Bahurupi: One Art, Varied Faces

one of the faces

You are at Poush Mela in Shantiniketan, wandering amongst the crowd, the winter sun on your back. You happen to glance right and find Lord Krishna – blue skinned, yellow robed and peacock feather in hair – walking alongside. Or maybe Shiva, fully attired in tiger skin, snake around neck and trident in hand. You smile and walk on, your feet scarcely pausing on the red earth. The "Bahurupi" too carries on and is soon lost in the crowd. It's not an uncommon sight in Shantiniketan at that time.

Bhola Maiti, a 40 years old Tarakeshwar based Bahurupi wakes up every day before sunrise and after taking his makeup and disguise he sets out by 6 o clock. Bhola is working as a Bahurupi for 6 years now. First he roams around the Tarakeshwar temple posing in front of the people, and then goes to nearby towns like Konnagar and Sreerampur. "This is my family tradition and I must continue this. My grandfather took up the profession more than a century ago in British period, and my father too followed him," said Maiti.

Bahurupis have been an integral part of Bengal's rich and vibrant folk culture for more than 200 years now. In literature too, there are numerous examples – Sreenath Bahurupi of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay being among the first that come to mind. "Today's Bahurupi is the result of evolution of Alkat Nach (Alkat dance- a folk dance of primitive Bengal) No wonder, Bengal's culture is moved by this form of art," says Mr. Sarbananda Chaudhuri, a research scholar at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark and Reader of Bengali department of Netaji Nagar College. Mythological characters from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and so on were brought to life by folk artistes in this manner, especially during fairs and festivals.

Bhola Maity

Kaach Nritya (Kaach Dance) is another primeval Bengali folk art; Kaach Nritya literally means 'Dance in disguise'. Small acts, ornamented with dance and song was the sole of this art form, and to make the mythological characters livelier, Kaach artists used various makeups and disguises. Like Bhola says "My ancestors used to perform in groups. They used to dance as well, as dance and acting was an integral part of this art. Now we perform individually."

The term Bahurupi is derived from Sanskrit, "bahu" meaning many and "rupi' meaning form. Through make-up and disguise, folk artistes assumed the forms of several hundred characters, ranging from demons to gods, doctors to holy men, and sometimes even animals. There was a time when Bahurupis used to go from door to door to reach out to people. And in lieu of their act, would be given gifts of food and clothes by the households. This wasn't charity or aid, but gifts in the strict sense of the term, given with great honour by the mistress of the house.

At times, the Bahurupis would also perform, by means of singing, dancing and acting. The acts were meant to entertain, educate and inform the audiences. The artistes took up stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, folktales of gods and goddesses, or even concocted tales of animals and birds. Now melas (fairs) are the place they earn their money from. "Durga Puja is the most important season for the people in our profession", commented Bhola.

Now with the arrival of various other forms of entertainment these forms of folk arts are losing the limelight. Modern culture and technological advancement have brought them tough competition.

Bhola- in his Disguise

Poverty, illiteracy are also the reason for vanishing these art forms. But, hope is always present even in the darkest abyss. Shibu Mandal, Bhola's guru (teacher) with his 25 disciples is not only proving the purity of the statement but also saving this art form from dying. "I learned this art from my ancestors but to learn any art you need a proper guru; Shibu Da has acted that part in my life", said Bhola. Ignoring every obstacle on their path people like Bhola and Shibu are fighting to death to preserve this vibrant art form. "I am very poor and what I earn is not enough for my family. I could have worked as a Grade-D worker, to earn more. But in my present profession I earn more honour than any other would have allowed", said Bhola with genuine pride in his voice.

Burdens turned into social assets: A Silent Touch

Bells, balls, stars made of paper pulp for Christmas

Tools and hammers lay scattered on the floor of the workshop. An annoying clang of metal and monotonous groan of chainsaws fill the air. Two artisans are engrossed in work, notwithstanding the deafening din. Their trance gets broken only when we step in. They greet us with a smile and communicate in sign language. Welcome to the silent realm of 'Silence'- an NGO for Deaf and Mutes. Subrata Majumder, Sharmila Bhattacharya and Samir Ray—three administrative workers of the organisation take us to the conference room away from the din. Ray narrates the origin and evolution of Silence.

He says, "It all began in 1975 when I was working at Geological Survey of India located beside the Indian Museum near Chowringhee. My nephew, a verbally challenged boy, had been studying in Government Art College, close to my office. He'd often drop in to meet me at the office along with a friend called Amal Bera, another mute artist of the college." Bera had formed an interesting group with other mute artists at his college. The strange group of talented young artists used to craft beautiful greetings cards as well as other artefacts. One day Ray happened to see those and was quite impressed by their artistry. silence made candles An enthused Bera requested Samir Ray to help them sell the artefacts. Then Ray requested one of his friends, Sujay Sreemal, a successful businessman to take over the project. "They were excellent artists but they'd no sense of marketing", reminisced Ray. As soon as Sreemal lent his marketing acumen multinational companies like ITC and Union Carbide started buying the artefacts in bulk. Since the companies had a policy not pay the artists individually they were asked to form an entity or organisation. They named themselves 'Silence' and were able to open a commercial bank account. Thus 'Silence' was born on April 11, 1979. In 1981, Samir Ray left the job at Geological Survey and joined 'Silence' as a full-time worker. "In those days I was paid a monthly salary of Rs500," said Ray. Now Silence has its handicraft shop at the porch of Dakshinapan market in southern Kolkata. They showcase their products such as greeting cards, scented candles. Now, after three decades the organisation earns nearly Rs 2 crore per year. "After keeping aside 10 per cent of the income for administrative purpose, we distribute the rest among the members of our organization", said Sharmila Bhattacharya. "Silence, is perhaps the only NGO in Kolkata, whose actual mission is to include the deaf-mute in the mainstream of the society; we don't want them to live out of charity". Today, various products made by these people, are exported all over the world. Now they also make furniture, jewellery and other mementos which are sold at a premium price. "Since packaging and designing is an important aspect of marketing, we have opened a separate packaging division", added Bhattyacharya. The sound of a ringing bell broke our discussion in the conference room. It was lunchtime at the Silence workshop. We could hear footsteps moving towards the cafetaria at the top floor. "It's lunch hour; we provide our students and workers a free meal", said Subroto Majumder. At the top floor, workers of started queuing in front of the food stall. The simple food, consisting of rice, dal (lentil soup) and vegetable curry were collected by the workers on their plates. The simple and fresh food was relished by these workers. workers of Silence "Unknowingly, what many people buy from various gift shops in Kolkata at a steep price is manufactured by these silent workers", added Chanchal Sengupta, coordinator of 'Silence' at the lunch table. "First we train them to perform various works like making candles, graphic designing, carpentry or jewellery making. After that we employ them in the production unit," he says. According to him, as their world of the deaf mute is devoid of sound, the ability to concentrate is better than 'normal' people. "They are good at doing repetitive work, and actually are more skilful than able-bodied workers", said Samir Ray. This is why what they produce through hard work is usually flawless. That Ray was not exaggerating became evident when we visited the 'product exhibition' room. The white, dull walls were reflecting bright vibrant colours of various beautiful creations. Candles, cards, Christmas trees, jewellery and other showpieces created the ambience of Christmas. 'Silence' exports these good all over the world. International buyers are very strict about quality, and even a tiny error can lead to the cancellation of a whole shipment. Hence we have to be doubly cautious while working on the export-quality goods", said Sengupta. No one ever expected that these people can work and sustain themselves. They were treated like burden in the society. But Silence has turned these 80 people from burden to assets of the society.