“I am really delighted to know that my photo of a bohurupee (art of masquerading) artist along with his sons walking back home through the golden alleys of mustard fields has been chosen for the Artistic Merit Award. I am honoured and humbled.”
Artistic Merit : Somenath Mukhopadhyay (India) – “Bohurupee” is an old form of folk art practised mainly in rural folds of West Bengal. ‘Bohu’ means several and ‘rupee’ means having looks and characters. So the art of “Bohurupee” refers to the people who masquerade taking disguise of various characters drawn from mythological sources and social contexts. In the age of Bluetooth and videos streaming into hands of everyone at any corner of the world this folk art and entertainment is on the brink of extinction. The art of “Bohurupee” which has a long history of as old as 200 years is survived in the hands of a few exponents living in the districts of Hooghly, Nadia and Birbhum in West Bengal. They are a wandering tribe who usually spend months away from their village to earn their living playing the roles of Hindu gods and goddesses, historical characters etc. In the recent times they are also seen picking up several social and political issues to draw our attention to them. This photo story shot in the villages of Birbhum in West Bengal focuses on their costume and make up that help them bring the gods and goddesses down to earth. –
