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FROM EDITOR'S DESK

On the eve of publishing our Ninth Issueof Art Echo we have lost one of overtalented co-passenger in the galaxy ofcreative world. She was Dr. AyiriddhiBhattacharjee, Assistant Professor of MassCommunication, Department of AssamUniversity. She breathed her last in KolkataApollo Hospital on 29th May, 214. This fatalnews has come to us as bolt from the blue.We are deeply shocked at her prematuredemise. At the time of death, she was only29 years old. This is a irreparable loss for thecreative world in Barak Valley in particular werecall our Eighth Issue where we couldpublish a brilliant article of Ayriddhi the titleof which was Suchitra Sen : the MystiqueMahanayika. We are not publishing anywriting on film in this issue to show ourrespect for Ayriddhi. Let her soul rest ineternal peace.

Like other issue, we have published

different articles on visual art in Ninth Issuealso.

We renew our vow again for relentlessjourney to achieve our goal.

We welcome always the valuedsuggestions of our patrons and well wisher.

Let all be happy both in physique andmind.

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Hans HofmannHans HofmannHans HofmannHans HofmannHans Hofmann

Hans Hofmann was a German-

born American abstract

expressionist painter.

Born : March 21, 1880,

Weibenburg in Bayern,

Germany

Died :February 17, 1966, New York City, United States

Periods : Modern art, Abstract expressionism

Education :Art Students League of New York, Acadmie

de la Grande Chaumire

FAMOUS ARTWORK

The Golden Wall (1961), City Horizon (1959), Kaleidos (1958)

"The child is really an artist, and the artist should be

like a child, but he should not stay a child. He must

become an artist. That means he cannot permit himself

to become sentimental or something like that. He mustknow what he is doing" -

Hans HofmannCoverArtist

N

ABAN

ITA

GU

H

A

CONTRIBUTORSPINAK PANI NATH is a freelance artist, writer and researchscholar of Deptt. Of Visual Arts, Assam University Silchar.

ANJAN SENis a Poet and Art Critics based in KOLKATA.

SUDESHNA DAS is a research scholar of Deptt. of VisualArts, Assam University, Silchar.

ROLLIE MUKHERJEE is Desire paths publishers, Vadodara(Baroda) based Independent Artist-Critic-Poet-ResearchEditor.

AAROGHYA KAPIL CHOWDHRY is a research scholar ofDeptt. Of Visual Arts, Assam University, Silchar.

DIPJIT PAUL is a research scholar of Deptt. of Visual Arts,Assam University, Silchar.

ARUP MAZUMDER A Silchar based freelance artist andphotographer.

STEPHANIE STRASNICK is associate editor of @ARTnewsmag. New York.

KUMAR AJIT DUTTA is a Guwahati based art critics and writer.

MOUSHUMI KANDALI Asstt. Professor AmbedkarUniversity Delhi & well-known Assamese writer-translatorand art historian .

BARBARA POLLACK arts writer, contributing editorArtnews, published author of The Wild, W ild East, experton Chinese contemporary art.

ALEXANDRA PECHMAN Freelance writer Greater New YorkCity Area, Copy Editor at ARTnews, Research Assistant atNorthwestern University.

CYNTHIA NADELMAN New York based art critic poet &Contributing Editor of ARTnews

CLAIRE RIGBYA British freelance journalist and editorbased in So Paulo, Brazil.

DIBYENDU DAS Silchar based freelance Photographer.

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Chief AdvisorProf. Tapodhir BhattacharjeeEx-Vice Chancellor, Assam University, Silchar

AdvisorDr. Nirmal Kanti RoyDr. Meghali Goswami

Rajkumar MazindarDr. Ganesh Nandi

Publisher & PrinterSandipan Dutta Purkayastha+91-9864374011, 9401236225

EditorTapojyoti Bhattacharjee+91-9435503475

Contributing EditorDhaneswar Shah (New Delhi)Anjan Sen (Kolkata)

Kumar Ajit Dutta (Guwahati)Ashok Barma (Silchar)

Managing EditorSanjay De

Cover DesignKanika Chanda

Asstt. EditorPinak Pani Nath

Creative & ProductionMithun Paul

+91-9401140888Marketing & AdvertisingBinay PaulJoydeep Bhattacharjee

PhotographerArup Mazumder

Silchar CorrespondentAnurupa Bhattacharjee

Art Echo Office Address :

Mahaprabhu Colony (Sri Gauranga Pally)

Malugram, Silchar - 2, District - Cachar, AssamPh. No. : +91-9864374011, 9401236225, 03842-262178 (O)Fax : 03842-262125, e-mail :artechoshilpangan@gmail.com

Copyrights of the articles belong to the respective authors.All the views expressed in the writings are of the respectiveauthors. The publication does not necessarily subscribeto the views expressed by the contributors.

Printed at :

N. N. Dutta Road, Silchar - 1, Ph. +91-9401140888

xy!D %Anjan Sen 1

The Idol Making of Urban Potters in Silchar

Dipjit Paul 4

Dhamail

Pinak Pani Nath 7

Hindu Marriage and Ritualistic Motifs

Sudeshna Das 10

(In) to the middle of the "stories"

Rollie Mukherjee 14

The Strange Story of Afghan War Rugs

Stephanie Strasnick 17Gallery Report

Expressionism in Germany and France

From Van Gogh to Kandinsky 19

Changing faces of Indian Advertisement

Kapil Chowdhury 21

x~ !e!#

%yx! _ 24

Photo Essay

Art & Architecture of Rajasthan

Arup Mazumder 29

Few Printmakers from North East

Moushumi Kandali 32

Raj Kumar Mazinder 36

Most Expensive Indian Paintings 38

Conflicts are Productive...

Claire Rigby 43

Francesco Clemente Channels....

Barbara Pollack 46

Decorum: Carpets and ......

Alexandra Pechman 47

Adia Millett At Mixed GreensCynthia Nadelman 48

Visual Music... An Art ExhibitionArt Echo Correspondent 49

Infinity to SonbeelDibyendu Das 51

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Special Issue | July-December, 2014

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E S S AE S S AE S S AE S S AE S S A YYYYY

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5

The Idol Making OfUrban Potters in Silchar

Dipjit PDipjit PDipjit PDipjit PDipjit Paulaulaulaulaul

It goes with out saying

that the existence of pottersin Barak Valley doesn'tdepend on any introduction

but formally their instinct arttrend should be introduced infront of the people. From theancient age, potters havegreat relevance in theupliftment of North East artworks and Barak Valley takesa great impact on that.Basically there are many

potters in Barak Valley whoare natives of Barak Valley butmany of them are migratedfrom many places, though thelifestyle and daily activitieshave great relevance in BarakValley potter's development.

There are many more potters living in different places in Silchar, but here only the lifestyle ofthose who are located in Purnapal Road of Silchar are taken into account. Some potters' family in thiscolony do not actually belong from the Idol making background. But no one can believe that true

because at present they have showing their level best in Idol-making with more artistic sense andperfection. The potters colony is named according to their caste as 'Paul', so this may be seen whatkind of authenticity they carry through their existence and practice of work.

Potters are the introducer of small scale industry of village since the ancient period of India.This profession is one of the major backbones of village people of North East India. Once upon a timethe products made by the potters were used in the household goods as well as any function, nowwhich is gone down due to big industry. Economic condition of any village depends on any kind ofsmall scale industries for which Government also introducing many schemes to save this small scaleindustries but all this are gone vain due to lack of proper awareness. Our first effort should be to bringthe awareness to the village people by constant hammering to save this profession as well the cultureof ancient India.

