Culture of Kolkata explained

The culture of Kolkata concerns the music, art, museums, festivals, and lifestyle within Kolkata. It is the former capital of India and,, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Geir Heierstad writes that Bengalis tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature.[1]

Arts

See also: Group theatre of Kolkata. The city has a long tradition of commercial theatres and group theatres. As opposed to commercial theatres, group theatres usually do not have any profit making agenda. Group theatre activists use the proscenium stage to portray some social message.[2] [3] The commercial theatres of the city, however, has been declining in popularity since the 1980s, and only a handful of commercial theatre productions are made, as of 2009.[2] [4]

Notable group theatres include the Little Theatre Group, Gandharba, Calcutta Theatre, Nandikar, Bahurupee etc. and movements like the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).[5] Famous drama and theatrics personalities include Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay, Utpal Dutta, Rudraprasad Sengupta and Shambhu Mitra.

Architecture

Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures";[6] however, others are in various stages of decay.[7] [8] Established in 1814 as the nation's oldest museum, the Indian Museum houses large collections that showcase Indian natural history and Indian art.[9] Marble Palace is a classic example of a European mansion that was built in the city. The Victoria Memorial, a place of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history.

Kalighat painting originated in the 19th century Kolkata, in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple of Kalighat. Initially sold as items of souvenir taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of Indian painting. From the depiction of Hindu gods, goddesses, and other mythological characters, the Kalighat paintings developed to reflect a variety of themes including quotidian life.[10] The Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions. The Government College of Art and Craft, founded in 1864, has been the cradle as well as workplace of eminent artists including Abanindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, and Nandalal Bose.[11] The art college was the birthplace of Bengal school of art that arose as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the prevalent academic art styles.[12] [13] [14]

Sports

The people of Kolkata are famous for being sports lovers. Cricket and football can easily be called the life blood of the city. The home town of Eden Gardens (headquarters of CAB), the city can boast of an impartial crowd of cricket lovers who cheer for good cricket even when their side is losing. Eden Gardens is one of the biggest stadiums in the country in terms of capacity and witnessed its first test match from 5 to 8 January 1934.[15]

Exhibitions

Kolkata is a city of exhibitions and fairs. The International History & Heritage Exhibition organised by Sabarna Sangrahashala annually in February is an important event where the rich cultural heritage of the land is reflected.[16] Apart from the history and heritage of India, the exhibition through displays of rarest artifacts and documents portrays the history, traditions and culture of other nations too. The exhibition attracts visitors from all over the world.[17]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sinha P . 1990 . Kolkata – The Living City. Volume 1: The Past . Kolkata and the Currents of History . Chaudhuriय़यकुहच S.. Oxford University Press, Oxford. .
    Cited by: Web site: Heierstad G . University of Oslo, Norway . Nandikar: Staging Globalisation in Kolkata and Abroad . 102 . 2003 . . 2006-04-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060512065317/http://folk.uio.no/gheierst/nandikar.pdf . 12 May 2006 . dmy-all .
  2. Book: Bhattacharya . Malini . Jasodhara. Bagchi . The changing status of women in West Bengal, 1970–2000: the challenge ahead . 2005 . Sage Publications . New Delhi . 9780761932420 . 99–100 . Culture.
  3. Book: Theatre Histories: An Introduction. Phillip . Zarilli . Bruce . McConachie. Gary Jay. Williams. Sorgenfrei. Carol Fisher. Williams. Gary Jay. Rotledge. 2010. 2006. Abingdon, UK. 9780415462235 . 429–430.
  4. News: Chowringhee revisited. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095412/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090531/jsp/7days/story_11042452.jsp. dead. 2 February 2014. De. Hemchhaya. The Telegraph. Kolkata. 31 May 2009. 9 March 2012. ...most people say that Bengali commercial theatre died in the 1980s....
  5. Ghosh . Parimal . 2012 . Rise and fall of Calcutta's group theatre: the end of a political dream . Economic & Political Weekly . 47 . 10 . 36–42 . Economic and Political Weekly . 0012-9976 . 9 March 2012 . dmy .
  6. Web site: Graded list of heritage buildings . Kolkata Municipal Corporation . 24 January 2012 . 2009.
  7. News: Mukherjee Pandey, Jhimli . Heritage buildings need restoration, not mere repairs . 24 January 2012 . 4 September 2011 . New Delhi . https://archive.today/20120717030639/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-04/kolkata/30112600_1_heritage-buildings-heritage-movement-g-m-kapur . 17 July 2012 . dead . . dmy-all .
  8. News: Out of elite list, cradle of Bengal Renaissance falling apart . 24 January 2012 . TNN . 26 June 2011 . New Delhi . https://archive.today/20120716231328/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-26/kolkata/29705730_1_house-movement-slab . 16 July 2012 . dead . . dmy-all .
  9. News: Mandal . Caesar . Gardeners to guard museum? . 24 January 2012 . 14 August 2010 . New Delhi . https://archive.today/20120707164431/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-08-14/kolkata/28309037_1_security-gadgets-security-lapse-private-security-agency . 7 July 2012 . dead . . dmy-all .
  10. Book: Chaitanya, Krishna. A history of Indian painting: the modern period. Abhinav Publications. 1994. New Delhi. 112–118. 9788170173106.
  11. Web site: A journey through 145 years . Government College of Art and Craft . 29 January 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120220013327/http://gcac.edu.in/history.php . 20 February 2012 . dmy .
  12. Book: Mitter, Partha . Art and nationalism in colonial India, 1850–1922: occidental orientations . 1994. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. 9780521443548 . How the past was salvaged by Swadeshi artists . 267–306 .
  13. Book: Onians, John . Atlas of world art . 2004. Laurence King Publishing . London . 9781856693776 . 304.
  14. News: For many art lovers, it's back to the old school. https://web.archive.org/web/20130508011907/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-12/special-report/31051756_1_bengal-school-bengal-art-bengal-masters. dead. 8 May 2013. Ghose . Archana Khare . New Delhi. 12 February 2012. The Times of India. 8 March 2012.
  15. Web site: The Cricket Association of Bengal. cricketassociationofbengal.com. en. 2018-04-30.
  16. Web site: International History & Heritage Exhibition 2018.
  17. Bangiya Sabarna Katha Kalishetra Kalikatah by Bhabani Roy Choudhury, Manna Publication.

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