While in Kolkata, our USIEF host arranged for us to learn about Bengal Scroll Paintings and meet some artists who paint in this amazing style. The name "Kalighat Pata" is applied to a class of paintings and drawings on paper produced by a group of artists in the neighborhood of the Kali Temple, now a part of Kolkata, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The artists select as their themes popular Hindu deities, epics, historical events and incidents from daily life. (However, we saw one contemporary piece that showed the 9-11 incident.)
They use paint made from all natural dyes to create the exquisite "stories in art." Usually, if it is a story, it will be painted in a scene by scene format and unrolled (like a scroll) as the story is being told. Now, here's the really good part! The story is SUNG as the painting is unrolled. Of course, we were hearing them being sung in Bengali, but we were given a "cheat sheet" so that we would know what story went with the pictures. In the auditorium where this was presented, there were hundreds of these spread all over the floor and hanging from the walls.
I had struggled to come up with a curriculum project (my payback for this trip) that I was really excited about and this hit the jackpot. It will incorporate storytelling, Hindu legends, music, art----lesson plans just kept popping into my head as I looked around the room. I hope my students will be as excited!
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