The history of Silchar potters is not much evident in any book or journal or any research workon it. So, their history and development have been taken only from the living workers in idol makingof Silchar. This history could be treated as the oral history and collected from the people who are now

working in the idol making colony of Silchar.As stated earlier, the urban potters of Silchar are located at Purnapal Road, Silchar. They all are

doing idol making. Through idol making they use to do some little bit of extra work with pottery. They

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6

all have their own individual history, some are migrated people and settled here and engaged in idolmaking work, while some are local. In this potters colony there only 4 or 5 potters family residepermanently working and some of them are - Sri Ramesh Paul ( age- 81 ), Sri Banka Paul ( age- 63 ),Sri Shyamal Paul ( age- 57 ). Sri Ramesh Paul resides in Silchar Purnapal Road; his father's name waslate Sri Purna Paul. From his father's name, this colony was known as 'Purnapal Road'. Sri Purna Paulcame here around 80 to 82 years ago, after completion of his education. He came from Bangladesh.His grandfather and father also used to work in the same manner. They used to make pottery andicons too. They usually start making icons in the month of Kartik of every Bengali year. They prepare

various daily usage accessories but the trend of making icons is high. Though now his father anduncle are not alive but he is still working with his co-staffs. The economic condition of their family isgood but it is not only for their job of icon-making but for their other business; his sons are notengaged with their traditional trend because they are academically educated and doing some other

jobs in stead of idol making. This is why Ramesh Paul is not able to develop this business more as heis alone. For making icons, he has to buy various things which he cannot effort and thereforem he isnot doing the icons more except the icons of small sizes.

According to 'Banka Paul' (age-63 years), their forefathers had firstly worked in Kolkata. Theyoriginally are goldsmith but they never practiced in clay. Later, his father and grandfather came in toSilchar and settled at Meherpur and began to learn how to make the icons. Thereafter they openedtheir own shops as well as workshops. As the year passed, 'Banka Paul' became expert in process ofmaking icons which he learnt from his father; he opened his own shop at Purnapal Road at Silchar.Before him, his elder brother Sri 'Gouranga Paul' had an establishment where he worked in the sameprocess and he is one of the famous persons of Purnapal Road. Due to his illness, 'Gouranga Paul'could not be able to work frequently and thus 'Banka Paul' took over as one of the famous icon makersof this potters' colony. The main source of potters income is only the idol making. Though they are not

well established but still they can manage to handle their lifestyle in a good way. During 'Durgapuja','Banka Paul' produces idols in Silchar. One of his sons is engaged with the task of idol making whileanother son is studying and he does not want to drag him in the same business. Sri 'Shyamal Paul' isthe younger brother of 'Banka Paul', his age is 57 years. He came in this business before 15-17 years.Most of his sons are doing these jobs, some with clay and some with paints. Their economic conditionsare much better. It has been analyzed that all though their lifestyles are not same but according toritual belief they all are united.

They believe that they are very devoted to God, which is what they are able to make thesefantastic icons of God. They believe that lord 'Biswakarma' has absolute power and through theirdevotion to God they are able to feed their families. These idol-makers have a different history of theiridentification, one is 'Rudra Paul' and another is 'Bhadra Paul' and at present they are famous as'Kumar Paul'. They agree that their economic condition is little bit sound and that is only for their idolmaking business. There is a great influence taken place through the works of the artists coming from'Kolkata', by which they developed their own style. The village potters and urban potters have a greatdifference according to the cost. The village potters can sell their idol cheaper than the urban potters

because in village materials like bamboos and clay are available, whereas in urban areas it is not so.But urban potters are satisfied because of the demand and modern skill.

Presently there are 30 approximate potters exist in Silchar, who are engaged with the idolmaking and potteries. Idol needs materials for its preparation. They buy bamboos from'Baskandi' nearSilchar and the most important clay from the bank of river. They buy the ornaments and the weaponsfrom Janiganj, Silchar but in future most of them want to get materials directly from Kolkata oroutside of Silchar. For beginning of making idols they need armature of wood and which they buy orcollect from the old icons. They first bind the shape of icon through rope then they put the layer ofclay over the entire icon. They also use the plaster of cotton cloth over the entire icon, to protect itfrom cracks. This cotton cloth they usually collect from the secondhand cloth sellers. Then they uses

full clay layer over all cotton plastered icon and make the icon dry in low sunlight and after that theyput a white colour coat over all icons, so that the main colours should not get faded. There after theyput the individual colour according to God, and then dresses the idols with home prepared glue, along

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with finishing touch with the ornaments. They usually get 7-8 days for big works where as they get 4-5 days for small works. The whole year they produce anonymous idols and 'Durga Puja' is one of theflourishing times. They prepare some idols at home and some in pandals. They prepare various smallicons as 'Ganesh', 'Lakshmi', 'Saraswati', 'Kali' and also they produce Kali and Saraswati in big sizes.They also prepare other idols like, 'Manasha', 'Bipadnashini', 'Shani', and 'Biswakarma'. Most of thesmall size icons remain and that they repairs and sell in the next year. The face of every size idols areprepared from the mould cast, which they believes as assets. They generally use earth colours forpainting the idols then they apply brushing for glaze.

Their economic conditions are not so good because they have to buy materials. Sometimes, ithappens that they get order of big idols but the client do not turn up for any reason; so, it creates netloss. Idols which remain unsold are kept for next year in spite of all damages and repairs and redecorationmade but ultimately it creates a lot of loss.

They now have explored other sources of income like the shops of daily accessories made ofterracotta at Purnapal Road. The traditional old puja's had earlier the transaction of idols from thiskumar para, but now they are inclined to have idols from Kolkata which also cause losses to the

business of kumar para artists. There is another factor that outsider artists get more demands fortheir works, but local artists are somewhat ignored. But they are no less than outside artists in skilland innovative concept. To meet the challenge, now they also appoint support-artists from Kolkataand getting the equivalent demand.

Artistically, they are more developed than ever before. They are now confident and agreed thatthey can compete with modern works. Now the local artists are getting more demands because new-generation local artists have got new skill to execute modern works. They earlier had tendency to

build the 'Durga' idol in one slab but now they are separating the idols which is a new innovation. Now

clay idols are decorated in various manner. They agree that they are influenced from outside worksand thus their work has been developed. They are not only doing artistic idols but also the traditionalones, this is where the Silchar 'Purnapal Road' thrives in trade and fame.

According to the Idol makers of Purnapal Road, their work demand is good but in monetaryparameter they don't get the actual value of their works. They have now future plans to furtherdevelop their style and they want to send their sons for higher studies in idol making. Almost all ofthem want to obtain their materials like ornaments and weapons at cheaper prices directly from theoutside like Kolkata to ensure fair profit.

Finally, we find that the Government should come out with necessary measures for their supportso that this profession as well as the local idol-making industry survives with its rich heritage.

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8

Dhamail

Pinak Pani Nath

Folk dances are ingenious impulse of Barak Valley; these dances exist with us since timeimmemorial. Demonstration of optimism, liveliness, and distress are the part of folk-dances. Dhamaildance of Barak Valley is the part and parcel of cultural life of Hindu Bengalis of Barak valley. RadhaRaman Dutta (1833-1915) is well known in Barak Valley as the father of Dhamail songs. He was aninfluential Sylheti folk music composer and poet from the Sunamganj district in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Most of the people of Barak Valley depend on farming. Sometimes they want relaxation from

their regular activities in paddy field. Therefore, they use Dhamail as their medium of recreation.Dhamail is fundamentally based on dance, song and music, etc. Dhamail depicts societal, radical,effectual, spiritual, and consistent events of life. Dhamail song is first started by the leader and thenfollowed by the chorus, steadily the beat / tempo upsurge and finally stretches to the climax. Besidesthat, dancer strains to create an impressive joy through Dhamail dance. This Dhamail dances andsongs accentuated the social, ethical and devotional aspects of Barak valley. Dhamail is not onlyperformed by female alone, sometimes males also join Dhamail dance. But, the inclination of Dhamaildance is upholded by the female of Barak Valley. Dhamail dance can be synchronous in festivals,Dhamail songs of this region are divided into four stages - Fairy tale Songs, Vow songs, Occupationalsongs, and Secular songs. Again secular songs are divided into two stages- Ordinary songs and Festivalsongs. The acclamation of hands, body movements, leg movements, hand movements, and headmovements, these are the major features of dhamail dance. Once, in 1919, Dhamail dance of Barak

valley was accomplished in front of Rabindranath Tagore when he reached Badarpur Railway Stationand this dance was cherished by Tagore. Dhamail and Dhamali words are very close and approachablein Bengali language, since time immemorial. 'Surja brota' or 'Thakur brota', is a popular festival of thisregion and it is celebrated during the month of Baishakh (Bengali Month), mid-March to mid- April,

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special attraction of this festival is Dhamai dance. In the day of 'Buddha Purnima' another kind ofDhamail dance is celebrated by the females of Barak Valley, which is prevalently known as 'Fuldole'.These above cited Dhamail dances are different than the others dhamail dances. In Joll dhamail, theuse of clay pitcher is very conspicuous. In Joll Dhamail, dancers put their pitchers in the middle ofdhamail place and then they consolidate their dance around the pitcher.

