Browse Items (28 total)

It began after sundown in Borotalpada, a remote Santhali village in the district of Jhargram in West Bengal, India. It seemed one has come to the end of the world. A dusky path lined on either side with sal and mahua trees opened onto a sort of…

Two books have already been published related to the thrust area in Phase I of the DRS Project. The title of the books are: Survival and Other Stories: Bangla Dalit Fiction in Translation (2012) Towards Social Change: Essays on Dalit…

Patua Pala or Patachitra, commonly known as pata is one of the most popular yet endangered performing art forms of Bengal. It usually comprises painting and an adjunct folk song. Various mythical stories are depicted on a piece of cloth, known as…

One of the most endangered folk performances, Bhnarjatra does not belong to the mainstream cultural tradition of the Bengali bhadralok. It has a very distinct artistic and linguistic feature. Most of the performers are from the marginal class of the…

  ‘Glove puppetry’ is a very popular puppet show in India, famous in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. The puppets are usually worn on the hands of the puppeteers like gloves and the performance is shown to the audience…

Kurmis, a large group of cultivators, belong to the eastern part of India, mainly in Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. In West Bengal, Kurmis are found in large numbers in the districts of East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia.…

Over the past few decades, computing researchers have developed a wealth of new systems to preserve and share cultural resources. Researchers have employed collaborative and crowd-sourced software in the restoration of specific artifacts and…

Opinions vary regarding the etymology of the name “Dhimal”. While some people assume that it comes from the Nepali term “himal”, another school of thought believes the community is linked to the Dhimasa tribe of Assam. According to Sri Garjan Kumar…

Various theories abound as to the true nature of the origins of the Mech tribe. The name “Mech”, for instance, is said to have come down from the word “mlechchha”. Another theory suggests that the name was bestowed upon the tribe since they had…

Churia-Churianir pala is another endangered folk drama of the Sabar community. The folk drama is performed in the parts of Odisha and West Bengal that are situated in the basin of the Subarnarekha river. This is the story of two birds that form…