Curated by Pinaki Gayen and Dhriti Shankar Art editor: Priyadarshi Patnaik

Installations are spaces within spaces, time-bound spaces, temporary spaces that redirect human attention to the same space as if it were a different kind of space. For the time that the installation exists, it creates its own context, ritual of space use (how people move about it and what they do) through symbolic, ritual and material objects. Such installations are temporary, and interactive with its audience. While the term is new, and in the context of art, ‘installation art’ became popular in the mid-20th century, if one looks at our own tradition, installations seem to be age old.

A very common example is various ‘puja spaces’ such as Satyanarayan Puja or Saraswati Puja at home, where a temporary space is created for a few hours or few days and within that worship and rituals take place. Such spaces are sacred and religious in nature. However, when one looks at Durga Pujas across the country and especially in Kolkata, where it has become an UNESCO heritage, the massive installations show a unique space that is social and carnival (secular) and ritual and sacred (religious) at the same time.

In this issue, Muse India Art Gallery focuses on the Durga Puja Pandals (installations) created at different locations of Kolkata over the years by eminent visualizer and artist Rono Banerjee. They provide visual insights into the multifunctional role of such Puja Installations; and the companion piece – an interview with Rono babu – gives us an understanding of the various forces that operate in creating such grand spectacles that enthral its participants for the magical 10 days of Durga Puja.

Maverick Artist Rono Banerjee

An Interview with an eminent Durga Puja Pandal Visualizer and Artist from Kolkata, Rono Banerjee Interview by Dhriti Shankar and Medhashri Mahanty; curated by Pinaki Gayen

‘When we first ran into the legendary visualizer and Durga Puja curator Rono Banerjee at the premises of Barisha Sarbojanin Durgotsab (2022) pandal, little did we expect him to entertain our inquisitive awe at all. To our amazement though, he did not just captivate us for hours with his insightful comments on his past and present creations, but he also proved to be a down-to-earth person who with astonishing humility does not betray one bit of narcissistic egotism that we have been so accustomed to expecting from “artists”. Our adda with Rono touched upon matters of pandals, politics, paintings and myriad other matters of no importance, but he found time for us in his busy schedule for this more focused interview that would help us understand his work in a more structured manner.’ Here, Sri Rono Banerjee candidly discusses his perceptions of art, his life, and the philosophy behind his works in a conversation with Dhriti Shankar and Medhashri Mahanty at his residence.

Dhriti Shankar (DS): What are your perceptions of painting and art in general?

Rono Banerjee (RB): The work of the painters can be twofold. One of course is to do whatever one likes with the medium. Second, they want to provoke the viewer/audience. Just nudge them a little even, maybe. The work of painting in society is the same as the process where water is sprinkled over the oven to provoke fire (called “jnak mara” in Bengali) — it helps soften the Rasgulla when it is being prepared. It fuels important discussions to take place. The same goes for other mediums of art as well, be it vocal forms, dance forms, or even calligraphy. Art is whatever moves you. When it comes to Durga Puja pandals, you may call it “theme” — naming it is all about packaging it in a certain way.

Medhashri Mahanty (MM): So, the matter of theme is an issue of packaging, right?

RB: Can there be anything without a theme? Do you not have a theme in the work you're doing now? How will you feel if I call this your theme project? Many such words have been coined these days. As if there was no experimentation in thousands of Durga Pujas for so long and other Prakriti pujas taking place the world over. The condition remains the same, i.e., one simply likes it. If the condition is the same, then whatever the medium, why do you need a different name for it? There is a need to name specifically because there is a need to determine which community is being targeted, and what they need to exactly do — and there is, however you may take this word, a politics behind the whole thing. And you cannot deny the socio-economic cause behind this politics. I’m not a progenitor of the theme Puja in Kolkata — one thing that you might say is that when I started curating Pujas in 1999 coming from advertising, I had a lot more exposure to the nitty-gritty of the way of the world than did my contemporaries.

DS: What did you exactly do in the advertising industry? Were you the art director?

RB: In Delhi, I navigated my way to the top through the hierarchies of the creative ranks within the advertising industry. Back in Kolkata, I entered Clarion directly as the art director and eventually left it as the creative advisor (the highest position in the hierarchy at that point). When I associated myself with Durga Puja, no one else really had my background. As a result, I was aloof from what others were doing at that time. So, I knew that whatever I was doing, no one else could really compete with me on the same terms. At that time our job was to provoke!