Some exceptional kinds of songs are practicing by the Muslims of Barak Valley. Dr. ShibtapanBasu, a well-known intellectual of this valley, has written that a similar kind of songs like dhamailwhich still exist in Muslim Community.

Dhamail songs always imitate the existing metaphysical, spiritual, ceremonial, aesthetical,and intangible ideas, for instance - i) Kachuripaana

ii) Malariya iii) Bidhaba Bibaha iv) Rail Garhi v)Swadesh Chetona vi) Mahatma Gandhi, etc. aswell as everlasting phenomena like love andmarriage etc. These above mentioned themesreplicate the different perspectives of social life.These said subjects have given a great significancefor the development of social structure of Barak region. In many cases these songs are playing arole of communication. But, not the conventionalways of communication, it is very entertaining mode of communication. Durga Puja is one of the majoroccasions for Bengalis. During Durga puja,Dhamail dancers of Barak Valley perform different

modes of dhamail songs and dances. On the days of 'Shosthi puja', dancers perform Agomoni gaan(song of invocation) and Dhamail dance. Second daywhen Devi comes to mandapa, dancers performanother type of songs & dances. Special kinds of songs and dances are performed in third, fourthand fifth day gradually. Marriage customary is thekey social festival for Bengali community.Dhamail is part and parcel of marriage customary of Bengalis. Five days are special during marriage, for instance - Mangolacharan, Paanokhilee, Adrisnaan,

Adhibaas, Biya and Baasibiya. Dancer played different types of Dhamail dance and songs in thesedays. Artisans also execute whole night programs during adhibaas.

Some other important aspects of Dhamail are equally idiosyncratic during performance.These are - i) Dress ii) Ornament iii) Hair Style iv) Facial looks v) Alta (Red colour) etc.

i) Dress - Dancers use white sari with red border. It is made with cotton, this sari is verycomfortable to control during presentation. Along with, they use cotton blouse; the use of sari reflectsthe special kind of Bengali uniqueness. Sari is Common in Dhamail dance.

ii) Ornament-. In Dhamail, dancers use very common ornaments which are very easily accessiblein the market of Barak Valley. Occasionally they use natural flowers as one of the most significantornament for Dhamail Dance.

iii) Hair style - For Dhamail dance, the entertainers use Khopa (knot of hair), it is very commontype of hair style for Bengali ladies. Dancers use diverse kinds of flowers on khopa as well as small lotof sari just tidy with khopa.

iv) Facial Looks: Dancers use very simple kind of cosmetics for enhancement. Dancers aloneformulate themselves for dance.

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v) Red Colour- In Dhamaildance, alta (red colour fluid) isused by the dancer. They use altaon their palm as well as they makelines on their feet. Thesearrangements give them specialfascination and it generates a

visual understanding with thespectators.

Ae sthe ti ca l prac ticesdepend in each peopleautonomously. According toNatya Shastra, there are eighttypes of rasa and later, one morerasa added with them and nowthese are total nine numbers.These all rasas are very muchnearer with every people. Because consciously and sub - consciously everyone is performing theserule of rasas. Nature is an absolute teacher; she has very proficiently placed all these rasas intohuman beings and gives them chance to feel it. Dhamail delivers each rasas correspondingly, theseare - Shringara, Hasya, Karuna, Rudra, Vira, Bhayankar, Bibhatsa, Adbhut and Shanta.

The uses of musical instruments in Dhamail also put an equal effort. The major musicalinstruments, which are used in Dhamail, are -

i) Mridanga - Its body was originally made of clay. But at present is made of wood.ii) Khol - Khol may be called a renovate form of Mridanga. Like Mridanga, it is also played with

the fingers.

iii) Dhol - Dhol is a cylindrical wooden drum, the player beats it with one small bamboo stick inright hand and by hand on the skin cover by the left side.

iv) Dhak - Dhak is an old and very big percussion instrument and one of the most popularinstruments of Bengalis. Its ancient name is Dhakka. It is used in rural religious festivals.

v) Cymbal - A musical instrument in the form of a round metal plate.

ReferReferReferReferReferences :-ences :-ences :-ences :-ences :-

1) Bhattacharjee, Prof. Mukundada; "Barak Upatyakar Loknritya Gramin Nritya Kala (Folk Dancesof Barak Valley)", 1995.

2) Basu, Dr. Shibtapan; "Barak Upatyakar Lok Sanskriti," 2001.

3) Barthakur, Dilip Ranjan; "The Music and musical Instruments of North Eastern India", 2003.

4) Paul, Nikhil; "Proshna Uttare Rabindranath", 2005.

5) Bhattacharjee, Prof. Mukundadas; "Gramin Nritya-Kala (Articles on Folk Dance and other)'',2005.

6) Sharma, Dr. Prabal; "Music Culture of North- East India", 2008.

7) Bhattacharjee, Dr. Amolendu; "Personal Interview'', Silchar, Assam, 2012.

8) Nath, Binapani ; "Personal Interview'', Silchar, Assam, 2012.9) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Move-to-revive-dhamail-dance/articleshow/

12337482.cms

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Hindu Marriage and Ritualistic MotifsSpecial focus on Sylheti culture of Barak Valley

Sudeshna Das

Marriage is a universal social bond between permissible mates. It is established by the humansociety to control and regulate man and woman as husband and wife with rituals where differentParvana are performed and then the whole festival becomes sacrament. Marriage in Bengali communityhas diversification in parts of the country in different sections. Marriage has got a definite cause andcurriculum and characteristics in different societies. Generally in Bengali communities the system ofmarriage though more or less alike yet a bit deviation is found which strategically feature in BarakValley. The Valley consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj District. Some of the people long agowere migrated from Sylhet district, at present in Bangladesh, and permanently settled in these districts

and adjusted themselves with the people of Barak Valley, mostly dominated by different categories ofBengali people. As the ritual motifs of the local people follows the implication of the cultures ofmarriage system and the functions go as per their modalities, similarity pervades the marriage systemin Sylhet district. Simultaneously the other people also adopted the same procedure. The ritual motifsof marriage in Barak Valley are similar to other Bengali marriage (i.e., West Bengal) functions and themeanings are also the same consensus. Though there is same social significance yet there appendssome status in adding extra rituals here. The marital relation is the same in all aspects. The marriagesystem of West Bengal and Barak Valley the rituals are same but the names of the Parvana differ.

Marriage is a virtuous ceremony of the Sylhetee people as because the people worship differentGods and Goddesses before the beginning of the marriage. They regard the function as sacrament; sothey worship the Goddess Kali, Durga and so on to have divine grace for the "Bratas" and "Parvanas"to conjugate the men and women as husband and wife. Marriage starts with the different rituals ofpurification of the body and souls, and never completed without the benediction of Fire (Agni).Traditionally different objects are used for marriage rituals such asEarthen pot of various sizesand qualities, Sarapatil, Alponaa, Dala and Kula made of bamboo. Generally infinite numbers ofmotifs used in the objects or objects are sometimes directly becomes motifs in visual aspects. Amongst

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the people, there are certain rites which must be performed for marriage to be completed. The mainrites are Vakyadan, Mangalacharan, Paner Khili, worship of Ruposhi, odhibash, Dodhimongal,Kanyadan, Hoam and other rites go step by step serially. So, in Sylheti marriage firstly the name andgotras of bridegroom and bride are announced along with the avouchment that the both families areready for marriage and the date of marriage settled according to Almanac (Ponjeeka) to confirm aShubhaDin (auspicious day ) for the Mangalacharan and the Marriage. Sylheti people in Barak Valleycelebrate their marriage in very ritualistic manner, and all the articles they used are very muchcommonly used for everyday in home like kalash, dhail-chiya, daalaa, small brass pot, etc, etc.

