophy. This album includes 10 songs sung by Tarak Khyapa and his sons Sadhu and Kangal.

Baul 6th album

This volume of 36 Baul songs presented by 8 traditional Baul artists.

Baul 5th album

This volume of 33 Baul songs presented by 17 traditional Baul artists.

Baul 4th album

This volume of 30 Baul songs are presented by 17 traditional Baul artists.

Baul 3rd album

This volume of 32 Baul songs are presented by 17 traditional Baul artists.

Baul 2nd album

As part of the RCCH project, 248 Baul-Fakiri songs were field recorded, of which 193 songs rendered by 99 artists of Birbhum, Bardhaman, Bankura, Nadia and Murshidabad are being released by MusiCal in 6 volumes. This volume of 31 songs presented by 15 traditional artists is part of that compilation.

Baul 1st album

This album presents the music of Baul & Fakirs - the Mystic Minstrels of Bengal. Their songs and dance reflect the joy, love and longing for a spritual union with the Divine. They propound renouncing all earthly attachments and the barriers of caste, creed and religion to achieve this.. This volume of 31 songs presented by 15 traditional artists is part of that compilation.

Bhaber Bhawaiya

Bhawaiya, a folk music of North Bengal, is performed primarily in the Rajbangshi dialect of Bengali, and reflects the experience and emotions of rural people - occupations, joy, sorrow and harmony with nature. This album presents 10 Bhawiya songs presented by three prominent artists of recent times namely Nazrul Islam, Himadri Dewri and Prodyut Roy.

Bhabnadir Bhawaiya Vol 1

Bhawaiya, a genre of North Bengal folk music, is performed primarily in the Rajbangshi dialect of Bengali and reflects the experiences of rural life - occupations, joys, sorrows and harmony with nature. Common professions depicted in Bhawaiya are the mahout (Elephant handler), mohishal ( buffalo handler), rakhal (cowherd), boidal (bull cart driver), garial (Cow cart driver), hallooa (cultivator) and Vuinira (weed cleaner of the crop fields). Common life issues like relations between men and women, spIrituality, desire for affection, pain of love et al, nature, especially birds and rivers, are part & parcel of Bhawaiya folk music.

Bhabnadir Bhawaiya Vol 2

This album is a compilation of 32 Bhawaiya songs rendered by 31 artists

Bhabnadir Bhawaiya Vol 3

As a part of RCCH Project where 198 songs were field recorded of which music CDs of 130 songs rendered by 78 artists of Alipurduar and Cooch Behar were released in 4 volumes. This volume of 32 songs is a part of this compilation.

Bhabnadir Bhawaiya Vol 4

This album presents Bhawaiya, a folk music of North Bengal. This volume is a compilation of 33 songs sung by 29 artists.

Books

Jhumur Katha

This book is a brief history of Jhumur songs in Bengal, and it also contains a large collection of Jhumur songs. Notation of some popular Jhumur songs are also given in this book.

Dekhe Elam Chau

This is another one of our graphic story books and it is about Chau, an acrobatic and martial performing art practiced in West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.

Aaj o ache Raibenshe

This is a first-of-its-kind graphic book, to popularize Bengal's performing folk traditions among children and youngsters. Raibenshe is an acrobatic and martial performance that is being revived.

Banglay Qawwali - A brief history of Bengali Qawwali.

The tradition of Qawwali songs in Bengal is lesser known but rich. This book puts light on the advent of Qawwalli songs in Bengal and its development.

Sahaj Geeti

Sahaj Geeti is a pioneering effort to compile popular as well as lesser known Baul and Fakiri songs of Bengal. Over 1000 Baul and Fakiri songs have been compiled in this book.

Films

Rural Craft and Cultural Hubs 2018

Introduction to rich cultural heritage of rural Bengal

Documentary on Bhawaiya Music

Cultural tourism in Darjeeling

Documentary on Different Folk Forms of Darjeeling

Video documentation of basketry weaving

Video documentation of Dhokra weaving

Folk art center

Sitalpati Folk Art Centre at Ghughumari in Cooch Behar.

Folk Art Centre at Kushmandi in Dakshin Dinajpur – Wooden Mask & Mukha dance hub.

Folk Art Centre at Pingla in Paschim Medinipur – a Medinipur Patachitra hub.

Dokra Folk Art Centre at Bikna, Bankura.

Chau mask Folk Art Centre at Charida, Purulia.

Dokra Folk Art Centre at Dariyapur, Bardhaman.

Wooden Doll Folk Art Centre in Natungram, Bardhaman.

Folk Art Centres at the hubs serve as community centres for practising the art and promoting cultural tourism, including heritage tourism. These centres have permanent exhibitions of the local art and craft genres. They also offer accommodation and local cuisine, on request, for visitors.