Over ten years ago, on behalf of Daricha Foundation, I wished to set out in search of wall art of ethnic communities of Purulia, looking for a continuity of wall art traditions along the Chhota Nagpur plateau. Since the Santals account for nearly 52% of tribal population in West Bengal, and Purulia was once a part of Manbhum, which was later partitioned between Jharkhand and West Bengal, heading to Santal villages in Purulia, bordering Jharkhand, seemed the obvious destination. But I knew no Santals at the time.
An opportunity presented itself in the form of a seminar that was being organized by the Ghoshaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust in Birbhum in March 2014. There I met Dr Boro Baski and Ruby Hembrom and various other fine, knowledgeable people. Through Ruby, I met artist Saheb Ram Tudu, who wears many hats and is currently faculty at BHU. Through him, I met Bimal Baskey, who needed no GPS to ably guide me to remote villages across northern Purulia, for many years. It is thanks to all these people that my love affair with the unique monochromatic form of Sohrai Likhan in Purulia began. This resulted in a documentation for the Anthropological Survey of India.
But today, the ethereally beautiful monochromatic tradition is bowing out and this is why we have collaborated with Google Arts & Culture, so that the art lives on for posterity.
Ratnaboli Bose, Secretary, Daricha Foundation