"Mukhaarh" - Some moments in time

 

 On the way to School

 

                                                 

                                                 Way back from the Workshop


The tradition of masks in Jharkhand -

Saraikela -"In the year 1620, Kumar Bikram Singh I, the third Maharaja Jagannath Singh, established the Seraikela state, which was merged with Bihar state after independence and ranked as subdivision merged with the boundaries of Kharsawan state. Later on the basis of territories act in 1950, 39 villages of Chandil, Nimdih and Tamar area were included into it." - http://seraikela.nic.in/

After Jharkhand got separated from Bihar, Sarikela became part of the state. The Chou Dance of Saraikela is characteristic and typical. The masks have an unmistakable similarity with masks from Bali/ Java. For long this unique form of Chou has had an active patronage from the Royal Family of Singh Deos. 

I decided to go to Rajkiya Chou Nritya Kala Kendra where they train students not only in dance, but there are separate teachers and departments that train in mask making as well. Unlike masks taken from moulds, these Saraikela masks are directly cast from clay in paper mache and cotton cloth, that is in the end layered with a fine mud paste that gives it a delicate and refined finish. No varnish is applied, after the colouring, that are all natural.

Despite and bumpy rides, I was fortunate to meet one of the descendents of the Singh Deos of Saraikela Royal Family - Lal Bahadur Singh Deo. The palace lies in a derelict state...the traditon of Chou masks and dance lives on....  

A dusty and bumpy ride in an auto to Saraikela was an experience one of its kind

The Saraikela Royal Palace, that lies in a dilapidated condition

The Saraikela Chou Mask

Lal Bahadur Singh Deo, descendent of the Singh Deos of Saraikela

Notes from: Diary of an Explorer

17th April 2012

Patehpani - a small village housing not more than 5 Birhor families at the most. Surrounded by mountains - Dalma, with the sun going down on the west behind them. Call from cicadas fill the air, electric wires hang overhead, obviously there is electricity. In the distance there are solar powered lamp posts. However there is no electricity at the moment, there are some "pakka houses" built by the government, for the BPL card holders, and such PTG (Primitive Tribal Groups) like the Sabars and Birhors.
Amongst the few villages I have been to, this one really filled me - at that moment, there was no better place to be in. "They" ran away when they saw me, but accompanied by somebody from Tribal Cultural Society, means I am not entirely to be distrusted. By the time we left the place, they flocked at a safe distance to see us leave. Curiosity is innate to human nature...I was just as curious to know them...perhaps some other time!

Sabars... are one of the more backward tribes from the Primitive Tribal Groups.  A few days and after a couple of visits to their villages, I find it commendable - the efforts of those who have paved the path for progress amongst this community....
But their behavior stops in making much improvement, nomadic in nature prone to addictions makes it more difficult for improvement in their quality of living....

However in the last few days, I have had the opportunity to see some of these "forest dwelling" people, actually trained in weaving and agriculture.... making a decent living.
From making ropes out of weeds and tree bark and selling wood being  the primary source of livelihood, these people are now working as agriculturists, the women - experts in weaving technology and their children going to schools - in the hope of a brighter tomorrow and on the way to it....

 

Notes from: 7-3-12

"In handling the wealth placed in our hands we fulfilled the visions and ambitions of Jamsetji Tata and his sons that this wealth which came from the people should go back to the people many times over" - J.R.D Tata.

This one idea has changed the economic structure of Jamshedpur, many tribals found job opportunities, women clad in heavy weight boots work in factories alongside their male colleagues, drive heavy weight machines...as Tata Steel completed 100 years (2011) of the Blast furnace in Jamshedpur, the city evolved from a one time village Kalimati to the biggest industrial hub and township - Jamshedpur.
It has made all Jamshedpur-ians proud...but for the silent sacrifices and duties performed by the natives in giving away their lands, and toiling through the nights, their contribution to the "building of a town" goes largely unnoticed by us....

Time to take note.... I guess we are all to busy for that...and how??!! Wish we really knew!!!

Reporting from base -

Adivasi Protest Marches - fairly a common sight?!!!?