DS: Tell us a little about the trajectory of your career. How did you move towards curating 3-dimensional objects and artworks from 2-dimensional ones?

RB: I graduated from the Government College of Art & Craft in 1985. After graduating, while working at a company called Exposition, I learnt ‘dimensional display’. I learnt what advertising actually is from Debu Gupta, a legendary person in the field of advertising. I started experimenting with ‘dimensional display’ after shifting from my position of art director. That’s the point when I made the shift from 2D to 3D medium. This would be around 1986. Dimensional display and décor meant building things such as an international pavilion for project launches and other things. There have not been similar things in Kolkata. The theory came from Debu da, but I learnt the practical aspects of dimensional display from Mr Pardesi in Mumbai. Then I joined Clarion just before the 90s, and towards the end of 1991, left that too to begin my own venture called Graphic Impex, later changed to Graphic Impex Molded Product Private Limited. I started research with jute yarn. I wanted to understand how to make tough and durable products out of jute, products such as waste paper baskets or ash-trays that will even be fire retardant. The whole process was mine — it was a UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Grade 1 project. I turned to Durga Puja after I was requested by one of the patron members of my company to curate the Puja in his locality. For a long time, I was contemplating curating a Durga Puja myself, this gave me the opportunity. In 1999, at Badamtala Ashar Sangha, I did my first Durga Puja.

MM: Earlier, you’ve shown disinterest in winning prizes and accolades for Durga Puja. Why?

RB: From the other side of the table, I’ve seen how the prizes that you see are given to the “pujos”. That’s why I do not run after those. In the language of advertisement when you attach your company’s name to something noteworthy or famous, this strategy is called joint promotion. It is a parasitic process of increasing your own brand value, and Durga Puja provides a unique opportunity for brands to promote themselves. Instead of running after these prizes, I wanted Durga Pujo to be discussed in everyday conversations, but behind this was an exercise in advertising called brand positioning. I wanted Durga Pujo to reach a higher bracket where the aspect of festivity can be stressed more — this “pujo” is being done for centuries, but now this isn’t just that anymore. This is a festival. I brought my previous experiences into this new platform.

DS: How has your work evolved in these years since you started curating Durga Puja pandals in 1999?

RB: Nothing has changed. Nothing can change in Durga Puja, except for a few things that come with the festival. For example, nowadays, people argue over who is responsible for the success of Durga Puja as a festival in recent times. Some say it is because of the theme artists, some say it is because of the light artists, and some may even say it is because of the researchers. My opinion is that it is because of all of us. Durga Puja is something that has been and will always be experimented with. Some people have broken a few moulds at some points to gain attention.

MM: Do you consciously try to recreate and bring back the past when you curate strategies?

RB: What is Durga Puja except bringing back the past? What new can you do here? Now, if one must retain the Durga idol, then one must think of places where the idol can actually be found — be the place a new one or an old one. If I put the idol in a Kadam flower, inside a bird’s nest, or, say, if I make it using bidis, I wouldn’t like it. If the medium dominates so much so that what is being done becomes secondary to what I’m doing it with, then I find that problematic. If I have to use a pencil, I’ll rather draw with it than make a pandal out of it. If ever I do an installation, then it can’t be for an immersion ceremony. Each of these things has a distinct place in our lives and I will not want to mix one with another. I do not like meddling with Durga Puja unnecessarily. If someone argues that they are doing it for the sake of art, truly great art cannot be accomplished this way, because great art is like adding salt to a cuisine — sprinkle too much, and people will flee from you!

DS: How do you see the recreation of the old in your work? Is it recreational?

RB: No! I’m very consciously implementing an aesthetic ideal because I consider Durga Puja to be “Chiropuratan Nityanutan” (Eternal, and yet evergreen). I’m against imposing extraneous words/ideas on Durga Puja, as a “theme” does. Once I named one Puja at Beleghata Nabamilan “Theme Na Ghorar Dim” (The theme is nonsensical)!

DS: You do not want to say you did anything “new” in terms of content, but in terms of form and feature, what was new in your work?

