Documentary Educational Resources - Filmmaker / Bhaumik, Mainak / All Films

Gone To Pat

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:26:00 GMT

The Patuas, or “Chitrakers,” are a nomadic people who live in the small village of Noya, Midnapore, in India. Though originally Muslim, they now consider themselves neither Muslim or Hindu. Instead, they are more clearly defined by their art.

They practice a form of painting called “pat” - richly colored storyboards on scrolls that reflect the ancient myths of their Indian culture. This art form is transmitted from generation to generation - the subjects and styles of the paintings simply changing over the years, encompassing what is culturally appealing at the time. Myths are now being replaced by news stories and social subjects, such as domestic abuse and environmental issues.

While keeping religious and folk myths alive, the pats have taken on a new purpose: to raise social awareness. They perform the musical narratives that accompany the pats for small neighborhood audiences or city folk. These performances and their sales of paintings to tourists allows them to earn a meager living and carry on their work.

Gone To Pat shows in detail the Patuas praciticing their art: mixing the paint colors, drawing outlines of the images, and filling the images with “vibrant, bold colors” that are made from only natural materials. As beautiful and colorful as the art it depicts, this film transports the viewer to a picturesque, idyllic region of India, which has an almost mythological quality in itself.

Of interest to Asian Studies, the Anthropology of Art, Cultural Change, Anthropology of Religion, Psychology.

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Melting Wok

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:49:00 GMT

Melting Wok
Buy Now: $295.00

Mainak Bhaumik's film provides insight into India's often-overlooked Chinese population, examining the thriving Chinatown in Kolkata, Bengal. There, skilled Chinese immigrants have historically established themselves in business - especially tanneries and shoemaking - and created a unique Indo-Chinese cuisine. Exploring the factors that make up Chinese-Indian identity, the film looks at the Indian cultural stereotypes of Chinese immigrants and the effects of government resettling of Chinese-Indians during the 1962 border conflict between the two countries. A portrait emerges of a hardworking and traditionally enclosed immigrant community, but one that is becoming increasingly assimilated with mainstream Indian culture.

Melting Wok pays attention to the unique contributions and experiences of Chinese-Indians, while also helping the audience to understand the larger phenomena of immigration and cultural identity.

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

European Association of Social Anthropologists' Film, Video & New Media Festival, Slovenia, 2008

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Surviving Chau

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

Surviving Chau
Buy Now: $320.00

This documentary maps the evolution of the ancient ethnic dance form of Chau (or Chhau) - an athletic dance of India done by men in masks - from an anthropological and sociological perspective. In addition to following the details of the entire ‘behind-the-scenes’ artistry, the film also interviews one of the Ustad dancers (leader of the Chau group) and observes the artists and performers in rehearsal and during the heated discussions which follow. An intense level of artistry and performance is required of artists who work on the masks as well as the people who perform the dance. They each work independently then collaborate to form the dance form of Chau that still, to this day vibrates the culture of Purulia, the town of its origin. Since it is only performed by men due to the physical fitness required to carry off the difficult steps, they enact the women's roles as well. The dance is structured in the form of a competition between two teams. Each team tells the same story in turns, carrying the competition through the night into the wee hours of the morning. At sunrise, the team most popular with the audience is marked as the winning team. The children are taught and disciplined in the art of Chau from a very young age, not as an occupation, but as an intrinsic part of their very being. Due to years of ethnic tradition, Chau dancers are simply born into the Chau Society, and from birth are taught to accept their vocation of dance as an unquestionable given. Every single part of their lives reflects in their art, since dance for them is not just a means of existence, it is the meaning of their life. In the face of this tradition, they are very poorly equipped to survive by any other means; thus, they attempt to adapt to cultural change by replacing their ethnic instruments with modern day keyboards and substituting their old mythological stories into modern day events, such as “Bin Laden's Downfall” and “The Kargil War.” Due to the onslaught of cinema and Bollywood in the villages, Chau's value as a performing art and mode of entertainment has decreased greatly. Villagers can now simply watch the performances on television with added special effects. This documentary endeavors to raise awareness and contribute to the survival of this struggling art form.

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