EXPLORING THE RIVERINE CULTURE OF BENGAL

Bengal is a land of many rivers, which have contributed to the socio-cultural, political and religious evolution of the region through centuries. Apart from being central to the transportation of people and goods across Bengal, these riverways also brought in with them influences from a variety of cultures from around the world. In spite of the advent of modern-day transportation, the river system continues to play a crucial role in connecting large swathes of Bengal – especially the deltaic region and southern Bangladesh – even today.

Through history, the rivers of Bengal also fostered a number of cities that were established on their banks by reigning dynasties as state capitals. From the earliest cities of Rampal, Bikrampur and Lakhnauti (Gaur) to the relatively modern metropolises such as Dhaka, Murshidabad and Kolkata, these rivers witnessed an unending ebb and tide of power and politics play out on their shores. Armies of foreign invaders sailed up their waters from time to time. Some were thwarted by a treacherous combination of alluvial mud-banks and torrential monsoons, while other superior naval forces skilfully negotiated these waterways to gain access into the deep hinterlands of Bengal. Each such intrusion left an indelible influence on the face of the region as well as the psyche of its inhabitants, contributing – in the process – to the shaping of modern Bengal. The influences of this turbulent past, combined with the narratives of successive waves of migration in and out of the region, are omnipresent in Bengal’s myths and legends, rites and rituals, language, art, literature, music, cuisine as well as in the design of objects and religious icons, strewn across the daily lives of people in the region today.

The Khoj Kolkata project will seek to explore this riverine tradition of Bengal, and interpret its various facets. The first part of the project will see a team of researchers compile all available material and data on the above subject. This will be an ongoing exercise, aimed at creating an archive of research papers, books, photographs, sketches, etchings, objects, etc., which will be available online on this website. Attempts will also be made to cross-link and share information with research institutes and individuals specialising in these fields.

The second part of the project will make the above data available to participating artists, who will be invited to a residency at Khoj Kolkata. The artists, selected from all over the world, will then be encouraged to use this information in order to interpret, re-interpret and create artworks in any media.