Sanatan Dinda

CONVENOR’S NOTE 2020

A narrow aisle, some abundant open spaces, and a parking space for some rickshaws, bikes, and bicycles adjacent to 14 number Bus terminus, Behala. This is one of the most happening Square in the daily lives of the number of known and unknown faces of local people and passer-byes. A few folks Of Behala Nutan Sangha from this generation decided to do Behala art fest in this limited area. I, as a practicing artist with the families of these young folks, started to help them in their course. We did quite a brainstorming to settle down. It went on and on. We all agreed that our art fest would be more like public art for this specific site. It has to be a democratic process, as we believe in inclusion. Now one can bombard with many questions of what the exact terms mean. We are somehow ready to answer them as we are also learning in this process. Public art doesn’t tell that people come and see the works by the artists, enjoy the festival and the food court and take some selfies and go home. We could sense that the connection between art and the public was missing. Where is the participation of the people? How far can they express themselves democratically through art and change their perception in the way? We do not want to make a white cube in these narrow alleys and display paintings, sculptures, or photography?

So what do we want? Do we only want to paint throughout the alleys or the high-rises or the area’s roads and make an art fest out of it? Not really; we want to focus on the daily lives of the local people. Connecting through art is our motto. The long history of Behala, this area is not very far from Sundarbans’ rivers and canals, the people who live around and make their living from that area, the problems of the dangerous vipers, the fear and the respect to a subaltern deity called Manasa, And Chand Bonik’s never-ending fight, cunning Manasa and her attempts to be worshipped by the elite class from port to port and Behula. NachniBehula fought endlessly to defend her family.

Behala derived from Behula; is it only a story?
One can find the proof in the writings. The vicious canals which led Behula and her beloved dead husband to Indrasabha are only in the memories as civilization has grown over time. The whole narrative is pressed under the fashionable lifestyle. No one can deny the fact that glitz and glam are essential to the pride of the human race. In that way, we are also destroying our natural resources. The loudness around us is baffling. This resonance prevails in our minds so much that it makes us forget anything sensible. Feeble is our consciousness. Let’s dive into the history of this place. Revisit the past and present the unknown in a finite space.