On November 5, Salt Lake Maitri Sangha organised a tribal dance performance. A troupe of 50 dancers from Panchmura in Bankura came to perform at the BF-CF Block pandal.
“There are many dance troupes in our village because this is our culture. We have participated in various programmes, including Bishnupur Poramatir Haat. We have an adivasi akhra there,” said Shyam Mandi, a primary school teacher and manager of the dance group.
Though they had performed elsewhere in the city, like Behala, this was their first programme in Calcutta after the two-year Covid break.
Mukhi Murmu, 65, is a full-time farmer and the oldest member of the group. “I have been performing since childhood. Though I have visited Calcutta many times I never really had money to be able to explore the city.”
The Jangalmahal area may be largely unaffected by Covid but the economical situation, they said, was very poor. “The Rs 2 per kilo rice from the government is not really helping us. Our Adivasi forum has submitted a deputation to the sub-divisional officer to allow us to study in our native language instead of in Bengali and to build a hostel for the students. The educational infrastructure in our villages is very poor,” said Mandi.
A team of eight dhakis from Kamarpukur, Joyrambati, entertained spectators with their acrobatics. They formed a human pyramid while playing the dhak. “A dhak weighs 15kg. So with three dhakis getting up on his shoulders, imagine the weight the person at the base has to withstand,” said Raju Das, one of them.
Debasmita Bhattacharjee input from Sudeshna Banerjee
TV star Rakhi Sawant at the RFA Kali puja. She danced to her song Mere dil mein teri entry along with audience members. MLA Tapash Chatterjee (left) was also present.
Payel Sarkar, seen in television serials like Tapur-Tupur, Bene Bou and Prothoma Kadambini, being welcomed on stage at Baisakhi Abasan. Ward co-ordinator Anita Mondal (left) was also present. Picture by Debasmita Bhattacharjee
Several idols in Rajarhat and one in Nayapatty, an added area adjacent to Sector V, raised eyebrows by being very unlike Kali. In several, she was milk white, in complete contravention of her nomenclature that derives from the dark skin colour. In one, she was portrayed as a fully dressed fairy, with wings. Another baffled visitors by having what looked distinctly like buffalo horns rising from both sides of the male figure lying prostrate at the feet of the idol, which is curiously accompanied by four figures, two on either side.
Pictures by Sudeshna Banerjee
