We invite you to a unique journey down the river Hooghly from Murshidabad to Kolkata…
Silk River Walk in India – 6 to 16th December 2017
**The Silk River India walk is now complete!**
Photos of the India Walks can be found HERE.
All of Kevin Rushby’s blog posts about the India walk.
Where Thames and Hooghly meet
A unique 10 day journey down the Hooghly from Murshidabad to Kolkata.
Led by Kinetika, UK and Think Arts, India we were accompanied by a group of contemporary artists, historians, writers and musicians from UK and India. We interacted with local communities who had been working on this project for over a year to devise a bespoke tour of each area. Visitors:
- Participated in an international artistic exchange
- Visited artisan workshops, historic palaces and estates
- Attended cultural programmes and talks by historians and travel writers
- Paraded with us carrying the Silk River scrolls
The Silk River project explored the unique relationship between London and Kolkata through artistic exchange between communities along the Thames Estuary and India’s Hooghly River. Each community created a 6 metre hand-painted silk scroll that is a visual narrative of their walk. Every day, a core group welcomed two new scrolls carried by participants, building up to a grand finale as we walked back into central Kolkata with all twenty of the spectacular Silk River scrolls.
Programmes by folk artists in different locations organised by Banglanatak.com
Download the archived flyer here, or read below.
High res version: Silk River India Walk Flyer
Low res version: Silk River India Walk Flyer low res
Full Programme
Silk River Walk India – 6 to 16 December 2017
- 5 December: Arrived in Kolkata, travel by train to Azimganj, Murshidabad
- 6 December: Azimganj, Barikothi & seminar on placemaking
- 7 December: Silk River walks begins: Azimganj to Hazarduari
- 8 December: International artists exchange workshop on board boat from Murshidabad to Krishnanagar
- 9 December: Krishnanagar visit to sculptors studios and local artists
- 10 December: Boat to Chandannagar, exchange with lighting artists
- 11 December: Chandannagar to Barrackpore
- 12 December: Barrackpore
- 13 December: Kumortuli, Jorasanko and Marble Palace, North Kolkata
- 14 December: Tour of Burrabazaar and Howrah
- 15 December: Visit to Kidderpore docks and tour of Batanagar
- 16 December: Botanic Gardens, Closing Ceremony at Victoria Memorial Hall
Artists’ Weekend
This was an immersive weekend experience soaking in the heritage and the magic of the Hooghly River, as the Silk River scrolls whispered their stories and secrets!
We walked through time and history in Lalbagh, Maheshgunj, Ghurni, Krishnanagar & Chandannagar.
The Silk River India Walk offered a unique opportunity for artistic exchange based on the year-long Silk River project.
Indian artists were invited to this exchange with 15 visiting artists from the UK and Kevin Rushby, eminent travel journalist covering Silk River for The Guardian.
Itinerary – Artists’ Weekend
8th Dec 2017
- Morning walk at Motijheel (optional)
- 8am: Day journey by boat, introductions.
- Talk by eminent historian Pradeep Gooptu
- Reflections on Silk River – Salon led by Ali Pretty, Artistic Director – Silk River and independent cultural producer Elizabeth Lynch with Korak Ghosh, Artistic Director – Silk River India and Ruchira Das, Silk River India Project Director.
- Vision for the Hooghly
- Songs of the river by Pranesh Som
- Reach Krishnanagar – Visit to Balakhana estate in Maheshganj – an indigo planter’s bungalow.
- Enjoy a walk in the estate gardens led by Ranodhir Palchoudhuri, the current owner of this beautiful 19th century villa.
- Overnight on the boat
9th Dec 2017
- 9 am: Visit Ghurni, an artisans’ village, and interact with clay artists
- 10 am : Walk from Ghurni to Krishnanagar Rajbari, along with students from Krishnanagar Academy. Led by Tamal Bandopadhya.
- 11am : Talk by Tamal Bandopadhya. Baul/Fakir – Subhadra Sharma, Babu Fakir
- Puppetry – Ranjan Roy
- Clay Doll artists: Saikat Mondal, Pranab Biswas
- Picnic lunch at Baganbari
- Visit local ‘daaker shaaj’ and shola artist Ashish Bagchi’s studio
- Overnight on the boat
10th Dec 2017
- Journey to Chandannagar passing Bandel, Hooghly Imambara, Chinsurah, Jubilee Bridge
- 9:30 : Presentation on the schools’ participation in Silk River in India & the UK
- Greeted by local community members on reaching Chandannagar
- 5pm : Get-together at IMA Hall, followed by ‘Mrityunjoy’, a play based on Revolutionary leaders from this region, written by Sulogna Chakraborty
- Light display on the Strand by Babu Pal and local lighting artists
- Overnight on the boat
For participants not on the full programme, there was a participation fee of INR 10,000, payable in advance.
Fee included all meals, local transfers, cultural visits, 1 night at City Hotel, Motijheel and 2 /3 nights on boat provided by West Bengal Tourism Department.
For a printer-friendly version, click this link: Artists’ Weekend.
Details are subject to change.
Wide view of walk areas – click to enlarge
Walk areas covered in Kolkata – click to enlarge
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