Santiniketan’s bell – Photo © Ludwig Pesch Located about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal’s rural hinterland, Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of a place of learning that is unfettered by religious and regional barriers. Established in 1863 with the aim of helping education go beyond the confines of the classroom, Santiniketan grew into … Read more
Tribal Politics The “tribal” peoples or adivasis of India, according to the 2001 census, constitute roughly 8.1 percent of the country’s population, some 83,6 million people, classified under 461 different communities. They occupy a belt stretching from the Bhil regions of western India through the Gond districts of central India, to Jharkhand and Bengal, where … Read more
Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Gopal Ghose, Gobardhan Ash… and now Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980). The year 2013 may yet prove to be one of rich retrieval of art heritage, some of it marginalized in Bengal’s collective memory. Although wide recognition did not come to Baij early, he gained the status of a cult figure that ensured a … Read more
Please note: India has far more museums and archives with “tribal collections” than can be shown here. Smaller collections are rarely advertised in tourist brochures or on the internet yet accessible by appointment (e.g. anthropology departments and research institutions). Collections and documentations of musical instruments are also found in the premises of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (New Delhi), exhibitions at some of the Zonal Cultural Centres (Government of India), and in … Read more