Preserving our roots - Sushanta Pal's Shoker Hari
Preserving our roots Sushanta Pal's Shokher Hari -folk-art of potteries transformed on modern canvas. Reports Faizul Khan Tanim Shushanta Pal was born in Basantapur village of Paba union of Rajshahi district around 1959. He doesn’t remember his birth year properly but he learned to draw from when he started understanding life. Shokher Hari has been the oldest traditional business and passion in Pal’s family. His grandfather Banyeshwar Pal was a famous artist of this pottery art, who received provincial award during East Pakistan period. But today, due to deep frustrations over the decrease on the use of clay potteries and to run his family, this craftsman transformed this art form from pottery to art paper and canvas, believing to preserve this traditional art and as well earn a living. If clay pottery art is dying then indeed it is grave news for us because this traditional art captures the essence of rural Bengal and sports the images of mainly folk tales, celebrations, the diffe...