3rd November 2017– The 4th ‘Jangal Mahal Utsav’ commenced from today starting with the workshop of Chhou and Jhumur dance along with imparting lessons on making masks for the dance genres. The cultural session was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of Power of West Bengal Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, Dr. Pashupati Prasad Mahato, the President of Jungle Mahal Udyog, a welcome speech by Priyabrata Bera and special guests like Tirthasundar Biswas from Sohoj Manush and Debashish Mallik from Monmarte were present in the occasion. The festival will end on 5th November 2017.
The cultural festival included different dance and music forms like Chhou, Jhumur, Tusu, Bhadu, Gajan, Balok sangeet, Jatra pala etc. and workshops on these forms. The workshops also include mask making sessions for different forms of art and music.
Mask making workshop
“Kamalesh Acharya, Partha Bhowmik and I had once thought about the general conception of people that all the inhabitants of Jangal Mahal areas are the Maoists, underprivileged and poverty-stricken, which is not true as there are doctors, engineers, IAS officers, professors and highly educated dignitaries who are established in their respective fields. So we thought of doing something to change this and that followed by our first meeting at the S.B. High School at Shyambazar where decided to conduct an annual cultural fest to highlight the true picture of Jungle Mahal in the city.” says Priyabrata Bera, the Secretary of Jangal Mahal Udyog, to Woman Times.
“Women in Jungle Mahal are at par with men going out to work. The main thing is that women are not aware of the rights given to them by the government.
Tirthasundar Biswas, the singer from Sohoj Manush, while talking to Woman Times, says, “We are happy to be a part of the annual fest of Jangal Mahal. The first day is dedicated to Gopiballab Lal Singha Deo, who has a lot of contributions to the society. This is a positive indication to unite people and aware them about the Jangal Mahal. we expect more footfalls from tomorrow as weekends fall and the fest will be at its peak.”
Dr. Moumita Majumder Dutta performing at the annual fest.Tirthasundar Biswas from Sohoj Manush performing at Jangal Mahal Utsav 2017
Dr. Madhup Dey, the media advisor says, “The objective of this annual fest is to promote the historically rich culture of Jangal Mahal, which comprises of Purulia, Midnapore, Jhargram, Paschim Burdhman, Bankura, and Birbhum. Moreover, to throw the message that like every other region Jangal Mahal too has every flavor of living and not just adversities.”
The performers in the event are Tirthasundar Biswas from Sohoj Manush, Dr. Moumita Majumder Dutta, Gaan Goyenda band from JIS University, College Folk, Palindrome Band and many others.