Different motifs of various significance are used in metaphorical character with well groundedritual customs in Sylhetee people. These have important rule. There are different types of motif usedin marriage and the meaning and symbols have individual character which means fertility. The motifsare :--

Biyer Chithi (invitation carBiyer Chithi (invitation carBiyer Chithi (invitation carBiyer Chithi (invitation carBiyer Chithi (invitation card) :-d) :-d) :-d) :-d) :- The prolonged preparations of Bengali wedding start with theinvitation card (Chithi). According to the tradition the extended families, friends and relatives all areinvited to attend the marriage function. The invitation card plays important role to let the guestsknow the marriage date, venue and other details. Wedding is a very auspicious occasion for theBengalis and wedding invitation cards (Chithi) are an integral part of a Bengali marriage. The contentof the cards usually starts with a mantra- "om sri sri projapotoye nomoh nomoh" Usually the invitationcards are traditional and bear an ethnic touch in them but contemporary versions are also gainingpopularity these days. The traditional design usually includes religious signs like swastika, Om, betelleaves and kalash. The cover page also contains the picture of God. At times the impression of Baraatand Palki are also imprinted on the card. The conventional colours for Bengali wedding card are red,

yellow, golden, green etc.

Ghat (vessels) :-Ghat (vessels) :-Ghat (vessels) :-Ghat (vessels) :-Ghat (vessels) :- Ghat is very important motif in a marriage; it symbolizes the auspicious"Mangolic". Generally the pots used are filled with either water paddy or rice up to the brim. In amarriage there are many sizes of Ghat used and specially made of earth. Ghat symbolizes the womenwomb and the plentitude of it is the symbol of fertility. All Ghats are painted with "Swastika sign" andsome are painted just with "Sindur tika" (vermillion mark) which indicates the good wishes. As theGhats are always filled up it means womb of the woman going to marry is always full. It is the Zeitgeistand believed enthusiastically.

PPPPPrrrrrojaapotee :-ojaapotee :-ojaapotee :-ojaapotee :-ojaapotee :- This is butterfly regarded as heaven-sent opportunity. So, in an invitation cardwritten the "Sri Sri projapotoye Nomoh Nomoh", means the faith towards the God Projaapotee "TheBrahma". There is believed that Brahma is the creator of the earth which has very significance to fightfor health and attar. The marriage place is holy Dom and the motif butterfly in the invitation card ormarriage ceremony regards as a sign of good speed of marriage life. There is a mythological belief thatwithout the "Projaapotee Nirbondhana" or Bless of Projaapotee or Brahma no marriage will take place.Here it is seen that Projaapotee or Butterfly with various beautiful attractive colours and species flyfrom flower to flower and absorbs its juices to live. Here in rituals rites Projaapotee focuses thediversification of various colours relating the various lightening in the marriage function. Generally

butterfly moves flower to flower in propagation of pollination for breeding. This is also an importantfactor to use symbol of butterfly. The vivid colour admixes the adorable blessings to the Bride for hercolourful and attractive future for family as well as society . Hence the symbol of Projaapotee found indifferent places includes different motifs. Various types of sweets are also prepared designed likeProjaapotee and these sweets are given to the bride.

FFFFFish :-ish :-ish :-ish :-ish :- Fish is used as motifs in marriage because it has also an important part of it. In BarakValley the farming of fish are meliorated in the village area and the mass people choose fish farmingin each and every pond under their housing boundary. I doubt whether it has any religious links withthe festival or not but the people use the fish and regards as symbol of bonanza. The Bengali people

like fishes in their dishes and prepare variety of fish items and also gift in the marriage as one of theitems in Tattwa. The reproduction capacity of fish is much higher, so fish is regarded as sign offertility.

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Alponaa :-Alponaa :-Alponaa :-Alponaa :-Alponaa :- Alponaa means daub. Originally Alponaa is done with rice paste paint which is aritualistic folk art, delivered in different names in different customs. This kind of art carries the socialcharacter with cultural background of different areas through the rituals like Bratas, Parvanas and Pujasand Marriages. In painting, now a days various techniques are used to visualize the sculptures likegeometrical paintings to show case. They display the Alponaa with various colours to attract the viewers.

Sora PSora PSora PSora PSora Patil :-atil :-atil :-atil :-atil :- Sora Patils are nothing but earthen materials or pottery goods. From time imperialsthe Sora Patils are used in marriage purpose. These are regarded as the good will and benevolence.These are filled up with water and various rituals are performed by this Sora Patil as MONGAL GHAT.Sometimes this Sora Patil is painted with thumbnail sketch and light of a lamp is kept over the SoraPatil.

PPPPPan :-an :-an :-an :-an :- Generally Pan-Supari (Betel nut and leaf) are given in marriage as rites and rituals of

Hindu marriage. The Bride is regarded as the Lakshmi of a family. So, in Hindu marriage suitably inSylheti marriage, Pan-Suparies are given for token of Goddess of wealth and prosperity.

KKKKKunja :-unja :-unja :-unja :-unja :- Kunja is the most attractive motif of a marriage. It is generally constructed varieties ofarticles and decorated with attractive design to draw attention of the marriage. It is of circle in sizeand one banana trees are placed in each corner of the Kunja; total seven nos. of banana trees requiredfor a Kunja and it is symbol of Astha Shakti of ritual myth. Seven Ghats filled with water, rice and

Amra Pallav is placed in the seven corners of the Kunja in front of Banana trees. To speak, Kunja is anarbour(shady resting place in the park), and the Bride and Groom perform some ritual rites on thenight of marriage in Bride's house. It is decorated with Alponaa and light illuminating various coloursto make it more attractive.

Flower (LFlower (LFlower (LFlower (LFlower (Lotus) :-otus) :-otus) :-otus) :-otus) :- In Hindu religion, the Lotus flower is regarded pious and symbol of GodVishnu, the Padma-Nava. Here the mythology stands right that the Lotus is Goddess Lakshmi,

represents beauty, love and good fortune. In Hinduism, the Lotus flower has become a symbol forawakening to the spiritual reality of life. On the other hand, the Padma-Yoni the God Brahma comesout from the naval of God Vishnu. In one sense, Lotus is also a symbol of womb and it is taken as a partof female. It also indicates the significance of a virgin and the bleeding from the female part is redwhich has similarity with the red colour of a flower. After the menstruation, the girl becomes matureand ready for breed. There are several superstitions with stories of lotus relating to marriage.

Shankha, KorShankha, KorShankha, KorShankha, KorShankha, Korhi :-hi :-hi :-hi :-hi :- Shankha and Korhi are the conch shell which is of ritual and religiousimportant in Hinduism. Shankha is a sacred emblem of the Hindu God Vishnu and still used as atrumpet in Hindu ritual and in past was for war trumpet. The Shankha and Korhi are the abode ofLakshmi, Goddess of wealth and wife of Lord Vishnu, where Vishnu holding Shankha in one of hishand. Shankha and Korhi both are the aquatic as symbol of water, associated with female fertility

because water itself symbolizes fertility.

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There is different meaning of fertility. The procreation of children perceptual increase of familyand upbringing of children are the main meaning of Fertility. On the otherwise the meaning of Fertilitymeans to make fertile of the whole family to live in happiness and nurture the progeny in good way tostand fruitfully for his life in acquiring education etc in future. In ancient time during draught the

Aadibashi people adopted several religious superstitious rites to bring rain. They used to make hole ina place and the males used to dance around the hole and forcibly hit the place with the spear. As pertheir custom if they hit hole then there must be male female co-relation and as a result they believerain will fall and fertile the land. There are several mythological superstitions amongst the Aadibaasisto use different motifs in fertility cult. Secondly, one important point to be noted in marriage that the

bride uses SINDUR (Vermillion) in her forehead to indicate that the bride is married or that particularwomen are married. It is known as Sindurdaan or painting on the part of the hair on Bride's foreheadwith vermillion and putting lace bangles in her hands by the Groom. Rice and green grasses are used

for the sign of benevolence. For the welfare of the Bride and Bridegroom, the elderly person gives thismotif to the Bride and Bridegroom's head with joker (a sound uttered but women during marriage orpuja festival).