Witnessed another protest march today..the banners read..."Dalma Buru humara adhikaar hai...Sarna dharam humara adhikar hai" I dont need to translate that...I hope anybody who feels concerned will be able to read between the lines...and I also hope we can spare a few minutes at least pondering on the lives these "other" people are living, rather than  being too engrossed with our own...
-6-3-12

Reporting from base - Sabarnagar - Samanpur - Bistupur - from the villages back to town...

Its not always pleasant to behold what meets the eye..but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist neither does it pay to close our eyes to something we would rather choose not to see... trust me when I say they would rather be left alone than rallying on the roads...till some time back, these were the same tribals who ran away at the sight of strangers... what we could do on our part is at least take note...and a little bit of respect towards them and their "need" for their private space... the rest is up to our own understanding and intellect!

Negotiating Routes : Ecologies of the Byways III  

http://www.khojworkshop.org/project/12223

           

"Mukhaarh" - Mask making workshop with children from the school of Dobo.

9th and 10th of April 2012

Across Subarnarekha, Doumahani, Sonari.

"Mukhaarh" means mask in native tongue in the Saraikela district. Erstwhile part of Orissa, Saraikela now falls under the state of Jharkhand. Mask making has been a tradition in Jharkhand for a very long time. Seraikela Chhou masks are very different to the Purulia Chhou masks in West Bengal, simpler and devoid of decorations. The Royal family of the Singh Deos of Saraikela have played a large role in the evolution of the Chhou dance tradition in Saraikela.

"...For several generations, members of the royal family apart from patronizing Chhau, also became Chhau dancers themselves. They played an active role in shaping and reshaping the art form, its repertoire, and the style and variety of masks used in performances. The long-term support of the royal family and the festival context of Chhau contributed to moulding the Seraikela style into its present distinctive form that includes sculptural and sustained or elongated movement and the clear-featured, relatively plain, simple but stylized mask."

Saraikela is a small town situated by the Kharkai, the same which flows onward to meet Subarnarekha at Doumahani, the focal point of this project. For some time I have spent most of my time in this region, now its time to go back a little way to know more about the life on that end of the river.

The aim of this  project was to learn more about the various traditions, history, communities and the cultures of Jamshedpur. Now that I have started looking closer, I feel I have hardly known my hometown I was so proud of. Each day I learn more, and I share it through various posts - in the hope that I am able to enlighten more people about my home and its people. What better way to pay tribute to the glories of this small town - that has so many untold stories. Jamshedpur - the Steel City - adds a touch of pride and "steel" but there is a different side to it. And each time I look at this other side, I cannot help but falling in love with my home town all over again....

I am in hope, each of us finds time to observe their locality more closely, and I am sure we will be surprised with our findings. We will be able to to grow to love and to care!
 

Monument to the River

When I first went to Doumahani as a small girl, I never guessed I would come back  often to this place filled with curiosity and purpose, that one day it will lead me across the rivers on my own to venture into regions from whence people come to the city in search of opportunities, but none from the city ever goes there. It was not in the slightest hope of an opportunity that I frequented the place, one look into the eyes of these dwellers, told me that city people were aliens to these villages...that we could never "fit in" just as they can never "fit in" to the humdrum of a chaotic city life.

From there my curiosity took a turn to know the unknown, and let that unknown be known to many more....we live together, in a world, but there is so little we know about the people we live together with.
Like me, there were many I am happy to say took that step to the road of knowledge, to learn and to grow to care for the world that is mostly unknown to us. And on the way I realized it is essential perhaps that it remains so.

Tomorrow I return to the river - not for the last time, but for the first - to pay homage to the river and its people. The Monument to the River is a sculptural piece that will be installed with care at the site across Doumahani, and after leaving its mark in my mind and on those of others it will be dismantled - easily....The reason, being that I do not wish my presence to linger this time, with no trace of mine to remain...the river is that which belongs to the settlers, the river is the only means to their private lives, for if it weren't for this river the place would have changed long ago. Its best that we stay away as long as possible.

Monument to the River is my homage to the sacred bonding between the river and the dwellers. It was in no better way that could bring this project - now almost to its  end...
Now there will only be Memories....and they will remain embedded in my mind!

                                         

Negotiating Routes : Ecologies of the Byways III  

http://www.khojworkshop.org/project/12223