In Conversation with Fayaz Ahmad JanInterview
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Sociologist Richard Sennett conceptualises the idea of craft to illustrate the intimate connection between the workings of the hand and the head.[1] He weaves a connection between knowing and working through the experience and action of craft. In Grundrisse, German political theorist Karl Marx…
in Overview
Following is an edited transcript of the interview conducted on November 9, 2018, in Hasanabad.
Sadaf Wani: How long have you been involved with papier mache?
Fayaz Ahmad Jan: I have worked with the craft for over 37 years now. I learnt it from my father and other artists from the community. My…
in Interview
In this interview, he elaborates on the history and glory of Assam’s mask culture, its use and evolution, the significance of masks at Majuli’s Raas festival, and people’s attitude towards masks and mask making.
in Video
Assam has a long tradition of mask making. Although bamboo is usually the raw material of choice, wooden masks have been used for centuries by communities in lower Assam and are still common in khuliya bhaona[1] of Darrang district and bhari gan[2] of the Rabha community. (Fig. 1)
Masks are…
in Overview
The five-hundred-year-old mask-making tradition of Assam is a unique specimen of the region’s culture and heritage. Srimanta Sankardeva, the great socioreligious reformer of medieval Assam, was the pioneer behind the emergence and growth of this craft in the fifteenth century. The mask tradition…
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This video catalogues the making of an individual shola flower from scratch: from the stem unit being shaved to the pulling of the thread allowing the flower to bloom. The video then proceeds to show how different types of flowers can be made with a slight change in the slits made in the white…
in Video
This video documents the entire process of making crafts out of the shola plant. Hailing from ordinary marshy regions, shola stems are miraculously transformed into breathtakingly beautiful handicrafts using simples blades and threads. Different regions of Bengal specialise in the making of…
in Video
Sholapith, also referred to as shola or Indian cork, is a plant which grows wild in marshy waterlogged areas of Bengal, Assam, Orissa and the Deccan. The biological name of shola is Aeschynomeneaspera. From the planta dried milky-white spongy plant matter is extracted which in Bengal is used to…
in Article
The eastern frontiers of India are carved out by the state of West Bengal. Defining itself through all the physical features that the country has, Bengal is beauty cast in all forms, be it literature, music, culture, festivals, crafts, traditions, or science. The festive calendar of Bengal has…
in Overview