Old manuscripts, black-and-white photographs, lithographs, woodcuts, needlework, porcelain figurines, matchbox labels and furniture — all from the early 19th to 20th century — give us an essence of what Calcutta used to be.
Calcutta Memorabilia, an exhibition presented by Intach, Calcutta chapter, in the Durbar Hall of the Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH), displays collectors’ items from a bygone era that speak to the audience of today giving a visual representation of the city.
“Calcutta Memorabilia is one of the first in a series of exhibitions that we have planned for the year in the Durbar Hall,” said VMH secretary and curator Samarendra Kumar.
“This space will be dedicated to holding temporary exhibitions that will interest our audience.”
On display are large and small needlework by the womenfolk of Thakurbadi. In an artwork by Kumudini, Abanindranath Tagore’s sister, Narasimha and other gods are depicted in neat stitches of coloured threads. Her letter to Gunendranath Tagore speaks of how the young Abanindranath has turned out to be a naughty boy.
Along with Kumudini’s works is artist-sculptor Meera Mukherjee’s threadwork of Makarvahini Ganga and other mythical figures.
Most of the needlework is a running stitch that brings out the figures and the surroundings neatly.
Leela Mazumdar, too, was proficient with the needle as her needlework of a large man and woman shows. A manuscript of Mazumdar, along with Ashapurna Devi’s nine-page manuscript of Mriduvasini, is on display. Also on display is a signed legal document of Cossimbazar’s Rani Swarnamoyee Devi.
A profile of Abanindranath stitched by Sunayani Debi is remarkable. Collector Jayanta Ghose said: “The profile was sketched by Satyajit Ray and Sunayani Debi embroidered it.”
Another interesting piece is Uma Devi’s paper collage on Japanese silk. The work was done when Abanindranath was doing Katum Kutum, experimenting with scraps of paper to make art.
Large, colourful cross-stitch works depicting Radha-Krishna and Kaliadaman provide insight into women’s enterprise in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the genre of popular art, on display are matchbox labels, some rather large. A series on women in matchbox labels, part of Gopal Biswas’s collection, provides an interesting commentary on commercial art.
There are matchboxes from Sweden and Austria, from Ahmedabad and Sattur (Tamil Nadu). All of them have women on their labels, possibly to boost sales.
In the Cycle Lady label, made by the company AVR, a woman in a red sari cycles with a bag on her shoulder. The Austrian labels show a Kashmir woman and the maharani of Tikari in Bihar.
One from Sweden shows two women in fine saris reclining under the shade of a palm tree. A few labels bear inscriptions in Urdu.
There are labels that seek to titillate with nautch girls and courtesans. Swedish matchbox manufacturers have done Asmat Jan, Oomrao Jan, Bachu Jan and even a Russian Jan.
A profile of a woman in a sari without a blouse, and with black wavy hair and red bindi, is particularly alluring. It is evident that companies did everything to make their products saleable.
Cinema yields various objects of popular culture and in this exhibition, they come in the form of film posters and lobby cards, among others.
A poster of Mukti showing Pramathesh Barua and Kanan Bala draws attention.
Small woodcut prints of Saraswati, of Arjun and Duryadhan in Krishna’s house, of Abhimanyu trapped in the chakravyuha and various other episodes from Mahabharata provide a glimpse of the engravers’ calibre in those times.
Lithographs by Bengal Art Studio, old Bengal paintings of Jagadhattri, Kali, Gopini and Annapurna — done in oil on canvas and restored by Intach — are among the other exhibits that catch the eye.
A hand-painted logo of East India Railway, a three-part lithograph poster of P.C. Sorcar, a debenture of The Bengal Club and a candlestand of Grand Eastern Store are among the other exhibits.
The exhibits come from the collections of S.S. Mukherjee, Ujjwal Sardar, Gopal Biswas and Jayanta Ghose. Co-ordinator G.M. Kapur, of Intach, said: “This is an exhibition of objects and many more expressions of everyday life as well as popular culture of Bengal. The exhibition explores the rich potential of the city’s visual histories through
personal collections.”
The exhibition will continue till February 9.