the Mallick Ghat flower market, perhaps the most enchanting market in all of Kolkata
Another thing we have always associated with Calcutta is its artistic credentials. All the artists we knew, and knew of, 20 years ago, were Bengali, so it cannot be other than that Calcutta is the capital of Indian art, at least its modern and contemporary art.
The first signs are indeed positive, I discover the KMOMA, the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art, no less than nine stories, and a fabulous building. At least, the artist’s rendition looks fabulous, but as it turns out the construction, started in 2013, hasn’t been finished yet. Or maybe it hasn’t even started.
sculpture outside the Academy of Fine Arts
another one, same place, in better condition
The Academy
But there must be many other museums and galleries dedicated to the arts, in a city like Calcutta. So what better place to begin than at the Academy of Fine Arts. The building, close to the Saint Paul’s cathedral, is a bit run down, which is exemplified by the sculptures in the garden, many of which are damaged.
whilst this one is just falling apart, much like the museum itself
a sculpture inside, more modern, and in better condition
It is three stories high, but the main collection, of paintings, is on the first floor, and is pretty small. It starts with a series of paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, which is not exactly my style. And in the adjoining room there are another 30-40 paintings, by Indian artists, that are also mostly not my style, mostly based on very traditional Indian themes – no searching for the edges, as one would expect from modern and contemporary art. The two rooms downstairs are filled with work of young and upcoming artists, and look very much like a sales exhibition rather than a museum. Some of it is mildly attractive.
The Galleries
A little further away is the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, an institution established in 1967 to encourage and help young artists. The main event here is the 58th Annual Exhibition, indeed a recurring initiative to promote emerging artists. The selection is a little wider than at the Academy of Fine Arts, but much of the work is, in my eyes, a bit tacky, not of great artistic value. The curator could have been a little more stringent, or perhaps the supply was simply not good enough. Some of the photographs that are being exhibited are not even sharp, like that of the Kangchenjunga – the one I showed you earlier is a better picture!
an art work by Shakila, a self-made artist, exhibiting in the private CIMA gallery
There are lots of commercial galleries in Calcutta, but here, too, we have not been very successful. One we simply couldn’t find, another was rather far away, and the third, the CIMA gallery, had just started a solo exhibition of Shakila, a self-made artist. In itself a nice collection, but it deprives us once again of a kind of an overview of works of Bengal-based artists.
In the end the best experience is at the Ahuja Museum of Art, which displays a small part of the private collection of Mr Ahuja, who pays for the large room and for the coffee that is offered to visitors. Here we finally see a broad variation of quality modern art, most of it presumably Indian – there is no catalogue, and no cards at the individual works. And finding out later is also difficult, because, as everywhere, in the museums and the commercial galleries, photography is strictly forbidden.
part of the private collection of Mr Ahuja….
… in the small, but lovely Ahuja Museum of Art
which includes this work (Chagall-inspired?)
Hogg’s Market
In fact, Calcutta’s contemporary art, its more playful exponents thereof, can be found right in the city centre, outside Hogg market. The market itself is mostly inside the red-brick building, dating from 1874, where slaughtered meat and poultry competes with living rats that squirrel away in between the stalls. It is big, but not very colourful, and a far cry from earlier markets we have seen.
Hogg’s market, the high corridors inside
another view of the inside, mostly meat in this case
and the occasional rat, of course, integral part of the market
outside the market, the first works of art (on the right)
But outside the market we find an unexpected explosion of art, where a wide variety of seemingly unrelated statues and sculptures have been assembled, from idol-like figures of workers and colourful masks to brass or copper friezes depicting historical events. Funny, mostly, and definitely something else.
several tall sculptures in the sqaure in front of the market building
ofter a combination of several works
detail of one of those, a string of birds
and another, a tree and birds and paintings and bells and a bronze relief
another bronze relief, surrounded by further works
outside the market are the rickshaws
no doubt model for this work of art near Hogg’s market
and this is my own artistic contribution: street stall selling drinks
a Hindu temple near the Kumartuli neighbourhood
The Kumartuli Artists
A very local form of artistry we find in the Kumartuli neighbourhood. Several narrow streets are lined with workshops of the idol artists, people who create the large – and small – statues for Hindu festivals and temples. It looks a bit like the mask makers on Majuli island, except on a much bigger scale; there are hundreds of ateliers, it looks, all involved in making straw frames, subsequently covered with mud and shaped in images of Durga, Krishna, Shiva. Not many artists are at work, but their efforts are visible, as horses parked in the street, or multiple deities stacked inside a small shed, for later completion. It is not necessarily beautiful, but wandering through the alleys here is an interesting experience.
and one of the narrow alleys where the artists work
two horses parked outside
clay sculptures not yet painted, neither dressed
more sculptures, same status, but with multiple arms
and this is the first stage, straw tied together
mass production
the painting process starting
you can have your views about the colours used
but in the end, significant progress made
the Mallick Ghat flower market
a seller surrounded by flowers and green
and another one, with a focus on garlands
which are subsequently being carried away, to temples
another garland stand, this is the big business
The Flower Market
The real gem of a market is the flower market at Mallick Ghat. This is not your average flower market, where you buy a bunch of flowers for on the kitchen table. This is where huge amounts of flowers are being traded wholesale, but also where the garlands for the temples are being made, and sold. Great place to walk around, even though the spaces between the traders are very narrow, and it is very busy. Several times I just manage to duck away in time, avoiding head-on collision with the guys carrying massive packs of flowers on their heads. This market, too, is an ancient institution, apparently since 1855.
and in a bit more detail
the Howraw bridge
The River
Kumartuli and Mallick Ghat are a bit further from the centre, and are close to, or on the Hooghly River. This river, branching off from the Ganges a little north of Calcutta, runs right through the city, yet, there are only three bridges across. The most famous one, a piece of art in itself, I would say, is the Howraw bridge, next to the flower market. But a river this size doesn’t only have bridges, but also ferries, a very relaxed way to travel through town. And an excellent way to observe river side activities; obviously, the river is used as washing and bathing facility for a large group of people. Still the reality, in India, I suspect.
which, of course, is strictly prohibited to be photographed
and an impressive construction
traffic on the bridge
some of the boats along the river
and one of the ferries, packed
not for entertainment, mostly
the second Hooghly Bridge, and people in the water
but for washing and bathing, and even toothbrushing
So, all together, a great few days in Kolkata, a fitting end to our trip through Bangladesh and NE India. Perhaps the most ‘Indian’ part of the entire trip, much more so than the tribal Nagaland and the Buddhist mountainous areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. And with it, the last few loose ends, left from our stay in India 20 years ago, may have been tied.
lastly, some observations from NE India
plenty of activity along the streets
mostly to do with cooking and eating
like this tea stall
and the snacks from the Palash Hotal
small boats moored along the Hooghly, looks like lunch time to me
and others are temporarily abandoned for maintenance
