Oraon Dance @ Bagan Mahotsav- 2019

 The Oraons are one of the largest tribes in South Asia, numbering 1,702,663 persons at the 1971 census. About half of them live in Bihar, mainly on the Chota Nagpur Plateau; the remainder are in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and West Bengal. They speak a Dravidian language known as Kurukh. Oraons are closely related to the neighboring Munda tribe, and the headman of an Oraon village is called munda.

Oraon Dance @ Himalaya World Museum

Oraon Dance @ Himalaya World Museum

Although there are no subcastes among the Oraons, the Kudas ("navvies") and Kisans ("cultivators"), having their distinct occupations, tend to marry among themselves. Beyond this, Oraons observe village and clan exogamy. The patrilineal extended family is the ideal residential unit, but Nuclear families are nearly as common. On the average a family contains five to seven co resident members.

Bagaan Utsav- Presenting the legacy of Tea Garden

 

Bagan Mahotsav

Organized and curated by the Himalayan World Museum,

Buttabari-Bagdogra

The Himalaya World Museum, a unit of Himalayan Heritage Research and Development Society, Gurung Basti, Central Pandum, Sikkim has organized the grand 3 days long Bagan Mahotsav 2019 – A NationalCultural Festival  and Seminar presenting the legacy of the Tea Gardens, Bagdogra. The festival is being organized in association with Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

 

The advent of the festival on 16^th March 2019 started with the traditional games of the Tea Gardens of the regionand the Seminar chaired by Dr. Om Prakash Bharti who addressed the audience saying “The Himalaya is the womb of diverseindigenous and unique cultures and traditions. Its tribes possess a variety of languages, handicrafts and art forms which are treasures not only for India but also for the countries in the Indian Subcontinent. Museums play an essential role in the collection and preservation of the diverse cultural heritage of humanity.Himalaya World Museum is an initiative to showcase such treasures to the world and help in the economic development and conservation of the rich heritage of the Himalayas.” Other dignitaries such as Dr. Jayanta Kumar Barman, Assistant Prof. Dept of Music (Sikkim University), Dr. Pompi Paul, Hari Shankar Gupta, Dharm Prakash Manto also presented their papers on this matter. 

The 2^nd day of Bagan Mahotsav begun with a splendid procession showcasing the different colorful diversities of various tribal communities followed byperformances of various eminent artists and groups from all over India. The renowned Lepcha Maestro Padmashree Sonam TsheringLepcha graced the inaugural ceremony on 17 March,2019 as the Chief Guest.  He praised the initiative saying “The culture and heritage of most tribes and local residents of the Himalayas are ceasing to exist due to the lack of awareness and poor economic conditions. This is a great effort from Himalaya World Museum to uplift, inspire and conserve these traditions and present them on platform that will create an awareness.” The performances of the artists were in two phases:the morning schedule started at 2pm at the main Museum ground and continued till 6 pm. The evening schedule started from 7pm till 10 pm at Himalaya World Museum camp house.Several performances by notable tribal and folk artists through their ethnic art forms likeBhavaiya Song by Munmun Barman, Aparna Barman, Ravi Chand, Ravi Das; Bamboo dance by Amar Singha, Mechini dance by Tejen Barman, Oraon dance by PriyaTirky, Rajdharinritya by GergeruRayand Bindu Singh,Dhimal dance byGarjan Mallik, DholBadan by Dhananjay Ray and also Dotarabadan by artists from North Bengal, Cochbehar, Raiganj and Siliguri and eminent Bharatnatyam performer Dr. Mandakranta Roy left the audience mesmerized. Performances ofSasmita Mohanty (Odissi),Pompi Paul (Odissi), Suraj Kumar Sahu (Odissi), Sangita Chaki (Bharatnatyam),and TanmoySamaddar (Odissi) left the audience awestruck with their impeccable techniques, delicate footworks and perfections in their art forms.

The concluding day, 18^th of March, was dignified by the Chief Guest PadmashriKarimulHaque who was tremendously impressed after visiting the museum. He said “I am mesmerized with the huge collection of rare masks and artifacts brought about from different parts of the Himalayas and the world.We need more museums like these, for tourists, art enthusiasts and also our local people to learn about the rich ancestral history that we possess. Kudos to the Himalaya World Museum for such a great determination.” Immaculate performances from Soma Mondal (Bharatnatyam), DebduttaLahiri (Odissi), Somali Roy (kathak),  Sabyasachi Dutta (JalpaiguriSristi Mime ), Sikha Bhattacharya (kathak), Sumita Paul (Odissi), Pritam Das (Bharatnatyam),Sulagna Ray (Odissi), RimpiSaha (Bharatnatyam), ArniBagchi (GoudiyaNritya), Paromita Mukherjee ( Bharatnatyam) left the audience spellbound and wanting more.