Kolkata: The travails of Behula of the Mansamangal genre of Bengali medieval epic is coming alive in the three-day Behala Art Fest at Behala 14 number bus stand, through installation art, hand-shadowgraphy, graffiti and media art.
Noted artists mainly associated with theme-based Durga Pujas in the city have united to give vent to the idea conceived by Behala Nutan Sangha, which has, perhaps for the first time in the city, made a serious bid to take up art in such a serious manner.
It is believed that Behala has its root in Behula, the name of the female protagonist of Manasamangalkavya, which is why it has been chosen as the theme of the festival.
"We have modernised the text of Manasamangalkavya and have tried to portray the characters in it, mainly through installation art and graffiti. It is not just simply hanging of pictures as we meant some serious art business through this three-day event that kicked off from Friday and will continue till Sunday," said Panchali Banerjee of Behala Nutan Sangha Club.
The walls of some multistoried buildings and houses, the back walls of the shops at Behala 14 number bus stand and some other vacant spaces have acted as the canvas of more than 70 artists, who have joined this initiative.
An interesting part of the three-day festival will be screening of a documentary on Sunderbans, where quacks popularly known as 'ojhas' themselves say that a person needs to be taken to a hospital and anti-venom needs to be administered in case of a snake bite.
"It is surely the first time in the state when a club has attempted to take art to such a level beyond the days of Durga Puja. We hope that this will encourage the other clubs to come forward with similar initiatives," said artist Bhabatosh Sutar.
"I feel proud to be a part of an initiative in which some youngsters associated with this club have taken art so seriously," said artist Sanatan Dinda.