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Every autumn, West Bengal and the states in its neighbourhood wear an air of community celebration and pageantry. Devotees welcome Goddess Durga who is believed to leave her home in the Himalayas to spend a few days in her parents’ home in the plains of Bengal. Though the festivities span over five days, preparations for the Puja commence months in advance. If one has to understand the kind of back-breaking labour that goes into preparing for the festival, some of the best people to ask would be the clay modelers (Pals) from Kumartuli, North Kolkata who tirelessly produce some of the finest samples of idol making, year after year.

 

 

This autumn, I tried to understand the life and work of one such artisan, Ajoy Pal, who had been hired by 12 Puja committees of my hometown, Jamshedpur. Pal has been assisting his father since he was 13. Now aged 45, he dropped out of school in Class 8 and has been making the annual autumnal trip to Jamshedpur ever since. Shy and initially reluctant to interact, he starts conversing by first explaining to me the arduous process of idol making in the traditional Kumartuli style. First, bamboo sticks are used to make the skeletal structure of the idol, followed by giving shape to the idol using jute ropes and straw. In the second stage, a clay solution with an adequately high percentage of water is used to fill the crevices of the straw structure. Palms, head and feet of the idol are separately moulded by the highest graded Pal, Ajoy being one of them. After these parts are fixed to the main figurine, another layer of clay (this time very fine and without any impurities) is applied with a soft cloth to prevent cracks in the idol once it dries. The image is then painted, either with oil paints or water colours, depending on the humidity. The main artist then paints the eyes and sticks the jute hair. The idol is dressed and ornamented, and made ready to be taken to respective pandals for worship. All these preparations generally begin in March-April each year.

 

 

I enquire about where he sources the materials from. Ajoy says,“ The fundamental rule to be followed is that all the core materials should come from the river.. the sandy soil, clay, etc. However, this ritual is hard to follow at all times. The jewellery and sarees are sourced from Shovabazar, while the bamboo, jute and straw come from our traditional supplier in Purulia.” Pal explains another crucial aspect of arranging the raw materials. “Dust from beneath the feet of a prostitute is mixed with the clay used for making the idol. People differ as to why this tradition is followed. But I believe it signifies the fact that even those who are despised from society and live along its fringes are invited for the festivities.”

 

 

Though clay-modellers from Kumartuli belong to the purist school of idol-making but artisans have bent rules to cater to particular needs of Puja committees. Given an option, Ajoy still prefers the traditional fashion wherein the Goddess is placed on a single platform with her children, but Puja associations coax medellers to flirt with traditions and create idols on separate platforms for ease of transportation. For the first time in 2001, Ajoy’s group made an idol that could be dismantled. This was done for a client in New Jersey. In fact, these days idols are decorated from a whole plethora of materials- chalk pieces, buttons, coins, matchsticks etc.

 

 

So would Ajoy like his children to tread on his footsteps. “No”, comes the quick reply. “I’m nobody to stop them from taking up the traditional family craft, but if I could influence their career choices, I’d dissuade them from following me.” He explains that the conditions of idol-modellers all across the country is rather unenviable. Unlike in earlier times when artists were patronized by kings, famous families, businessmen etc., conditions today are not conducive for a artisan to earn comfortably by depending on his craft. Puja committees haggle incessantly and pay them paltry sums (sometimes just Rs.10000 for a single set of Durga and her children), there is space constraint and material costs are rising. He gives me a sample, “100 quintals of riverbed clay cost around Rs. 750-800 just two years back, but stands at Rs. 1500 this year, chiefly due to reclamation of riverbed land for real estate development along the Hoogly. Are we being compensated by puja committees for bearing these insanely high costs? Is the government subsidizing our expenses? How do I ask my children to follow in my footsteps?”

 

 

With a week for the Pujas to commence, I ask Pal where he sees himself 10 days down the line. Thoughtfully he responds, “My karma is to enable the community to have five days of unadulterated joy by gifting them a part of my craft. By since you’ve asked…perhaps scouting for employment-as an electrician, plumber, locksmith- to support my family and myself for the rest of the year.” (I met Ajoy Pal on the 10th of October this year.)

 

This article is a tribute to the craftsmen of Kumartuli- the men who create God.

Student: Sourovi De

A fool, a disappointment, and a failure he was labeled. And none were surprised. Never were there any cries for help, nor were there tears of shame and guilt, but it showed. It showed on his face and on the face of many in the court who had to face the consequences of his actions, for that what he did was nothing but a shameful reminder of the man he has become. He himself was now only a distant memory of the person he was meant to be, supposed to be.

Will, or William the VII, was the once much adored prince, and the son to king Alexander, of the great Prussian empire, an empire so esteemed and feared at the same time by its many subjects, allies and enemies. Words of its greatness reached ears all over the four lands of the world. People travelled for months to be a part of this Prussian empire, to experience the life only a country as great as this one, could give. It was a true medieval portrayal of the mythical land of Eden. Gold, jewels, coins and possessions held equal importance as love, respect and glory to its people and rulers. It was a land where God himself would have stepped upon to live and to celebrate his many gifts to the world. But it was a land where life was celebrated not in peace, but in battles, victories and above all, glory.