RB: By now, I hope it is clear why I disagree with the notion that I first started “themed” Durga Pujas. Nobody can claim that. If anybody does, I’d ask them to think more. There is a form of advertising called a “teaser ad”. I think I was the first one to successfully use the concept in a Durga Puja — and its biggest proof is its chief beneficiary Behala Nutan Dal in 2006. Teaser ad functions by not letting people understand what it is talking about, and yet intriguing them. The whole city saw one line first: “Sindure Neye Laal” (Bathed in vermillion). Before the curiosity died down, after a few days, another line was added: “Sindure Neye Laal, Ma Khepir Chataal” (The Mother’s pavilion is bathed in vermillion), follwed by the details, such as venue and date of the Pujo, that is 2006, and the place, Behala Nutan Dal. I did not use this tactic later because the need did not arise. At that time the club was not at all established. Nowadays, such captions can be seen in many “pujos” — there’s often a rhythm associated with it!

DS: How do you look at the surrounding environment before planning a “Pujo” in that location?

RB: I do not premeditate anything before the contract. I visit the location, and then obviously I think about what can be done there. Once I’ve decided, I do that. Now, whether I’ll look at the twelve temples (referring to his latest work at Barisha Sarbojonin, 2022) or an adjacent pond, is not in the contract. A big field like the FD Park, a strip of road like Badamtala, or a small place like Hindustan Park, all are the same to me. I do thorough research on the idea before starting a project. Before doing Jongla Garh (2003, Badamtala Ashar Sangha), I had to do thorough fieldwork panning West and East Midnapore. I had full-fledged research on the “Garh” house.

MM: Why do not think of installing public art that can have a lasting impact? Are you more comfortable with the temporary medium?

RB: There’s no one who will be ready to accept my work presently. Back in my college days, I, Krishnendu Chaki and others made a 70 feet x 10 feet sculpture on Babu culture. At one point I was even foolish enough to offer it to Kolkata Metro for free — and even then, they refused. Nobody let us keep it, not even our college. Finally, our teacher Badhan Das kept it in his house. Also, what happens to such artworks after exhibitions? Go there after a month, and you’ll see how they are destroyed.

DS: Durga Puja has now gained recognition from UNESCO…

RB: But I do not think it was because of Tapati’s (Tapati Guha Thakurta) work alone, which does not even mention me or my work. As an art historian, she is of course entitled to her opinions… But her work, too, is just another part of the whole that constitutes Durga Pujo. Why was the Pujo called the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” by the UNSECO? What does it mean? In Bengali, it can be roughly translated to “Chiropuraton Nityonuton”.

DS: How have people reacted to your meticulously researched layouts? You do not just focus on the structural details of the pandal, but on other aspects like music, dance, performance, etc. too.

RB: Let me illustrate this through an example. After my thorough research for making Jongla Garh, many people researched on the performers that I had brought there. Even NGOs brought foreign funds for them. You must have heard of Durbar. Dr Smarajit Jana was its head at that point. I met him at a programme and listened to him talking about the red-light area and his work. There I pointed out to him that he could do his work smoothly because he was working in areas such as Shobhabazar, Bag Bazar, Kalighat, etc., where some right already exists for sex workers. Why can Durbar not address the issues of fringe communities such as the Nachnis? They are the kept women of Rosiks, but have no right to property and over their children with the Rosik. If they give birth to a female child, she is forced to be a Nachni as well. If it is a male child, he becomes a Rosik. I showed him the thought note I prepared for Jongla Garh (2003, Badamtala Ashar Sangha) where I had mentioned the details of the story. The Nachnis performed there with their Rosiks — the ones whom I had brought there for that purpose are called “Adh-Dhoillya” (Half-drummers). I provided them with the exposure to work in Kolkata since I was recreating the red-soiled districts of Bengal. They were originally from parts of Purulia; I had brought them from Ramnagar, 40 km away from Purulia. But since Durbar has reached there now, they perform with loudspeakers (laughs)! Along with them, I brought artists from Bankura and Bishnupur who draw Binti cards—I brought an artist named Shital Foujdar. This way, I was reintegrating these arts into the economic structure as well. These cards were being sold by Shital there. If such activities generate economic revenues and jobs for the people, I’m okay with branding in my Pujos.

But Smarajit Jana was really moved that day. That is the purpose of my work — to provoke and nudge people towards taking meaningful actions.