In Marriage, woman or bride takes a vital role as for fertility. In Monogamy form of marriage,one man marries one woman and the woman is given the highest status for fertility and production ofchildren. Women are regarded with great exception but in most of the areas hold the women asPativrata. Here women is also regarded Generatrix. The society believes it is a matter of religious dutyand considers marriage sacred.

The culture and ritual ceremonies of Sylheti marriage is very interesting, specially the Dhamailsong and dance which is performed in marriage and the all motifs used are totally folk type but in

believe with mythology. Every motif or the designs on the earthen pots, kulas, dalas are painted withred yellow and white colour and the patterns are like polka design, circular design, coil design type,

than zigzag, straight line, dots, wave line; sometimes, they use human figure in folk style pattern, anykind of flower design, kolki design and so many. Each and every material with the motif is veryimportant part of a Bengali marriage ritually.

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(In) to the middle of the "stories"

Rollie Mukherjee

It seems that we are ever standing in the middle of everything. The slippery site of the presentis constantly visited/ revisited by the past and the possibilities of the future. The middle of the storiesis full of disruptions, dilemmas, disorder and confusions. This is a tricky, slippery and non-linear site

where several things overlaps and intersects and never can we in fact come out of it. Novelist MonaSimpson says in her A Sister's Eulogy - "we all in the end die (in) Media's res- in the middle of a storyof many stories... when we die, our part of the grand narrative of this world may be finished but it liveson- so to speak in the lives of others in which we play a role."

"In medias res" or "Into the middleof things" is a trope first used by the Romanlyric poet satirist Horace in his Arspoeticain C13B.C. This technique has been usedextensively in literature and in movies asa strategy, to begin the narration in themiddle of a crucial situation. It starts bydisrupting the central character's status

quo. Epics like the odyssey, the Iliad, theAeneid, the Paradise lost, Mahabharatahas employed the convention of beginninga story in Medias res. Shakespearean playseffectively utilized this trope. Modernnovelists like William Faulkner and ToniMorrison have employed this, to crumblethe time sequence of the story for a non-linear narrative. The modern crime thrillers, action thrillers,Film noir, war movies extensively use media res for a dramatic, mysterious start where the story startsin investigating the plot.

Reading a work of art in 'Medias Res' demands reading through a complex array of overlappingframes about artist thinking processes, practices, production, and circulation of a work of art. Whena work of art is exhibited in a gallery, it is always in the Medias Res. The work of art as a text produced

by the artist is now open for the viewers for an interpretation. The artwork is in fact read in the MediasRes where the overlapping meaning of a work of art as an aesthetic experience, as a commodity, as a

virtual entity, as an ideology etc merges.

The viewer has to map out how to interpret a work of art in the Medias res and to comprehendthe several overlapping of meanings within which the work of art passes through and it generates andframes itself and engender a dissemination of the creative production. Michel Foucault reads a workof art as hetrochronic. Just as the subject's life is constructed out of constant interruptions as symptomsor geographical dislocation/displacements creating disjunctions of space and an overlapping of visualsigns languages gestures or artefacts, so is the viewing of a artwork entails such an response in the

viewer. Also British Psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas says in his book "Shadow of the object" 1987, anartist is through the aesthetic, transformed into his or her thought. The work of art is a transformationof subjectivity into thought. He also says the artist does reside within the image but that the maker has

only partial mastery over the result. This view gives an importance to the viewer. The subject is not thedirector of the play rather just a character not a hero. The meaning of the artwork is based as a splitwithin the individuality of the maker. On the one hand the maker's thought is in the image and on the

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other side she does not wholly master it- neither the thought itself nor the transformation that producedit. The subject is dependent on the 2nd person. It's dependent on the viewers' willingness to be thework's 2nd person.

Painting in Medias res was a well known convention of painting during the romantic era.Postmodernism /modernism/realism has taken some aspects of Romanticism in an engagement withall levels of inward and outward experiences and its emphasis on the movement of becoming.

Since painting is synchronic in nature with diverse layering of time and spaces with its mysterioustrappings of conscious, unconscious, real, fiction. So reading and interpreting a work of art can neverfollow a fixed ordered sequential predictable manner. Thus we are epistemologically and ontologicallyin the middle of the things.

Norman Bryson in his critique on Gombrich says that one need to examine the social character

of the image and its reality as a sign. Art is in constant touch with the signifying forces outsidepainting, Forces that cannot be accounted for by "structural explanation". He says viewing is an activityof transforming the material of painting into meaning and this transformation is perceptual, nothingcan arrest it. A viewer is not a changeless anatomy of vision.

Thus a work of art is a complex net of overlaps, the viewer with his/ her baggage of experiences,knowledge, ideology, sensibilities and different frames of mind, opens a work to newer levels. Anactive viewer may grasp and unfold a lot of things to give conclusiveness to a work of art. Yet still the

viewer might not get the entire comprehension of a work. The viewer is often in the midst of a mysterybefore a work of art. This mystery is inherent in a work because a viewer only perceives a work as avirtual glimpse of the long process involved in making each painting. The viewer is clueless about itsbeginning. The story of the processes, the inspiration, and the modus operandi all witnessed withinthe artist studio. And so every time there is a requirement felt for an artist statement/intentional

fallacy, for an authorial authorship.Thus the ambiguity in a work is generated not only by what a painting provokes/ evokes /

describes or defines structurally but what remains invisible from the spectrum of the viewer what theviewer can't grasp and understands is the process of making a work of art. The long process of thinking/experiences/ readings an artist engages in. Thus we can say that a painting always exist in the mediasres. Frozen in a mysteriousness structurally in terms of settings objects, gestures lines, colours howthese are articulated by the artist but also in its long process of making it.

One can see parallel in such reading what Michel Foucault says in "the Archaeology ofKnowledge".1969 "Archaeology does not imply the search for a beginning. It does not relate analysisto genealogical excavation. It designates the general theme of a description that questions the alreadysaid at the level of its existence; of the enunciative function that operates within it, of the discursiveformation and the general archive system to which it belongs. Archaeology describes discourses as

practices specified in the element of the archive." He says it is not the expression itself, but the ruleswhich make an expression discursively meaningful. So if the attempt is towards reading the statementswithin the context of the overall structure where the work is produced, exchanged, viewed, it would

be an enriching experience. Sometimes certain statement doesn't offer any meaning other than itselfthereby becoming empty signs if not read within the entire context of production and circulation.Thus, the meaning of expressions depends on the conditions in which they emerge and exist withina field of discourse; the discursive meaning of an expression is reliant on the succession of statementsthat precede and follow it.

My attempt below entails such a process of reading the work in the middle of the various eventstowards this grouping of artists. The attempt however is not exhaustive but is just an introductory

view or one of the many ways to initiate a dialogue with the works being discussed.

Sarika Mehta by her minimalist approach generates a textile tangibility of an ordinary object

and its hidden life implicated in it. Her paintings evoke a suspended world of material and immaterial.The ordinary attains a sublime and a transcendental aura.

In Shivani bhalla the conjunction of fact, fiction, the metaphoric and metonymic relationship

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between objects and the nonlinear overlaps of palimpsest of images are layered over to navigate thefemale domain in her works. Where the female are omnipotent as a child with her traumas, confusionsand as a powerful female in a matriarchal structure where she brings the contradictory female face toface as heroine and as anti heroine.

