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Gurusaday Museum: a depot of Bengali Folk art,craft and Culture.


Inside Gurusaday Museum

The pioneer of Bratachari Movement Gurusaday Dutt tried to resurrect the rich heritage of Bengal. As a memento of Bengali tradition he collected and preserved 3 streams of cultural heritage situated in Bengal- 1.Folk song 2.Folk Dance forms 3.Folk art and crafts.
Now lets focus on the Gurusaday Dutt’s cillection on Folk art and crafts. Painter and historian of Indian Art Abanindranath Tagore once said in  annual Exhibition of ‘The Indian society of Oriental Art’(March,1932), “Artworks were scattered in the villages of Bengal without any recognition,documentation, Gurusaday Dutt is only one who took initiative to find out dormant truth of our heritage….These fantastic Artworks need to come out as a  documented truth of our social integrity and History of Bengali art forms.”in his further speech Abanindranath Tagore lamented ,"There is hardly Museum in Bengal where our ancient Bengali artworks could be preserved and displayed for the audience.” Actually during the colonial period just for the lack of infrastructure and funding many artworks had destroyed.
This comment by Abanindranath was deeply affiliated to the ‘Museum Movement’ planned by ‘Banglar Bratachari Samiti’. As a result after Gurusay Datt’s death ‘Banglar Bratachari Samiti took an initiative to found a Museum named after him. Previously G.S.Dutt made a will and donated his entire collection of Folk Art and Crafts gathered from various part of Bengal and India to ‘Banglar Bratachari Samiti’.In 1961 Chief Minister of West Bengal Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy put the foundation stone of the Museum in Bratachari Gram near Thakurpukur , 24Parganas(in present South 24 Parganas,Beside Diamond Harbour Road). On 8th February 1963 Minister of Education of West Bengal Government Humayun Kabir inaugurated Gurusaday Museum. Total 2326 items are displayed here. Most of the items collected from different parts of Bengal such as “Dasavatar Tas”(Cards of Das avatar of Hindu mythology) designed in Bishnupur,Bankura Districts. “Nakshikatha”(a designer blanket) of Kustia , 'Sujni Kantha', 'Patchitra'etc.

(Gurusaday Museum, Bratacharigram, Joka, Kolkata-700104)

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