The road gave a beginning to the urban culture of Kolkata but has changed drastically today. It is this interesting change that has been captured skillfully by photographer Saibal Das.
Chitpore. It’s one of the oldest roads in Kolkata in existence since over 400 years. It was on this road that Rabindranath Tagore was born. It was on this road that Raja Ram Mohan Roy built his Brahmo Samaj. And it was on this road that the famous Bengali rosogollas originated. The road gave a beginning to the urban culture of Kolkata but has changed drastically today. It is this interesting change that has been captured skillfully by photographer Saibal Das.
“The road isn’t a pleasant sight to look at. It’s very crowded and a big mess. But there is this amazing co-existence of various elements that makes the whole picture so magical,” says Saibal. “There are lots of North Indians who have come and settled in the area along with the Bengalis. Thus, the courtyard has become a labyrinthine where the past overlaps with the present and tradition jostles with modernity. Here, migrant workers in bastis and prostitutes rub shoulders with the decaying aristocracy and the rich Marwari trader,” he says.
There is a picture of the wall of Madan Mohan temple which has got the Coca-Cola font painted on it. “This picture may seem contrasting but it gives the perfect example of the co-existence of past and present I am talking about,” he adds. Another picture further emphasises Saibal’s point by depicting peeing in a public toilet besides a set of beautiful sculptures of gods, men and women created by local craftsmen.
Many things on Chitpore road have been an integral part of Bengal’s life and culture — the paan, the adda (gossiping in groups), and the famous jatra shows. It’s one place where the Chinese New Year is celebrated with equal enthusiasm along with Id or Annakut festival. “I have discovered chaos in every nook and corner but that has also been the flint — the friction needed to light my creativity. I fell in love with this place and somehow mere documentation always eluded my lens. Each shot frames a drama, having its own story to tell. I am like a transfixed observer of a narrative uncoiling before me which promises never to end,” remarks Saibal.
The exhibition is by Institute of Contemporary Indian Art and TASVEER and is on till October 21.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}