The representational documentary mode of Priti vadakkath works with an abstraction laysopen an ambiguous space. Her work plays with the notion of memory inscribed in the family snapshots.Most of her works mixes the world of a child with that of grownups. The contradiction that exists

between the world of innocence and the cynical logical giving explanatory world of elders.

In Shruti mahajan's works one sense a synecdoche of absence- presence, the overlappingmemories of belonging/loss/displacement and the changing cosmos of home with her minimalistapproach which is intensified by the play of shadows and line rendering of images almost as a phantom

presence. The nook and corners she chooses to paint. The interiors in her paintings are ancestralhome culled from memories.

Puja puri with her documentary approach with graphic delineation of children and raggedpeople seem to be self engrossed and the soldiers gazing straight into the eyes of the viewers. The titleof her paintings "A muted existence/ when war intrudes table talks/ warrior etc., talks about how war

becomes a casual normal event in everyday life.

Sajeev visweshwaran's drawings are controlled and geared towards an economy of lines. Hisdrawing sometimes catches the glimpses of the day to day ordinariness of our being and sometimestreads towards symbolic with undefined territory or space of emptiness. Majorly his paintings bring ina nostalgic recollection of his native place. The presence of her grandmother and the fertile vegetationof his native land preoccupy the artist and revisit him like a reveries over and over again with the painof loss of his grandma and the lingering presence of her in his memory.

Sujith S N visualize the contemporary city as a site of disciplining differences in its hierarchiesof ordering as a violent structure embedded in the development agendas. The conflicts and psychologicalfragmentation and alienation is what he thrusts upon in his paintings. The gruesome scapes of dystopiawhere any future possibilities and hopes vaporizes and the traumas of "being" in the fragility of ourephemerality is thrust upon in his works.

Mahesh Baliga generates a visual poetry through varied representational modalities and painterlystrategies and there by aestheticize the mundane world with all its paradoxes and problems andtranscends it. The toxic garbage heaps gets transformed to magical nuances of hues captivating the

viewers in its beauty. The ambiguity is generated by means of incomprehensible postures of theprotagonist and by unusual juxtapositions. He attempts at subtly bringing in the questions of identityand the inescapable urban situations.

My (Rollie Mukherjee) recent series emphasize that freedom is an illusion in a patriarchalcoldblooded repressive world which rattles woman's world from inside and from outside. The patriarchalpolice inflict violence on women as a strategy of control. The "Home" as a site is Janus faced .On theone hand it is often seen as a zone of no-conflict yet on the other hand in reality it is a domain of un-fulfilled dreams and desires and also an inescapable trap. A female resides in an imagined subjectivitywhere she is always seen in binaries. Outside the frame of docility and conformity, women is forcedinto a self-doubt with a split in her existence as a "subject".

Reading a work of art in 'Medias Res' means being conscious and aware of the various processesand events that happens before and after the particular act of reading or contemplating about thework already seen. The significance of such a reading is that one doesn't start from or search for aprimordial beginning of a work which has been for long the guarded territory of the author or artist.One begins from ones own position as a viewer responding to a visual text at front which is alreadymediated and permeated by various ideologies. The unwanted attachment with the illusionistic idea

of an innocent and honest eye of viewing is done away to a matured responsible and consciousviewing process. This consciousness of being in the middle of a chain of events helps the viewer totransform from his/her given position.

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From Combat to Carpet :The Strange Story of Afghan War Rugs

Stephanie Strasnick

AAAAAFGHANISTFGHANISTFGHANISTFGHANISTFGHANISTANANANANAN'''''SSSSSWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWEAWEAWEAWEAWEAVERSVERSVERSVERSVERSHAHAHAHAHAVEVEVEVEVETRANSFORMEDTRANSFORMEDTRANSFORMEDTRANSFORMEDTRANSFORMEDTRADITIONALTRADITIONALTRADITIONALTRADITIONALTRADITIONALTEXTILESTEXTILESTEXTILESTEXTILESTEXTILESINTOINTOINTOINTOINTOAMAZINGAMAZINGAMAZINGAMAZINGAMAZINGANDANDANDANDANDCOMPLEXCOMPLEXCOMPLEXCOMPLEXCOMPLEXICONSICONSICONSICONSICONSOFOFOFOFOFWWWWWARARARARAR,,,,, CHANGECHANGECHANGECHANGECHANGE,,,,, ANDANDANDANDANDMODERNITYMODERNITYMODERNITYMODERNITYMODERNITY

From the more than 50 years of conflict and militaryintervention in Afghanistan has emerged a surprisingtextile phenomenon-war rugs. A mash-up of centuries-old techniques and modern symbols of war that include

AK-47 assault rifles and artillery tanks, these complex,visually stunning rugs are woven by Afghan women andwere originally marketed to visiting troops.

War rugs-which can take up to one year to weave-make up just 1 percent of the rugs produced in

Afghanistan and are not exhibited often in the United

States. An exhibition opening Saturday at Florida's BocaMuseum of Art, however, will offer a rare opportunity to

view more than 40 of these rugs up close. Titled "AfghanWar Rugs: The Contemporary Art of Central Asia," the

s h o w - w h i c htraveled to theBoca Museumfrom the VillaTerrace DecorativeArts Museum inMilwaukee-wascurated byAnnemarie Sawkins and Enrico Mascelloni.

While the exact origin of Afghan war rugs is unknown,many historians trace the tradition to the mid-20th century,after the 1947 invention of the Kalashnikov assault rifle,or AK-47. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979,Afghan weavers found that combat-inspired rugs weremarketable to Russian troops, and later, beginning in 2001,to American troops. The rugs made their way into moremainstream markets and are now collected by buyersaround the world.

Guns and other weapons were likely the impetus forthe creation of war rugs, but other motifs like maps, locallandmarks, and portraits are also popular among weavers

War Rug, 1996, knotted wool, Herat(Afghanistan); acquired in Peshawar(Pakistan). PRIVATE COLLECTION.

War Rug with Map of Afghanistan,1998, knotted wool, Baghlan

(Afghanistan); acquired in Peshawar(Pakistan). PRIVATE COLLECTION

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and buyers. The jewel-tone Portrait Rug (Am?null?h Khan), 1985, for example, depicts the leaderwho ruled Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929. Am?null?h, who lead the country to independencefrom Britain, is considered by many Afghanis to be one of the country's first modern leaders. Byframing the portrait with toy-like images of contemporary artillery, the artist (who is unknown)positioned him as such. Pictorial rugs like this one were so popular that weavers continued theirproduction even while under the control of the Taliban, whose members oppose idolatry.

Inspired by postcards, photographs, and propaganda posters, Afghanistan's nomadic andsemi-nomadic weavers also depict feats of architecture and civil engineering. One rug in thisshow features one of Afghanistan's major engineering projects, the Naghlu Dam. The dam, whichsupports Afghanistan's largest power plant-is a symbol of progress.

On the rug, throngs of low-flying helicopters and advancing tanks encircle the dam-anearnest reminder that military presence has become part of the country's landscape. "Wrappedup in the three British wars, the Soviet invasion, the American invasion, the civil wars, and theconflicts," says Sawkins, "is the war rug."

War Rug with Naghlu Dam, late 1970s, knottedwool, Afghanistan; acquired in Kabul

(Afghanistan). PRIVATE COLLECTION.

Portrait Rug (Aminullah Khan), 1985, knotted wool,Afghanistan; acquired in Peshawar (Pakistan).

PRIVATE COLLECTION.

Courtesy : @ ARTnewsmag. New York

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Expressionism in Germany and France

From Van Gogh to Kandinsky

On View : June 8-September 14, 2014Location : LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), Resnick Pavilion

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Expressionism in Germany and

France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky (June 8-September 14, 2014), an exhibition that sheds newlight on the extraordinary response of artists in Germany and France to key developments in modernart in the early 20th century. For the first time in a major museum exhibition, Expressionism ispresented not as a distinctly German style but as an international movement in which artists inGermany and France responded with

various aesthetic approaches to modernmasters such as Vincent van Gogh, PaulCzanne, Henri Matisse, and PaulGauguin, among others. Over 40 artists-including Wassily Kandinsky,

Emil Nolde, Gabrielle Mnter, FranzMarc, Robert Delaunay, and PierreBonnard-are represented in over 90paintings and 45 works on paper, inaddition to approximately 30 ephemeraobjects.