No true greatness could come without bearing the costs of waging wars and leading battles to even the people you once loved and cared for, and this empire was no different. Allies turn against you, for success prompts hope, and with hope comes the promise of glory. A glory that few achieve, yet all pursue. This pursuit for glory was what led to the battle of the legendary battle of the Bloodstone Valley. A battle fought between Prussia and their onceloved Georgia. It was an imprudent attempt on the part of the Georgian emperors to wage a war on Prussia, yet the smell of success and hope for glory led them to stab their own ally. It wasn’t a feeble attempt, and it showed. King Alexander was all but defeated at the hands of the traitors, as they were to be labeled. Arin, the king of Georgia and the well-known schemer of great sieges had led another great battle. Arin knew that the vast number of archers and cannons in the Prussian empire held no importance in the shallow valley of Bloodstone, for it was ceiled by the low rocks that would render the archers and cannons useless. They could have been useful only if they could get closer to their enemy without getting attacked. But given the power and skill of swords Georgia had at their disposal, they looked frail. But it was the valiance and intelligence of Will that led them to the win they deserved. It was his counter-plan, his swift execution of it that led Prussia out of one of the worst defeats they would have ever faced.

This great win, twelve years ago, seemed like a distant memory. These twelve years had changed a lot in Will. Many thought that maybe the smell of glory got to him too, for he was never the celebrated warrior and the valiant fighter he once was. And this day could just be the final blow in the already shaken reputation of the fallen prince. He had led three jesters into the king’s court. On his many requests, the king listened and gave them the chance to perform and be a part of the biggest gathering the country ever sees. Things didn’t exactly go as Will planned, for he wanted to get his father’s ears back. It turned out one of the jesters 57 was a man sent from the long known enemy-state of Dorth. He had with him a device, a device so small yet so powerful it blasted through a 100 yards of men, stone and steel. Hundreds in the court died, including the great king Alexander. I was a matter of shame that he had to die not at the hands of a great warrior, not by sword or arrow, but by a cheap trick from the wicked men of Dorth. And the blame was to fall to Will, who couldn’t judge the man for who he wasor could have the enterprise to do a proper check on the man before allowing him such royal access.

The kingdom reeled, but it was William who faced the consequences of his own actions the most. He couldn’t believe what he just did. How rash he had been. And being the one the kingdom would now fall to, he couldn’t have been more anxious. But it moved something in him. He realized he had been missing that motivation, that fire of vengeance and that will to make himself the man he was supposed to be. In his horrendous mistake, he realized he wasn’t looking at the world the right way. It wasn’t the world he was supposed to coast through, for the responsibilities on his shoulders were far too much. He yet couldn’t show the people around him, but he knew that it was this blow that would finally become the savior of him. He just might be able to turn around and rectify all the mistakes he once made. That he just might be able to carry and build upon the glories his forefathers achieved. So there stood a new king, the fallen prince, nigh the throne of the greatest empire the world saw, yet a king the empire looked down upon, a king who would have to prove his worth to the world. But would he? Only time could tell.

Student: Palash Siddamsettiwar

汉服：文化的传承
随着当今城市化的兴起，越来越多的人们逐渐有了新的生活方式但也与传统文化渐行渐远。在年青一代的口中，充斥着高端的游戏，奢华的服饰，关于文化的声音仿佛藏匿在心里的一个的角落无法释放。作为一个有着五千余年历史的古国，无数瑰宝诞生在历史长河中，汉服就是其中最璀璨的瑰宝之一。
纵观汉服的发展，自周朝定型，春秋战国的百花齐放，汉服不在限于一种服装的形式更是一种文化的象征，深衣、胡服呈现了春秋战国的历史，还包含了中华文明“礼”的文化。随着朝代的更迭，汉服在不同阶段蕴含了不同的意义，汉代的庄重典雅、魏晋时期的清秀洒脱、唐朝的俏丽以及宋朝的简朴无不完美的呈现出那一段段历史长河。虽然汉服在清朝时期遭到了打击，以及经历了艰苦战争时期，但幸运的是，在当今这个高速发展的时代，人们逐渐意识到了汉服，传统文化的重要性，尤其在年轻人之中，汉服不再被投以怀疑的目光，并且人们自信于传播传统文化。在许久以前，一部分人经常给予汉服奇装异服的评价，也引起了许多人的质问“为什么日本人穿和服会被理性对待，为什么国人穿自己的传统服饰会被说奇装异服？”。这也恰巧体现出了传统文化在传承中与当今时代发生一些差异，文化的复兴及传承需要理智的，坚持不懈的努力。从汉服运动的兴起，民间人士王乐天先生身着汉服走在街头到汉服贴吧的论坛破万，以及06年汉服被第一次与传统节日相结合参与社会活动至歌曲的创作、海外的影响，到最终官方的认可、奥运会的出席，汉服逐渐找回了属于它的辉煌。15年4月，中国汉服博物馆在青岛成立，在同年，河北美术学院的毕业学生与领导着汉服齐聚毕业典礼，汉服的影响力也扩散在不同领域。最幸运的事，汉服，这个经历了千年的瑰宝被列入了非物质文化遗产，这也寓意着汉服将会延续它的生命，被美好的传承下去。
需要承认的说，随着时代的变化，更符合当今生活的服饰被研发出来，这也导致与众不同意见的碰撞，与否改全面恢复汉服还是让汉服与当今休闲的服装结合起来。我觉得，纵观历史，万物都在不同时期发生着变化，与时代相融合。汉服，我们应取其精华、去其糟粕，与时代相结合，不能盲目的传承及发展。汉服最终可以与当代服装相融合，而不是水火不相容，这需要所有人一起努力，把文化融洽的传承。

你陈吉