20th November 1980
am Kumartuli for a long talk with Prodip. He told me that the porcelain figs which I saw yesterday were probably made by an artist called Hari Charan Pal who used to do models for transfer into porcelain. He also showed me some old colour prints of paintings of B.P.Banerjee done in 1900/6 and painted by Roy Babajee and Co, 182, Lower Chitpore Road, Cal. He said that these type of faces (and clothes) influenced the kumars. Apparently in P's grandfather's time there was one of these artists in particular whom all the kumars tried to copy in the style of the face and eyes. The eyes were not Bangla and were called Hariyana (taken from paintings). This style was popular at the turn of the century. I saw an old photo of one of Suren Pal's Dps and noticed that in those days G + K were quite widely spaced, whereas now they are brought together more i.e. I didn't see any pat in the chali and the ornaments on the figures were made of clay.
P also told me that it is quite common for the metal casters and stone carvers to come (once an order has been placed) to Kumartuli to ask one of the kumars to make the model from clay.
For casting if the fig is small, just clay on dried clay base (usually a lotus for Krishna with 2 metal rods and iron armature pushed through) if the fig is large then straw and bamboo armature is used on a wooden base. another layer of clay is formed round the original having added first a filmy thin layer of wax. The wax melts and leaves through the one funnel while through another funnel the brass of astadatu enters and forms a hollow caste. For stone the same clay process but a special instrument is used to mark off the stone (the depth, breadth etc) from the clay which is left in front of the stone cutters.
P tells me that the Rajasthani (+Bihar) stone cutters have learnt by heart a particular way of cutting stone which they don't know how to deviate from (i.e. they cannot improvise in style e.g. make arms thinner) so they automatically cut out the fig according to the set rules they have learnt. Interesting in relation to the Rajasthan info on Bengali art and the beginnings of images of Radha Krishna in the post-Caitanya cult.
2 Kali figs (one big one small) being made in P's studio for stone cutting. No hair, ornaments or clothes and figures are carefully formed. Ordinary style face.
pm Rani Chatterjee talking about village life. Says that in village in Bankura (Radhagram) Dp was held as a communal affair and one of the local kumars made it. Everyone looked forward to it and everyone ate there for the 4 days of puja not at home. For Kali puja a big image was made and after bali dan the goats would be cooked and eaten communally and basan would take place before morning.
In Asansul (her father's town) a kumar from Krishnanagar would come and all the kids would eagerly await his arrival-great delight on the day he arrived. But the village folk couldn't afford such a luxury so their kumar made a fairly ordinary image.Basanti puja was done but only in private houses, whereas Dp was communal. Basanti done because of family tradition-some ancestor had initiated it and the family were afraid to break the tradition.
Manasa puja in Radhanagar the special puja. 4 days. No priest involved. Some select person would take the Manasa ghat from the Manasa temple (one big ghat with serpent decoration and smaller ghats) and fill it with new water. He would dispense teaspoonfuls to people who had been fasting and they would then break the fast. But, said Rani, by the time the ghat reached the temple and was placed in it, it was still full, even though 500 people had taken some of the water. People would gather in long lines and rock from side to side ( a kind of trance exercise before puja) and no one was allowed to touch them. The head man of the 3 villages would gather and select a flower each from the top of the ghat "If you are pleased with us" (having chosen a particular flower says he) "then give us that one." The flower then tumbled into his lap said Rani "I have seen it with my own eyes. People don't have faith anymore these days. the temple is still there, the same puja is done, but no one is interested."
Rani also said that Annapurna is worshipped during Basanti puja. She has seen it. But very few people do it, she says.
Prodip told me that there is a kumarpara in Krishnanagar.
21st November 1980 - Calcutta State Archaeological Museum
22nd November 1980 - Krishnanagar + Nabadwip
23rd November 1980 - Krishnanagar + Shantipur
26th November 1980 - Mecheda + Tamluk
30th November 1980 - Krishnanagar