"Expressionism in Germany andFrance offers a unique opportunity toobserve the ways that a generation ofartists was influenced by some of thegreatest names in modern art history," saysexhibition curator Timothy O. Benson."Our visitors will gain insight into theculturally rich cosmopolitan milieuestablished by the many exhibitions,

collectors, gallerists, critics, and not leastthe artists of the time (many of whomtraveled between Paris and Germany) andhow this cultural atmosphere transcendednational borders."

"This exhibition is a fascinating lookat artistic influence in Europe that shatters

barriers of nationality," says MichaelGovan, LACMA CEO and Wallis

Annenberg Di rector. "These ar ti st s'practices were not constrained by their

borders -and in fact many crea ti ve

breakthroughs of the 20th century happened thanks to this dialogue between these two countries, asartists reshaped their national identities."

The exhibition is currently on view at the Kunsthaus Zrich (Febraury 7-May 11, 2014), where

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it goes by the title Expressionism in Germany and France: From Matisse to the Blue Rider. Followingits presentation at LACMA, the exhibition travels to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (October 6,2014-January 25, 2015).

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Expressionism in Germany and France explores the process of artistic influence and contributesto new scholarship on issues of French-German relations. The exhibition offers insight into how the

visual arts are conveyed between cultures and are influenced by ideas of national identity and culturalheritage.

Expressionism, an artistic movement in which pictorial imagery is depicted through dramaticallyexpressive colors and brushwork, digresses from traditional representation in which artists attemptedto recreate a likeness of reality; instead, the movement gives form to artists' individual perceptions,feelings, and psychologies. While Expressionism has come to be recognized as a predominately German

movement, this association evolvedgradually long after the movementhad begun and is partially attributedto the first book on Expressionism,authored by the German art criticPaul Fechter in 1914 and on view inthe exhibition. The publicationimbued the movement with anational identity, commensurate withthe patriotic tone in Germany duringWorld War I. In reality, Expressionism

was born from a shared advancetoward modernism among Frenchand German artists as the latestFrench trends reached Germanythrough a network of collectors,critics, and art lovers, creating amutually rich cosmopolitan milieu.

Expressionists discovered newartistic possibilities through the firstmodern masters. They recognizedexpressive gesture and color in VanGogh, nascent abstraction inCzanne, and a new approach to thedecorative in Gauguin and Matisse.Expressionism in Germany andFrance brings together significantworks that Expressionists would haveseen and carefully studied inexhibitions and collections of thetime throughout Germany as well asParis. Through a process of give andtake, the Expressionists movedtoward an international art while alsoseeking to maintain their nationalcultural heritage, combining tradition

with aesthetic evolution.

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Changing Faces of Indian Advertisement

Kapil Chowdhury

Like many other commonplace words - think of art, love and justice; advertising is surprisinglyhard to define with precision. Advertising is an organized method of communicating informationabout a product or service which a company or individual wants to sell to the people. Advertising is a

paid announcement that is expressed or conveyed through word, text, pictures, music (audio) andaction in a medium which is used by the potential buyers. It is also defined as -"advertising is acommunication which expresses for the purpose of selling a product or service." Process of planning,execution, the pricing, promotion and distribution of a product to create exchanges that satisfy bothindividual needs and organization goals, this process is known as Advertising. Actually advertising isalso defined as "public announcement". We can also say that Advertising means "Any paid for non-personal presentation for the promotion of any ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor".Even Advertising is a form of persuasive communication with the consumer or audience. In the timeof digital communication, television commercial is now one of the most popular and successive mediain advertising industry. It is also true that each subliminal advertisings have always the power ofinsidiousness and which is more evident. This kind of advertisings are basically based on two basictechniques; one is allowing words to flash during commercials, which are not consciously seen butstill have strong impact on people's mind; another is the using of "testimonial" or "brand ambassador"

or celebrities who are symbolized as guarantee for the brand through their fame. So result is that thecelebrities He or She using a product means the product is good, so the target audience would temptto buy it. Advertising is a paid-for communication intended to inform and persuade one or morepeople. An interesting fact is that we can't strictly declare advertising as a paid-for communication; ifno cost is involved in advertising yet it has the communication, persuasive and achieves good publicity,

but it is not technically advertising in terms of Corporate world. Yes, at that time we can consider it asan advertising which is produced deliberately been given away free or without any cost (for example-to a charity). Every advertisement runs as a bridge in between the gap of the sender and the receiver.This bridge is a communication. To buy a newspaper which is totally blank whether in words orpictures or both, then it cannot communicate with the people. So, likewise advertisements alsocommunicate something to whoever see or hear it.

Advertising is a very important tool which works as an effective multiple salesmen. It may

appeal to thousands while the salesman talks to one, it means when a salesman interact with an onlyone consumer, an advertising communicates with millions of consumer at a same time. Even it involvesa corresponding cost compared with a salesman. So a salesman's mistake may cost little but anadvertiser's mistake may cost a thousand times bigger than a salesman's mistakes. Hence the advertisershould be more cautious, more exacting towards his idea, concept and in everything of hisadvertisement. Because a little mistake of an advertisement can affect very badly in various field.

Actually a flawless and errorless advertisement is the Golden Key to achieve the success in the marketingcommunication. A successful advertisement creates by some significant elements and these elementsare honesty, truthfulness, simple and clear concept (message), morality and so on.

But from Egyptian's papyrus to the web advertisement, advertising has developed so incrediblythat nothing is impossible to do in the advertising either in concept or in technology. Concept andtechnology are the main factors or limbs of advertising and these two are the major route throughwhich advertising has evolved. The emergence of this advertising industry can be identified throughthe study and analysis of some early and modern print advertisements in India. It will also help tounderstand the development of the advertisers' knowledge, skills, creativity and imagination. Fevicolis the most successful adhesive product of India and it is very popular for its commercials. In the year

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of 1959, Pidilite Production Company launched this white synthetic

Adhesive in the market. So a print ad of Fevicol was made in the year 1959 when printingtechnology was not developed in India. At that time, offset printing was the main source for printadvertisement and in the meantime newspaper was often used for the advertisement. Thisadvertisement was printed through offset lithography. Set in greyscale, the illustration was composedwith some containers of Fevicol in the left side and in the right side of the advertisement the Logoof Fevicol was placed in a big size. A tag line "Stick with the Best" also placed over the logo. So it isa very simple and greyscale advertisement. On the other hand another print advertisement ofFevicol was made in the year 2008. In a first glimpse it shows the impact of digital technology whichalready emerged in the advertising industry. In last three decades, Fevicol has maintained it itscommon features in advertisements such as, simplicity, humour, concept and creativity. In thisprint advertisement, advertiser has designed the advertisement with the amalgamation of Hindumythology and the bond of Fevicol very creatively and humorously. Here the advertiser has executedthe illustrations in a form of cartoon characters. In this advertisement, Yama (the God of death)was showed who is sitting on a buffalo and trying to pull out the soul of a man who committedsuicide. The body of the man is on the foreground along with the figure of Yama and his buffaloproportionally depicted bigger than the man and his soul. Now the twist of this advertisement isthat the man is wearing the t-shirt of Fevicol so, Yama cannot pulled out the soul or life of the manfrom his body. And the best thing is the tagline of the advertisement which says "Fevicol aise jodlagaaye Yamraaj bhi na tod paaye", it means Fevicol fix such a way that Yama can not break its bond.The theme, concept and the amalgamation of both are done brilliantly. Key features of thisadvertisement are: it says about the effective bond of Fevicol, simple and effective way of storytelling,punches of tagline and humour that gains the attention of the audience. So the study has analyzedthe emergence of advertising in India in last few decades. The former advertisement has not included

