Students from B’desh explore terracotta art in Raiganj workshop

Raiganj: A team of 30 students from the Folklore department of Rajshahi University in Bangladesh participated in a workshop on terracotta designing and clay model preparation at the house of the renowned artisan Bhanu Paul in Kanchanpally.

With the assistance of Raiganj University and members of the West Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce, they reached Raiganj in the North Dinajpur district on Friday morning.

Bhanu Paul, a renowned artisan of Raiganj, stated: “The students from Rajshahi University in Bangladesh, guided by their teachers, met me. In a very brief period, they were trained in the process of preparing terracotta items and clay models. In the workshop, they also acquired knowledge about different elements used in making terracotta. The authorities of Raiganj University and the members of the West Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce extended their cooperation to organise such a workshop.”

Sumaya Islam, a student of the Folklore department at Rajshahi University, said: “We are thankful to the people of Raiganj who came forward to assist us.

The preparation of different terracotta items in Raiganj attracted us. We gained knowledge about this art. It gave us pleasure when we found that in terms of culture, hospitality, manners, and lifestyles, the people of North Dinajpur district are similar to those in Bangladesh.”

Md. Amenul Islam, a professor of the Folklore department at Rajshahi University in Bangladesh, said: “With the introduction of plastic and melamine items, the art of terracotta and clay modeling was adversely affected. In order to seek relief from pollution, people have now started to rethink the use of environmentally-friendly terracotta and clay models. We will be staying from December 22 to 24 in different places of Bengal and will collect important documents related to arts and history. In the next two days, we will visit South Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Kolkata.”