Shantiniketan is still a virgin

It was a very hot sunny afternoon when I got down from the train at Bholpur to hire a tangawalla for a ride to Shantiniketan. The goats from Kolkata, I observed have small leg length when compared to those from our South Indian goats, which have long legs. Despite the leaps of the art market to gothic size and some of the artists earnings crossing crores per annum, Shantiniketan remains still a virgin away from the commercialization of art.

I had to search Jogen's house and three different passersby guided me to three different directions from 3 different places, finally I notices a person gesturing me and the tangawalla the exact direction. When I thanked the person, he volunteered to introduce himself as Ashok Bhowmick. I had seen his paintings in various art exhibitions and also owned one small lithograph, little did I realize that he was such a nice person when I met him face-to-face live. Meeting the artist is such a bliss, particularly those who do not have any airs about their popularity.

Lotuses are found in abundance.

I was also pleased when he invited me to visit the Institution Kalabhavan the next day so I could meet more artists and interact with them.

Too bad I could not spare time to stay on and had to rush to catch the evening train to reach back Kolkata, but I decided I should visit again soon when the whether suits me fine.........

This pond is inside the premises of Govt. Arts College......