any concept or message in itself. Basically two or three brands/companies were there in market forparticular categories of product. So the competition was very less in number. Whereas theadvertisements of Surf washing powder are the source through which symbolized the emergence ofthe India advertising industry. Earlier advertisements of Surf had some common visual aspectssuch big packet of Surf with illusionistic background. In the year 1970, Surf presented a lady"Lalitaji" with holding some clothes and a packet of Surf over the clothes. Here the lady is seen witha glowing white saree and the clothes are also in glowing white along with illusionistic background.Whereas the advertisement is in greyscale colour mode so it has become more effective to turn theattention of the audience toward itself though as a black and white print advertisement. But afterfew years the concept of this detergent powder changed in broader emotional way and brought theneeds of Indian people especially for women. Next advertisement of Lalitaji ad campaign camewith a tagline "Surf ki kharidari mein hi samajdari hain" (It makes better sense to buy Surf). Throughthis tagline it created a great impact in the minds of the audience and as well as psychologically it

claimed as better detergent powder in the market. When this product was launched as a "SurfExcel" under the Hindustan Unilever then it came with a new and brilliant concept. Where it hasstarted to used negative aspect in positive manner. With a new and attractive tagline "Daag acchehain" - it turned more effective than the former taglines. Here it executed two girls to lie down onthe grass and having fun with paints in their face and all around clothes. This advertisementapproaches the negative aspect of staining in a very positive way to signify that now staining is notbig problem in cleaning. The brand targeted the housewives and the mothers who face problemswith their children's dirty and stained clothes. It also shows some development in particular aspectssuch as now the size of the product or packet of Surf excel get small in size. The copywriting or textinformation is placed under the white vector along with logo of Surf excel in the bottom. Theconcept of using negative aspect in a positive way became very useful and successive idea for thisproduct. The recent print advertisement of Surf excel is also based on this concept along with theamalgamation of cricket world of 2015 and "Lagaan" (the film). In a first glimpse it exactly looks

like a poster of the movie Lagaan. In this commercial eleven boys are standing with dirty clothesalong with holding cricket stuffs. "Practice karenge daag lagayenge 2015 mein toh World cup leaayenge"- this tagline also inspires the Indian cricket team to win again world cup in 2015. These

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print commercials of Surf excel has avoided toexecute unhappy housewives toiling hard withdirty clothes or a woman with glowing whiteclothes. With the concept of "Daag Achche Hai"the brand has tried to give the message to livethe life with joy and to be stress-less about thedirt and grime on clothes. The study andanalysis have helped to understand andexperience the development of printadvertisement, even it has also signified thedevelopment of the advertiser. The emergenceof this advertising industry has happened for

the advertiser, who introduced creative andinnovative ideas in this field. For this reason itcould happen that the Indian advertisingindustry has got the tag of entertainment.Advertisers through their concept and ideasmade the people or audience to think beyondthe reality or imagination. Along with theseinnovative and creative ideas, fulfilling theexpectations and requirements of the brands/companies/ trade or product to survive and dogood business in the commercial field thrive on.With the help of digitalization and moderntechnology, the advertiser brought lots of

changes and penetrated many features into theadvertisement. Numerous software have beenintroduced to make designs for the print mediasuch as CorelDraw, Adobe Indesign, AdobeIllustrator, and Adobe Photoshop. Though, weall know that human wants are unlimited, sothe increasing number of brands and companiesin the market necessitate for the advertiser todo more different and innovative job for creatingadvertisements. Due to this the audience or thepeople will experience numerous conceptualand technological changes with lots of twist andturns in Indian advertising.

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Art & Architecture ofRajasthan

AAAAArup Mazumderrup Mazumderrup Mazumderrup Mazumderrup Mazumder

Rajasthan is famous for the majestic forts, intricatelycarved temples and decorated havelis, which were built bykings in previous ages. The state of Rajasthan tells the talesof a glorious past of India of kings, Maharajas and royalty.Opulence and prosperity were once synonymous toRajasthan. Even today, most tourists travel to the state toimbibe its vibrant culture of richness and brilliance. Themany building and architectures of Rajasthan bear the markof engineering excellence that was achieved by the masonsof the bygone era.

The buildings and monuments of Rajasthan beardistinct marks of Rajput architecture which thrived duringthe Mughal period. The influence of Mughal architecture

can also be seen in many palaces and monuments of Rajasthan. In a word, Rajasthani structural designis a blend of Hindu and Muslim architectures. Many of these buildings have been included into the listof heritage buildings of India and therefore feature into the list of must visit places in the state.

Photo EssayPhoto EssayPhoto EssayPhoto EssayPhoto Essay

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Few Printmakers from North East :A Brief Glance at theContemporary Practices

Moushumi Kandali

With the publication of an Assameseliterary magazine Arunodoi (1846) by the

American Baptist Mission in Assam, theliterary genre of fiction writing in Assameseliterature saw a fine modernist departure. Itis worth mentioning that it was in thismagazine that art-illustrations in wood blockRelief printing was introduced for the firsttime in the North-East with portraits of greatpeople, pictures of different animals,illustrations of Bible and other literatures and

many other subject matters. As aptly observedby Rajkumar Mazinder in his article about the'19th Century Art in Assam and the traditionalinfluences' published in Ajir Asom, (21st May2006), all the elements of British AkademicRealism such as chiaroscuro, perspectives,tonal variation, proper anatomical proportion,depth and volume, etc were visible in these illustrations. Some of the artists dedicated to thisgenre were Rev. Nathan Brown, Tularam, Kanuram, Mohiram, Tuleswar, Young, etc. However,it took several more decades in the dynamics of modern art in north east to evolve a vibrant

trend in the realm of printmaking by the end of the twentiethcentury in the true sense of the term. Unlike other genres of art

like painting or sculpture, printmaking requires specificinfrastructural facilities to develop and sustain along with varioussocio-cultural and political factors. Owing to such dearth offacilities the trend of printmaking had to undergo hurdles toflourish till a turning point came in. With the establishment ofthe department of Graphics in the Government College of Arts& Crafts, Guwahati In 1990, this specific turning point and anew departure was ushered in the art scene of the North-East.The Department had facilities for different media of printmakingsuch as lithography (stone/ metal sheet), etching, woodcut,serigraphy, along with experimental works of different kinds likeplastic sheet etching, plywood engraving etc. Except this

department no other art college or university have anydepartment for printmaking in this region though AssamUniversity, Silchar or Manipur art college have few equipments

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or machines without any full-fledged studio facility. Of course, the opening of a studio withfacility for etching and lithography in the Lalit Kala wing of Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra inGuwahati in 2004 was a boon for a region dearth of infrastructural advantages.

The two artists who have made an immense contribution to the development of the art ofgraphics in the initial stage of development in this department in the Government College of Arts& Crafts, are Dilip Tamuli and Ajit Seal. It was Dilip Tamuly who for the first time took over thecharge of the Graphics Department, (he was also the first one to hold the print making exhibitionin the region in 1981in the state art gallery in Guwahati along with Golap Chakravarty) and broughtin the needed momentum in the genre of printmaking not only in the state but also the entireregion as many student started coming to the college from the other states of the north-east. Tospeak about his work as a printmaker, his artistic expressions are renderings with primitivistic

evocation, passionate and powerful. Sparked with an inherent energy within the distortedanthropomorphic forms, the works are recurrently expressed in intense black figuring patches /forms/masses. Dilip Tamuli's extensive research documentation of the various folk and tribal artforms of entire north eastern regions has definitely enriched his artistic vision and sensitivity.

Another artist Ajit Seal joined Tamuly later in the graphics department of the college fortheir collective endeavor to bring out many graduates who are now working outside the stateand country and carving a niche for themselves. Drawing from the woodcarvings of "Namghars"the religious institution of Assam and other 'Satra' drawings, he establishes a bond betweentraditional style and modernist ethos by imbibing the stylizations of Vaishnavite paintings intomodernist contents and visions. It is herein worth mentioning that along with these two artistsanother senior artist, Madhusudan Das has also played a role in spreading this definite genre ofart in the suburb areas of the State. Madhusudan Das as a printmaker has been trying to evolvean idiom of his own in the expressionistic mood in the medium of wo