25-05-2025
Just Like That: Why a Delhi couple's artistic passion shines through the mundane
In the municipal hustle of metropolises, one often runs into people who stand out for the simple fact that they are above the conventional seductions that motivate most other people. The majority are overwhelmed by the daily vicissitudes of living, or pursuing the same goals of money, power, consumerism or winning the rat race of success. But there are some who live in their own world, of trying to do something different, of pursuing an unusual creativity, of being above normal considerations of cost and benefit, of being, in short, possessed by the passion of a different yardstick of satisfaction.
One couple that I have come to know recently in Delhi, who typifies this difference are Sanjay and Shampa Sircar Das. They are both products of the College of Art in the city. Sanjay's passion is photography. Shampa's obsession is painting. For several years now, Sanjay has left the relative comfort of his Chittaranjan Park home, to go into deliberate anonymity, scouring the countryside of West Bengal.
His aim was to photograph and chronicle the amazing terracotta structures of the state. Terracotta is the craft of baking clay to make things of use, play or embellished structures. To make intricate carvings using this technique is a remarkable and sophisticated aesthetic. The terracotta temples of Bishnupur in the Bankura District, protected by the ASI, attract throngs of tourists, Vaishnava devotees and photographers. However, the temples Sanjay discovered were far beyond the realms of Bishnupur. They were spread across the recesses of all of Bengal, ranging from Bardhaman to Murshidabad, Krishnanagar to Purulia, and many more sites.
The terracotta temples are found only in Bengal. They were built by the regional kings and zamindars starting from the 15th century, some for their personal use within their homes, and others outside for the public. It was, as Sanjay says, 'like discovering architectural gold'. His journey is replete with delightful anecdotes, of how in the remotest parts of the state, travelling in boats and animal carts, he lived with the villagers, who were invariably large hearted in the meagre hospitality they could afford.
With the occasional fish curry for dinner, and 'murri' (flattened rice) and tea for breakfast, Sanjay laboured on, photographing beautiful murals and structures, so overgrown with vegetation that he was perennially warned of snakes and dacoits. Finally, he has visually chronicled this forgotten, languishing treasure trove. His Exhibition of photographs, curated by Ina Puri, will open at the Cymroza Art Gallery in Mumbai on 28th May. It is then scheduled to travel to Pune, and will hopefully come to Delhi, and above all, Kolkata.
Sanjay and Shampa's son, Shashwat, who is 26, has his parent's sense of fakiri or abandon. He has for the last many years cycled across most of India and Nepal with his camera. His obvious talent in photography has won him now a scholarship in Salzburg to pursue his craft further. The interesting thing is that both Sanjay and Shampa were not the least worried about their son's unconventional waywardness. In fact, in their conversations with me, they seemed quite happy that he is happy doing what he wants, much like their own attitude to life.
While I am a great admirer of Shampa's work, I have a special affinity with what Sanjay has done. India is so rich in the range of its creative expressions, and so much of it is lying neglected, or even worse, under serious threat of being destroyed and lost forever to posterity. It was this concern that led me many years ago to write my book on the Havelis of Old Delhi, where with Sondeep Shankar, the well-known photographer, we could chronicle what remained of these magnificent structures before they were heedlessly pulled down to build ugly commercial buildings. The beautiful terracotta structures of West Bengal—which I think should be in UNESCO's World Heritage list—are under the same threat. I would seriously urge both the central and the West Bengal governments to see Sanjay's work, and try and save these priceless terracotta heritage from further decline or oblivion.
