panchmura

panchmura was the site for the study trip this year. a potters colony that is removed to the edge of the village found around 30 kms away from the town of bishnupur, it is famous for the terracotta work and especially the bankura horses found in arts and crafts of india shops around the country. still, that hasn't really translated into large scale financial gains for the community. still living pretty much like they did years back they continue to churn out the same objects that have been making for years. it is as if modernity has, instead of transforming their practice, has instead been instrumental in keeping them and their art fixed and still. on the other hand, there is a deep politicization of everyday life with political symbols on the walls of almost every house- even deep into the fabric of the village. we kept wondering about this strange skewed modernism. on the one hand the level of education and awareness was very high, and on the other it seemed as if earlier existing feudal systems had gotten even more entrenched. young men accosted us at different points and asked for donations to different events. highway robbery and blackmail. meanwhile, the village itself was a perpetually shifting landscape of brown burnt soil. pits were dug and filled, mud turned itself into terracotta periodically spitting out those damn bankura horses once in a while.

village procession

 textile cooperative

tagore tiles

bishnupur

here are exquisite temples in terracotta that lie on the edge of the city. with heavy bulging bases, they rise in the most unusual way into the sky. while a few of them are still used, most of them lie empty surrounded by the fences that the asi loves to place around buildings. the bada and the chota darwaza emphasize the emptiness that now exists in the city that once was. meanwhile, in the real city our route to panchmura took us past markets, homes and a line up of institutions that looked underutilized- a music school and a home for juvenile offenders.

New mall at Mindspace

The brand new monster on Link Road with a ramp that leads directly up to a podium with four atriums surrounded by fancy clothes shops. On the top floor is a damn rollercoaster. Not nearly as spectacular as Oberoi on the highway: this one is merely gigantic.