Humour in art has always been a notoriously difficult theme to tackle. The popular notion seems to be that if it makes you laugh, it is not art. At The Bengal Store, however, we beg to differ, and our ‘Humour Ink’ range ought to tell you
What had Ramkinkar Baij to do with politics and democracy? Well, a lot. He not just roamed through rural Bengal, interacting with the ‘sons of the soil,’ and then turning their toils into masterpieces of art, but was also an opinionated person, who often wrote
The humble grass that we trample every day can be turned into exclusive and exquisite export items! Well at least women artisans of Bengal’s tribal belt, from remote Bandwan to Jhargram, have proved so through their deft and artistic eye. From a simple grass sophisticated
Patachitra is one of the rarest ancient art forms of Bengal that depicts a strong narrative along the lines of mythologies and folk tales. These are traditional cloth scrolls with paintings that have been prevalent in Eastern India for centuries. Kalighat Patachitra has a definite
In ancient times, the region that constitutes Birbhum now, was part of Rarh region (land of red and laterite soil) and a fringe area was in Vajrabhoomi (land of the thunderbolt), which was the eastern part of Chhotanagpur Plateau. It was in 1798 when the British formally set up Birbhum
The Ivory and Wood craft industry dates back to the time when the Nawabs of Bengal had their court at Murshidabad. As this industry was fully dependent for its prosperity on the support of a luxurious court and wealthy noblemen, it had to face a crisis
Here’s a village tucked in a quaint corner of Pingla, Paschim Midnapur where even a two-year old holds on to a paintbrush even before they learn to walk properly. This is the Artist Village of Bengal where every house is looks like a painter’s open
Remember that scene from Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk, where the globe trotting uncle is treated to Goyna Bori after he returns home decades later? Ray probably used this particular food item, like he had also done with Bengali Shukto in his Feluda stories, to stamp upon the quintessential Bangaliyana. For there are
If rural Bengal has been practising alpona designing for decades, they have their roots in the first civilisation of India --- Indus Valley Civilisation. Parallel in motifs seen on pots and vases of Mohenjodaro and Harappa made historians and archaelogists believe Bengal’s alpona art has
Throughout the month of Poush or (December - January) in Bengal, a festival called Tushu worship is held that needs folk items called Tusu khola which is made up of a row of lamps set on a broad rim of an earthen pot. The total