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Seven-day workshop on the making of rare, traditional music instruments of the Dhimal community of northern West Bengal to be held at Naxalbari, Darjeeling district from August 21 to 27, 2017
***Dhimal or Dhemal is an indigenous community of the Terai. They mainly reside in Morang and Jhapa districts of Nepal and Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. Several scholars both in India and Nepal have referred to Dhimals as a ‘forgotten ethnic group’.[citation needed] They are scions of the Kachari lineage, which includes Bodos, Dimasas, Tiprasas, Rabhas, Tiwas, Sonowals and many others.***
Kolkata, August 19, 2017: The West Bengal State Akademi of Dance Drama Music and Visual Arts, Rabindra Bharati University, and the Lalit Kala Akademi, Regional Centre, Kolkata will jointly hold a seven-day workshop on the making of rare, traditional music instruments at Ketu Gaburjut, Naxalbari, Darjeeling district from August 21 to 27, 2017 between 10 am and 4 pm daily.
The Akademies’ objectives of holding this workshop as a community-based initiative at Ketu Gaburjut, Nakshalbari itself are
- to encourage in various ways the master craftsmen and others involved in the making of these instruments and build up their confidence;
- to undertake the research and documentation efforts required to know more about these instruments and the ritualistic dances of the Dhimal community in which they have been used for centuries, and,
- on the basis of the research and documentation conducted, to take appropriate steps aimed at the preservation of both the dances and the musical instruments which together constitute a centuries-old art form now threatened with extinction, and making it better known.
The four master craftsmen who will take part in the workshop are Garjan Kumar Mallick, Bistu Mallick, Dipak Mallick and T. K. Mallick. All of them belong to Ketu Gaburjut in Nakshalbari itself, with the first three of them having taken part in a large number of Government of West Bengal programmes. At this workshop, Garjan Kumar Mallick will make the urni, tunjai and khuidhuika, Bistu Mallick will make the chonga merdong, and Dipak Mallick and T. K. Mallick will make the basinko dotra – the best known musical instruments of the Dhimal community – and special efforts will be undertaken for the revival of the urni and tunjai.
Issued by Dr. Haimanti Chattopadhyay, Member-Secretary,West Bengal State Akademi of Dance Drama Music and Visual Arts
