Bhadu calling

Clickhappy! May '15
Pawan Dhall files a photo-report on a visit to Birbhum district in West Bengal to record a film-making initiative on Bhadu Devi. The film, much like the goddess herself, has intrinsic links to many aspirations for personal fulfillment and a better life

Uchpur village is about an hour’s drive from Sainthia town,
nearest railhead after a four-hour journey from Kolkata.
Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

The Bhadu festival and folk art form of Birbhum and neighbouring districts in West Bengal has its origins in the story of Bhadravati, a princess who lived sometime in mid 19th century Bengal. According to one version of folklore around her, she gets separated from her lover because of the evil designs of a jealous king. Her search for her lover proves fruitless and she commits suicide. Bhadravati or Bhadu Devi is worshipped through songs, dance, fairs and cultural programmes in the month of Bhadra (mid August to mid September). On the last day, her idol is immersed in a river. Songs, mainly on fulfillment of wishes for a happy marriage or birth of children, form the main attraction of the festival in which both professional artist groups and amateurs take part.

Was it celebration or protest?

Insight, My Story, Jan '15
Drake Fort on a fun-filled yet poignant anti-patriarchy, anti-Section 377 gathering outside Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata on New Year’s Eve

It was the perfect way to end a New Year’s Eve, with a loud, resounding and cheering “No” to patriarchy! This was the theme that resonated throughout an event titled ‘Call against Patriarchy – Defying Edition 377!’ held on a cold 31st night around a small open-air stage outside the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata.  Despite the chill, no one felt the slightest bit frosty. There was fire in our hearts and it burnt brighter as one performance after another furthered our resolve to keep fighting the injustices of a world that militates against anyone who is ‘not male, not heterosexual, not able-bodied, not normative in terms of class, caste, race or religion’.

‘Rwituparno Ghosh’: A conversation

Theatre, Apr '14
By Aniruddha Dutta

On January 11, 2014, Dumdum Shabdomugdho Naatyakendra presented their play Rwituparno Ghosh at Gyan Manch in Central Kolkata, which had been premiered previously in the city in August 2013 (see theatre review 'Rwituparno Ghosh' in the September 2013 issue of Varta). The play, directed and scripted by Rakesh Ghosh, pays homage to the late filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh’s memory by reflecting on the quotidian forms of stigma, harassment and familial trouble faced by gender variant and transgender persons.

'Rwituparno Ghosh'

Theatre, Sep '13
By Pawan Dhall

Rituparno Ghosh (1963-2013), the late filmmaker with a deft insight into women’s issues and who in the last few years before his untimely demise became increasingly expressive about his own sexuality through the films he acted in and interaction with the media continues to inspire other artistic efforts. On August 12, 2013, Dumdum Shabdomugdho Naatyakendra premiered their new play Rwituparno Ghosh (scripted and directed by Rakesh Ghosh, language Bengali, 55 minutes) named eponymously after the filmmaker at Muktangan auditorium in South Kolkata.

Photo credit:  Dumdum Shabdomugdho Naatyakendra