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